Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
Hitchcock Mountain - North Peak, NH |
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| Trails: |
East Side Trail, bushwhack |
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| Date of Hike: |
Sunday, February 7, 2016 |
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| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
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| Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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| Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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| Water Crossing Notes: |
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| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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| Dog-Related Notes: |
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| Bugs: |
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| Lost and Found: |
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| Comments: |
east side trail was hard packed with some icy stretches. we followed it for a bit under 2 miles until we were west of the peak and started our bushwhack. crusty snow in the open woods down low. as we approached the small west spur of the peak there was very little coverage, but the snow cover came back above it. based on prior experience we knew the sw ridge of the peak was lousy so tried to trend north when possible. we threaded the needle pretty well as the woods transitioned into scrappier conifer forest and got up to around 3k with little difficulty. we ended up a bit farther south than we hoped so headed north on the contour, finding tougher, but still reasonable going, until we figured we were under the summit then went straight up the fall line in open conifers to the recognized highpoint. just to the south is a large radio tower clearing and helicopter landing pad and we enojoyed some nice views to the main peak of hitchcock, huntington, hancocks, owls head, garfield and southern franconia ridge. unfortunately the northern part of franconia ridge remained in cloud. quite a nice manufactured viewpoint. must be even nicer with a deeper snow base. given our good luck ascending we followed our tracks back with some deviations down low to stay in snowier woods. |
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| Name: |
bryan, Nordic Gal |
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| E-Mail: |
bryancuddihee@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2016-02-07 |
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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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