| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Washington, Mt. Monroe, Mt. Franklin, Mt. Eisenhower, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop, Eisenhower Loop, Edmands Path, Mt. Clinton Road, Base Road |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, November 15, 2012 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked in the USFS lot. I apparently was the only one today. Saw 1 car in the smaller lot at Edmands. Both Clinton and Base Road were dry pavement. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Ice - Blue, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
No problems beyond making sure there's no ice on the rock to be stepped on. Microspikes helpful for the upper crossing on Ammo and one on Edmands. Lower Edmands crossings are bridged. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Removed two blocking blowdowns on Edmands. Edmands has some easy stepover/duckunders remaining, too big for small saws. None of the trails show any obvious signs of Hurricane Sandy. Edmands has seen some loving attention recently; the hardwoods section is a delight to hike. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Ammo right now is not a good dog trail going up and likely worse going down. I could put on microspikes in the upper sections but Pepper's claws didn't bite on the hard ice covered ledges in the am. I leased him, chose routes if available where he could get off to the side and spotted him when he couldn't, and that worked but it slowed us down and added some unplanned for adventure. A longer legged dog might have it easier but still I'd recomend dogs skip this trail with Jewell or Edmands available. The two significant ice flows on Edmands made him choose his route going down carefully for them but he was fine. Other than the foregoing it was an easy day for Pepper; the only thing slowing him down was me. Still it would be nice to find someone making microspikes for dogs. He did pant some going up Washington with dark fur in the sun but he could eat snow to cool off and get some water. In other parts of the trail he found some meltwater to drink. He only needed a little water on Washington in a bowl and that was it for the day. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Almost no wind, mild temps, and a full sun in the am above treeline all made for a summer type hike. I was in a T shirt and bare hands hiking up and lunching on Washington. The trails above treeline have some pockets of ice and even less hard snow, but for the most part they are just the usual rock to rock steps. I did posthole in a 20' section on Franklin's loop. I didn't use spikes for the above treeline sections. Spikes were essential, and some might feel even they aren't enough, for some ice flow sections in the upper Ammo and two sections on Edmands. there are a lot of sections where if one uses spikes they wish they hadn't, or vice versa, depending on how much one worries about wearing down their spikes or the trail. The road walk back wasn't bad especially with almost no traffic.
This is really a nice way to hike these peaks. We saw 2 guys on Washington who came up Lions Head, 1 other with 2 Goldens who seemed to have come up from the direction of Clay, and then two guys on Eisenhower who had come up Edmands. What a great day and way to spend a vacation day with the little dog. |
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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: |
2012-11-15 |
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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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