Trails Used
Eagle Cliff Trail, Cabin Trail, Red Hill Trail, Teedie Trail
Trail Conditions
Notes
This was not the hike we had planned to do today. We had planned to do the Rattlesnakes on the other side of Squam Lake, but the Rattlesnakes and the Percival-Morgan trails are closed until early May due to mud, and the parking lots are roped off and guarded by police officers and Lakes Region Conservation personnel. Eagle Cliff trail climbs up somewhat steeply to the Eagle cliffs and is a mostly dry, though there are some wet and muddy spots in the early part of the climb. Many of the rocks around the cliff are wet and quite slippery, but that is more to do with wet leaves and moss, and almost no snow and ice here. The descent of the north peak is dry and sometimes hard to follow as much of the leaf litter is still on the trail. Going up to Red Hill there are some large patches of snow still. Most of it is 6in deep or less, so snowshoes/spikes are not needed, but does make the trail a little slippery. Some unstable monorails are also present going up to the summit. Summit is snow free and has 2 very well preserved USGS plaques. Make sure to climb up the firetower for optimal views. Large sections of Cabin trail have snow similar to Eagle Cliff trail. Most of it is shallow, very soft, and there are a few degrading monorails left. Where Cabin trail joins the logging road, there is some very soft and squishy mud, but being a logging road, you can walk around most of it. Red Hill trail is a dry trail the whole way up for all intent and purpose. Teedie trail is mostly dry, but has significant leaf litter that has made the trail blend into the woods and covering up rocks and large roots. There is also a well on Teedie trail that is completely uncovered, we tried to figure out how deep it was but we were unsuccessful. (route was up Eagle Cliff tr. down Cabin tr. to parking lot, up Red Hill tr. down Eagle Cliff tr. to Teedie tr. and down Teedie tr. with short road walk at end) This hike officially brought me across the 25% mark for completed trails on the red line! Only three quarters left to go!
Parking
There is no parking available at the Teedie trailhead. Eagle Cliff trailhead has roadside spots available for about 10 cars if you're lucky, we were the first ones there at 10:30am and the were 4 other cars there at 3:30 when we finished. On the other side of the mountain, the Red Hill parking area is a dirt lot that also holds maybe 10 cars max. There is a very precarious tree that has snapped and is only being held up by a few small branches high in the tree and is leaning over 1 or 2 of the parking spaces.
Water Crossings
No major crossings
Wildlife
A few butterflies have come out. There was one cloud of gnats but they were not interested in people