Bolles Trail

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They must have taken the Beeline trail down. I'd be curious what the full set of circumstances were (map, experience, light, etc). I've yet to do that section, so I'm not sure how much damage was done.
 
I hiked the Champney Falls/Beeline/Bolles loop about 5 summers ago and at that time the only problem with the Bolles, apart from the fact that you have to regain 1,300 vertical feet with no compensating views, was that some sections that double as a snowmoible trail were quite wet. A lot can change in five years, however, so I attach no significance to that. Just 10 days ago, on the other hand - 9/20/13 - a pair of experienced hikers I know a little, whose judgment I trust, hiked the same loop and seemed to think the Bolles was fine. I quote from a trail conditions post elsewhere:

The Bolles was unnexpectedly nice except for the PUD going up to 2400 and back down, but still....no big deal. . . . A few new blowdowns on the Bolles and Bee line. Easily gotten over or around.

Another report from this summer, however, stated that there was one place where the Bolles was hard to follow, and maybe that is where these women got lost.
 
Not sure on the current maps but on the older AMC maps, the scale of the trails around Chocorua were quite small and contour lines were hard to read. I was hiking with a group up Champney Falls trail one day and someone else was leading and I didn't pay a lot of attention to the leaders choice. We went up Champney and down Beeline to Bolles. It was a pleasant fall day but the trail was quite hard to follow as part of it was a stream bed (real wet) and went through a lot of fairly mature hardwood stands with few if any blazes. Eventually the valley closed in and the trail got steep and it became a distinct treadway, but even when we got to the height of the land, it felt like a lot longer walk out. We ended up getting out about 2 hours later than expected. It was a pleasant hike as there were few folks on the trail and the woods are nice. During subsequent hikes up Champney, others have pointed out the Bolles trail as a possible loop out and I have suggested that sure it was a nice remote option that feels a lot farther than it looked. Not sure if this was the case but for someone not paying attention and lacking in gear it would be a easy one to decide to call for help due to combination of the extra elevation and very scant marking.
 
The Bolles Trail is a super nice walk in the woods. I have hiked from the southern end to the Kanc and back, just for the fun of it! It also makes a nice x-c ski trail, with little traffic and a pleasant grade.
 
I'll have to try it soon, as I've been saying for more than a few years now. Would be interested in knowing where they lit their fire.
 
I suspect they actually had problems on Bee Line and not Bolles Trail. There's only one section of Bolles that can be hard to follow. And that's in a deep bowl with little or no cell service, so I doubt they called from there. Bee Line, on the other hand, has a number of sketchy sections that probably have usable cell service, especially the upper sections.
 
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