You Are Here: Pisgah State Park - John Summers Trail

We had a little more snow this week, but the southwestern area received the least from this latest system, so I headed back to Pisgah hoping to find some decent snowmelt. The answer to that was yes and no. I parked at the Kilburn Trailhead on Rt 63 in Hinsdale and was first car. A NH State Parks truck was ahead of me and a gentleman was gearing up heading out with some maintenance gear. I was later to find out this was Pisgah's sole employee Kim Nelson, who along with some volunteers has been working tirelessly to clean up the park after the Nor'Easter a couple weeks ago that really did some damage. I could see he had no traction on his shoes, but I decided to go with spikes. I bumped into Kim the first time halfway down Kilburn Road as he was clearing limbs from a blowdown and we chatted briefly. Once I reached the intersection with Kilburn Loop Trail, I took a left. Ironically, looking back it was a year to the day that I visited this area the first time. Very different trail conditions then as I look back at pictures of snow free trails! At the intersection for Town Line Trail, I stayed right on Kilburn Loop Trail and headed up towards the Pisgah Ridge Connector, which I needed up to Pisgah Ridge Trail. As I got further into the park, the snow became very mushy (mashed potatoes as I like to call it) and a little deeper, which was tough going in just spikes.. so I did my first traction change into snowshoes, which made going a little easier. Pisgah Ridge Connector climbed gently, then moderately up to the Ridge. No views except over a marsh alongside the trail. The snow was mostly ankle deep and very soft. There was one section where I got a bit confused as the blazes seemed to go up a steep little section with pink flagging, but my digital download showed it continued straight. I followed the pink flagging on my way up. It was quite steep, and I was concerned about descending in the slippery slush, so I decided on my return I'd see if I could follow the lower line showing on the map. I reached my turnaround point and headed back, this time taking the lower line. There were no blazes, but the pathway was obvious until I hit the marsh. The snow was very deep and it was very wet underneath. This makes me think they are rerouting the trail on higher ground. I passed a family on my way back down Pisgah Ridge Connector who had no traction with them at all, but were grateful I had broken a path out. I always carry at least spikes with me until well into Spring. You just never know what conditions you will find! Back at the pond, I took John Summers Trail which is a newer trail and not on all the maps, but is blazed and easy to follow (although I did end up off trail a couple times by making the mistake of following footsteps in the snow!) This is a pretty trail that stays alongside the pond for its entirety. I started to encounter much less snow and even a lot of bare ground, which made me think snowshoes were overkill, so I took them off and bare booted the remainder of the hike. Looking back, spikes would have been a better choice, but I was able to make it with care and quite a few slips! At the bottom of the pond is a bridge over a dam that made for a pretty (and loud) waterfall! I passed a few more groups in this area. I reached the intersection with Kilburn Loop Trail and headed back towards Kilburn Road. The snow had a decent pack for most of it, which in spikes would have been great. Without and with the day warming and the sun coming out, actually made it quite slick. There was also a lot of water on this section of the trail. I encountered Kim again on this portion of trail with another volunteer at another blowdown! I thanked them for their time out, there really is a lot of damage to the park, but so far I haven't encountered anything that has stopped me, just step overs, duck unders or skooch arounds! Back at Kilburn Road and a gentle climb back up to the parking lot and my car. 2 more trails checked off my spreadsheet!

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