TROUBLE SPOTS

PROBLEMS TO WATCH FOR NOW

The Cohos Trail is in good condition, generally, and is getting better. But there are some things to watch out for when you are on the trail now. Why not print out this information and keep it with you just to be on the safe side.

WHITE MOUNTAINS

The trails the Cohos Trail utilizes in the White Mountain National Forest are not marked or signed referencing the CT. To navigate, you must have a set of new CT maps and the guidebook or the Applalachian Mountain Club White Mountain trail guidebook and AMC maps. Follow the existing WMNF trail signs and you should be fine.

MOUNT EISENHOWER

The first edition of the guidebook states the Mt. Eisenhower Trail (CT) reaches the Crawford Trail (AT) on the Presidential Range ridgeline and "crosses over" the Appalachian Trail. This is not quite accurate. The CT hiker must turn left (south) at the AT and walk toward Mt. Eisenhower some 300 feet and then pick up the Mt. Eisenhower Loop on the right and then, almost immediately, the Edmands Path headed downhill to the west. The second and later editions of the guidebook have corrected this.

BARRIER PLATE BY THE MT. CLINTON ROAD

The first three editions of the guidebook indicate you should look for a barrier gate in the dogleg of the Mt. Clinton Road (once you come down off Mt. Eisenhower and into the valley). Walking northbound on the CT along this road, you will see two barrier gates on the left, one just before the dogleg turn in the road and one another 200 feet farther along and right in the middle of the dogleg. You must go to the second barrier gate, the one directly in the turn, and then pass behind it to the old railbed beyond.

OLD RAILBED AND BRIDLE PATH

Tend to stay to the west (right) when traveling northbound on the CT when you enter the old route of the bridle path and B&M railbed, which diverges south at a distinct dogleg in the Mt. Clinton Road. You will reach the little spur to Upper Falls eventually. Below the falls, the trail splits. Tend to stay to the right (west) in all cases. Either the old railbed or the bridal path will reach the vicinity of the Mt. Washington Hotel.

BLACK BROOK TRAIL CLOSED

The Black Brook Trail is closed for good. Take the Cherry Mt. Road north to the height of land and pick up the Cherry Mt. Trail on the left (west). If southbound, follow the Cherry Mt. Trail out to the Cherry Mt. Road and turn right (south), downhill.

SLIDE BROOK TRAIL AND CHERRY POND TRAIL CLOSED

The Slide Brook Trail (former Cherry Pond Link) and the Cherry Pond Trail have been closed until the last days of June 2006. Beaver activity and heavy blowdowns have necessitated the trails be closed until a good deal of work can be done on them.
Coming southbound along the Whipple Road (formerly the Old Turnpike Road), the trail entrance sign has been stolen, but there is a stake with a yellow painted top there. Half way between Route 115A and Route 116 (about half a mile) look on your left for the blaze post and for two tire tracks running into the woods on the left. Just inside the woods a bit you should see a yellow blaze on a tree. If you do not see a blaze shortly after leaving the Whipple Road, you are in the wrong spot.

THE KILKENNY

Follow the Starr King Trail and the Kilkenny Ridge Trail from Jefferson to South Pond in Stark. The trail is blazed in yellow paint much like the CT, but there are no CT signs in the forest there.

PERCY ROAD

At the entrance to the Nash Stream Forest on the Percy Road, a quarter mile from the Bell Hill Bridge, please DO NOT block the trail entrance with a car. Park the car to the east next to the old Stark landfill.

WEST SIDE ROAD/TRAIL AND SUGARLOAF ARM

At the junction of the West Side Trail (ATV) and the Sugarloaf Arm Trail, the State has erected a new gate at the entrance to the Sugarloaf Arm Trail to keep ATVers off the foot trail. Be sure to walk to and around the gate and go uphill. Do not stay on the level on the West Side Trail and walk westward.

GADWAH COUNTRY

As you near and then cross the bulldozer flat near Gadwah Notch, watch carefully for yellow blazes on trees AND rocks. Ferns and other vegetation can grow tall, so take your time in the area. Cross the flat toward Mt. Muise (in the east when hiking northbound). The trail will go straight for 200 or more feet and then begin to swing in a short arc to the north, cross over a low rise and flatten out. Moose trails can cause confusion, so take a tip from the yellow paint, not necessarily the moose paths. This section has received new work and several grade stakes with yellow painted tops to make the trail easier to follow.

THE KELSEY NOTCH TRAIL

Once beyond the Baldhead lean-to to the north, the trail is one of the least walked section of the CT. The trail has become much more distinct in the ground, however, and is quite easy to follow. You should still watch carefully for the yellow blazes on the trees at all times. Remember moose trails may make you believe you are going the right way, when, infact, they may go anywhere but along the CT. So watch for yellow paint. Bring a compass just in case. If you run into trouble, turn due north and bushwhack out to the abandoned Kelsey Notch Road always not more than a mile away. If you do have to bushwhack out (very unlikely), reach the Kelsey Notch Road and turn right (east) and you will get back on track just fine.

