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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Carter Dome, NH
Trails
Trails: FR 233 road walk, Bog Brook Trail, Wild River Trail, Rainbow Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Sunday, January 25, 2015
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Parking for 15-20 vehicles at the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation-maintained Prospect Farm lot at the end of the plowed/maintained section of Carter Notch Road, ~2.0 miles southwest of where the the Bog Brook Trail intersects FR 233. There were two other cars in the lot when we parked. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes, Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Not an issue -- all are frozen or rock-hoppable. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Trails are in good shape. A few small blowdowns here and there, easily negotiated. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: We road-walked along the groomed-for-cross-country-skiing FR 233 from the parking area to where the Bog Brook Trail intersects, ~2.0 miles away, thereby bypassing the first segment of the Bog Brook Trail and the multiple water-crossings on it. (Light traction worked well here.)

(NOTE that the trailhead for the Bog Brook Trail has been relocated from near the end of Carter Notch Road to a new location a few tenths of a mile away on FR 233. There a signs indicating this relocation, and a brand-new sign on FR 233 at the trailhead.)

From there, we headed up the Bog Brook Trail to the Wild River Trail, to the Rainbow Trail to the summit of Carter Dome. These trails see little, if any, traffic in winter beyond an occasional X-country skier -- and that is much of their attraction. Be prepared to break trail, and often in a few feet of snow on the upper section of the Rainbow Trail. (Of course, the storm forecast for this week will wipe out the track we established.)

(NOTE also that the Rainbow Trail borders the Wild River Wilderness, is almost completely unblazed [there are all of five or six old Forest Service boundary tags and two old plastic X-country ski trail blazes for the entire trail], and can be difficult to follow in the winter, especially in the open birch glades that appear within the first half mile.)

Items of note: the birch glades along the Rainbow Trail are some of the finest in the White Mountains and a highlight of the hike; the views from the open alpine area on the Carter Dome sub-peak (~0.8 miles south of the summit on the Rainbow Trail) are incredible; and the final push to the summit from the sub-peak was a mess of frozen-in-place face-slapping softwood branches -- slow going breaking through this. Oh -- and yesterday's forecast high winds were not an issue on this relatively sheltered route.

Finally, thanks to Hallie and Mosey for their fine company -- and help with trail-breaking. It was a grand day out.  
Name
Name: Pancks and Tesco Heaney 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2015-01-26 
Link
Link: https:// 
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