| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Carter Ledge, Middle Sister, Mt. Chocorua, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Piper Trail, Nickerson Ledge Trail, Carter Ledge Trail, Middle Sister Trail, Camp Penacook Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, April 25, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Piper trail parking area in summer condition. There were a few cars there when we arrived and it was roughly half full when we left. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Anything significant had bridges over it. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
All signs in place. I recall a step over blowdown on Carter Ledge, and a major blowdown on Middle Sister a short ways above its intersection with Carter Ledge. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Pepper had fun; conditions were great from his point of view, although his fur underneath did pick up some small spruce branches which could be irritating. I could remove most; and cut out the rest. There are a few spots on the ledges where an inexperienced dog could get into trouble and one where a slip would lead to a long slide. At this spot I stopped to put on microspikes and even then proceeded only after trying a couple other options. Normally I would have wanted to get into position to spot Pepper in case he slipped, but Pepper kept coming down and going back up it in front of me. After I made it up I realized he had been trying to show me the best route, and it was but I had ignored it. We saw two other dogs, including Killian (sp?) who was clearly enjoying his hike. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Driving to our planned hike, I looked up at Chocorua and decided the Carter Ledges would be fine, so we did this hike. I'd say the trail is not quite ready for prime time, mostly because there are still some stretches of deep snow in its upper sections and Middle Sisters' that held us up today due to last night's cold, but which had been postholed a day or two earlier, and would be soft on a warm day. There was one tricky spot on the higher ledges but that was mostly due to the fact a slip could lead to a very long fall. For the most part the ledges were not only open but dry. Spikes were helpful in one spot on the ledges, and going down on the steeper sections of the Sisters. The monorail on Chocorua was still pretty solid. Piper going down is a tad slower than normal due to pockets of snow or water on its ledges, but almost people on Piper were in boots without spikes. We saw two snowshoers coming up from the Kanc. The Camp Penacook spur was pretty easy to follow; with some bare stretches to go with snow solid enough today not to posthole. The freezing temps overnight and well into the am up high combined with cloudy conditions clearly made for a better trail today. We were hit with a few flakes of snow, and the wind was stronger than forecast, but the views from the ledges and the summits were still great. Like so many hikes this winter into spring, I started it lamenting the weather and forecast, and finished having a wonderful day. I should know better. Pepper does. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
windriversjohn at gmail dot com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-04-25 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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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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