COL BETWEEN DIXVILLE PEAK AND MT.GLORIETTE

The old service road on Dixville Peak makes a very tight hairpin turn here. The CT does not follow the hairpin downhill into the valley. Instead, the CT takes the old ski area access way uphill a quarter mile to the ski lift towers at the Balsams Wilderness Ski Area on Mt. Gloriette. The signs have recently been upgraded and replaced.

TRAIL FROM SKI AREA TO TABLE ROCK

The wide grassy trail from the Balsams Wilderness ski area begins some 500 to 600 feet below the lift towers to the north. Stay to the high side of the ski trail until you see an opening on the right that cuts away from the ski area and stays high on the ridge. This trail is nearly a mile long and brings you to two close-together junctions with the Table Rock Trail and the Three Brothers Trail.

SANGUINARY MOUNTAIN

The new Sanguinary Summit Trail is open from the top of the Sanguinary Ridge Trail all the way to the vicinity of Mud Pond. It is a long three-mile ridge run. It was closed recently because a logging road was built into one section. That section now has yellow-topped posts set up in it. These posts will guide you back to the trail where it enters the woods both north and south of the logging road.
*Follow yellow ribbons where yellow blazes are not visible on the high route from the southern intersection of high and low routes northward up to the lean-to. No sense in repainting this section if it is going to be rerouted. (To clarify this ~ there is a new service road that will be built possibly this fall or this winter - making it senseless to reroute the trail at this time... we have opted to keep the trail as it is right now and when the new road and windmill have been installed, then we will know where to put the new trail - So follow the yellow ribbons, yellow-topped stakes or yellow blazing on the current trail.)

NATHAN POND

In the first edition of the guidebook, the copy says not to cross a snowmobile bridge on the north side of Nathan Pond. This is no longer correct. A second bridge was built in here several years ago. You must cross the bridge and continue westward. At a junction further on, there is a second bridge, but it is to the left (south) just off the trail. Do not cross this bridge unless you want to take an unmarked shortcut back to Dixville Notch. Instead, turn right uphill (if northbound) or left to the east (if southbound).
Please note, there are short cuts on the maps and notes about the shortcuts in the guidebook regarding the Nathan Pond area. Use the shortcuts if you need to make time or if conditions are very wet.

OLD FARM LANES

The old farm lanes and paths the trail uses at this time west and north of Coleman State Park, are blazed but the blazes are infrequent.

BEN YOUNG HILL TRAIL AND TOP OF BEN YOUNG HILL

The Ben Young Hill Trail has had a good deal of recent work and is in very good condition. It has had new yellow blazing put up and the treadway has been cleaned a great deal.
The CT has a gap in it at the top of Ben Young Hill. To reach Lake Francis, you must use an old gravel tote way off the top of the mountain down to the northwest to the height of land on Route 145 in Clarksville. Then you must walk two miles downhill to the Cedar Stream Road and then turn right (if you are northbound).

TRAIL IN PITTSBURG

Trail is not marked as yet in Pittsburg but is very easy to follow with the new set of maps. Once you enter the Lake Francis Trail (northbounding) always stay to the left at any intersection. You will reach the River Road with no trouble. Southbound? Always stay to your right at any intersection. You will reach the Bog Branch bridges and the Ceder Stream Road. At this writing, the bridge decks at Bog Branch have been restored and crossing is not a problem.

BIG GAP IN THE CT

The CT has a 10-mile gap in it. Once your reach Ramblewood Cabins and Campground or Eagle Pond (Mud Pond on some maps), the trail ends now. To reach East Inlet Road and the Route 5 snowmobile trail which the CT utilizes to reach the border, you must hike along Route 3.

MOOSE FLOWAGE AREA

The CT follows the Route 5 snowmobile trail all the way to the border. Pick it up just south of Deer Mt. Campground. It is an old, pleasant gravel-base road for three quarters of the distance north. Then the gravel disappears and the trail is simply a broad weed filled lane in the woods. It passes very close to Third Connecticut Lake and over the old log-earth corduroy bridge over the Connecticut River (tiny here). Soon it pops out right behind the US Customs station. Please note that, if northbound, stay to the right at all major intersections. Never head westbound off the main trail. Some right turns may take you down very short runs to little sandpits near the river. Just walk back to the main trail a minute and continue north. If southbound, stay left at all major junctions and you will reach Route 3 just below Deer Mt. Campground.

NORTH OF THIRD CONNECTICUT LAKE

As you move northbound past Third Connecticut Lake, the trail follows the Route 5 snowmobile trail right to the back of the US Customs station. The trail no longer turns to the northeast past the lake and runs out to Route 3. Beaver ponds and new growth have cut the trail off there. So take the good, weedy snowmobile trail right to the border.

AT THE BORDER

There is no need to check in at the Border Station unless you are returning from Canada. You must check in at the Canadian Station if you are continuing your hike into Canada. At the present time, insure that you have two photo (government issued) IDs on your person when trying to cross the borders.