| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Garfield, Galehead Mountain, South Twin Mountain, North Twin Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Gale River Road, Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Frost Trail, Twinway, North Twin Spur, North Twin Trail, herd path |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, December 31, 2012 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Gale River Road and Haystack Road closed. We parked at 5 corners since others warned about towing at the Gale River Rd lot (we did see 2 cars there this morning). Spotted a car at the end of Little River Rd - lot was plowed. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Small crossings on Mt Garfield trail starting to have snow bridges but not sure how solid they are. Coming down North Twin the major crossing is snow bridged. Herd path avoided the rest. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Bunch of leaners on Garfield Ridge - cleaned up a couple where the trail was obscured. Lots of leaners on North Twin Trail - cleared about 15 and one really nasty mess that was a crawl through tunnel. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw none. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Nice packed trail heading up Mt Garfield. Cold gusty winds at the summit. Followed the drifted remnants of a track (few days ago?) across the Garfield Ridge, breaking out the 6-10" that had fallen since. Track is still a bit loose but it's broken out now.
At Gale River junction, surprised to see such minimal traffic. Saw one set of tracks heading up to Galehead. Was nice to meet Becca near the start of the Frost Trail. Our hearts sank a bit when we saw the steep trail up to South Twin had apparently seen no traffic since the storm, but with some effort we managed to break the trail up the steeps and were well-rewarded at the South Twin summit to see a nice snowshoe track headed to North Twin and down. Near the Little River crossing, we caught up to the hearty trail breakers, Hiker Ed and Sandy, who had done a tremendous job breaking the trail. Thank you! The crossing is bridged right beside the downed log. The rest of the way out is nicely packed - especially once the skier traffic from the Fire Wardens trail on Hale comes in.
A fun and challenging day to wrap up our vacation week...
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|
 | Name: |
Jeff & Karine |
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 | E-Mail: |
Klossner.jeffrey(at) gmail (dot) com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2012-12-31 |
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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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