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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Pemi Wilderness, NH
Trails
Trails: Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Ethan Pond Trail, Thoreau Falls Trail, Wilderness Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, East Side Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, February 28, 2015
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Plenty of parking spaces at both the Rt. 302 lot about 0.3 mile from the beginning of Zealand Road and Lincoln Woods on Rt. 112.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Standing/Running Water on Trail 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Skis 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Some ditches, open seeps, puddles, and minor streams 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: There are a few blow downs on the Thoreau Falls Trail, so come prepared for some acrobatic maneuvers to bypass these. The surprisingly many open ditches, seeps, puddles, and minor streams are probably because we have not had any dense snowfalls this winter to consolidate into snow bridges. We would have been hooped without the Thoreau Falls bridge.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Did not see any dogs on the route this year, which would have been inhumane given the deep the post-holing. 
Bugs
Bugs: None!  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: Surprisingly, nothing lost, but our sanity. 
 
Comments
Comments: The 2015 annual armadillo Pemi ski-through was our 28th event since 1982 (we missed a few years for lack of snow). Zealand Road and Zealand Trail were well packed out to Zool hut, trail breaking was fairly easy on Ethan Pond Trail through Zealand Notch as others had been through recently, and there were fairly recent uphill ski tracks on the steep section of Thoreau Falls Trail that ended along brook not far beyond base of falls (so these 3 or 4 folks must have skied down and climbed back up for whatever reason). The remaining 5 miles of the Thoreau Falls Trail appeared to be unbroken for the past several weeks, and consisted of 4 to 5 feet of structureless sugar snow (depth hoar from weeks of equi-temperature [ET] snow metamorphism from the continuous cold temperatures without any rain or sun crusts to strengthen the snowpack). This part took nearly 5 hours to break out, including a couple of lengthy sections where we lost the corridor and found ourselves first too low near the bottom of the falls, and then too high on the east slope of Thoreau Brook. We eventually found the corridor for the steep up and down section on the so-called high-water variation about 2 miles below the falls, followed by another mile or so of tedious ups and downs, before finding the generally flat open railroad grade to Thoreau Bridge over the East Branch. No one had broken beyond about 4 miles from Lincoln Woods, so we had to break out the Wilderness, Cedar Brook, and about a mile of the East Side Trails also. Many of us had problems with our NNN bindings icing up, especially when we did not take off our skis for all water crossings, as when we were forced to take off the skis, it was difficult deicing and clicking back into the bindings. Also, the snow conditions made nearly impossible waxing for those of us stupid enough not to go with waxless skis. Temperatures for our 7:40 am start at the Rt 302 parking lot in Twin Mountain were about 4 below 0 F (temperatures were much greater at higher elevations because of an atmospheric inversion), rose to the low teens around the middle of the day, and were below 0 F again at Lincoln Woods for our finish, between about 8 and 11 pm (12.3 and 15.5 hours total elapsed time, for the various subgroups of skiers). Overall, probably our most difficult snow conditions since 1982. Track should be now in the best condition that it has been all winter, despite the diversions up and down on the upper part of the Thoreau Falls Trail that need to be straightened out.  
Name
Name: HFKA Dr. D 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2015-03-03 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense.

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