bryan
New member
date: 5/26/14
trails: success trail connector, turbine road, bathtub extension, bathtub trail, unknown road, atv track, herd path, heat stroke trail, smittys trail, bushwhack
conditions: all trails listed above are atv trails in the jericho mountain state park network. i parked off of rt. 110 on a wide shoulder just before a defunct storage facility. the connector trail leaves just across the street and is well signed as an atv corridor. the early atv trails were nicer than most dirt roads for pedestrian traffic as they climbed around to the northwest side of jericho mountain. from right around the height of land on the bathtub trail a very clear, but unnamed road (not part of the atv network ) leaves to climb up jericho. partway up the road had clearly been recently widened and one new spur road led to a blasted area with a large poured concrete footing (presumably part of the wind project set to be spinning by the end of next year). as the road got up to the final climb below the summit it turned into an eroded and muddy atv track that led up to a large clearing with a wind gauging tower. on the far side of the clearing a fairly obvious herd path led up to the highpoint and a short distance beyond to a small (think amc huts) wind turbine. had it been a nicer morning it would probably have been worth exploring more to the south where there are potential cliff/ledge views. i doubled back down the same way noting many old footings and metal posts lying around the road. the heat stroke trail heading towards sugar is more of a trail and less of a road with some mud in places. i then picked up smittys trail which headed up most of the way to the top of sugar. from the height of land on the trail it was only about a .1 mile bushwhack with a solid game path. i noted a couple possible summit bumps one of which seemed to correspond with the spot summit mark on the usgs. i returned back to the atv trail and followed the same trails back to 110. i believe the trail over sugar can also be accessed from gorham which would probably make a shorter hike if just looking to hike that peak. a few black flies when standing still.
a map of the atv network in this area can be found here: http://www.nhstateparks.org/uploads/pdf/Jericho-Mtn_Trail-Map_Jericho-Tract.pdf
equipment: nothing in particular.
comments: with recent talk about the 5-6 wind towers going up on jericho mountain i figured now would be the time to get up there. preparation is already clearly underway and i believe at least one 3 turbine cluster already has the go ahead. while out there it made sense to get up to sugar as well which made for a solid day of walking on the atv trails. given the on and off rain and clouds views were limited, but nearby black crescent loomed most of the day and there were some nice looks to the northern end of the kilkenny ridge. on a clear day the views from a large clearcut on sugar to the north country must be spectacular. lots of interesting old infrastructure on the slopes of jericho. i kept feeling like there may have been an old ski area, but can't find any reference online to such a thing existing. hard to figure all of the cement footings and metal posts (with one section of cable). if anyone knows and wouldn't mind dropping me an email or message i would appreciate it. great day to be out.
bryan
[email protected]
trails: success trail connector, turbine road, bathtub extension, bathtub trail, unknown road, atv track, herd path, heat stroke trail, smittys trail, bushwhack
conditions: all trails listed above are atv trails in the jericho mountain state park network. i parked off of rt. 110 on a wide shoulder just before a defunct storage facility. the connector trail leaves just across the street and is well signed as an atv corridor. the early atv trails were nicer than most dirt roads for pedestrian traffic as they climbed around to the northwest side of jericho mountain. from right around the height of land on the bathtub trail a very clear, but unnamed road (not part of the atv network ) leaves to climb up jericho. partway up the road had clearly been recently widened and one new spur road led to a blasted area with a large poured concrete footing (presumably part of the wind project set to be spinning by the end of next year). as the road got up to the final climb below the summit it turned into an eroded and muddy atv track that led up to a large clearing with a wind gauging tower. on the far side of the clearing a fairly obvious herd path led up to the highpoint and a short distance beyond to a small (think amc huts) wind turbine. had it been a nicer morning it would probably have been worth exploring more to the south where there are potential cliff/ledge views. i doubled back down the same way noting many old footings and metal posts lying around the road. the heat stroke trail heading towards sugar is more of a trail and less of a road with some mud in places. i then picked up smittys trail which headed up most of the way to the top of sugar. from the height of land on the trail it was only about a .1 mile bushwhack with a solid game path. i noted a couple possible summit bumps one of which seemed to correspond with the spot summit mark on the usgs. i returned back to the atv trail and followed the same trails back to 110. i believe the trail over sugar can also be accessed from gorham which would probably make a shorter hike if just looking to hike that peak. a few black flies when standing still.
a map of the atv network in this area can be found here: http://www.nhstateparks.org/uploads/pdf/Jericho-Mtn_Trail-Map_Jericho-Tract.pdf
equipment: nothing in particular.
comments: with recent talk about the 5-6 wind towers going up on jericho mountain i figured now would be the time to get up there. preparation is already clearly underway and i believe at least one 3 turbine cluster already has the go ahead. while out there it made sense to get up to sugar as well which made for a solid day of walking on the atv trails. given the on and off rain and clouds views were limited, but nearby black crescent loomed most of the day and there were some nice looks to the northern end of the kilkenny ridge. on a clear day the views from a large clearcut on sugar to the north country must be spectacular. lots of interesting old infrastructure on the slopes of jericho. i kept feeling like there may have been an old ski area, but can't find any reference online to such a thing existing. hard to figure all of the cement footings and metal posts (with one section of cable). if anyone knows and wouldn't mind dropping me an email or message i would appreciate it. great day to be out.
bryan
[email protected]
