| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
South Carter, Middle Carter, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Nineteen Mile Brook Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, January 1, 2013 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The 19 Mile Brook trailhead had just filled when we got there around 9 am, so we parked at Great Gulf. A few more cars parked just off the road at 19 Mile after us; we were the only ones at Great Gulf. Neither lots were sanded; Great Gulf was nicely plowed. I borrowed an AWD to make sure I could get out of Great Gulf if needed, and it probably helped. I brought some sand just in case. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Bridged or step overs. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Numerous bendovers between the peaks, a few on Carter Dome. I took out maybe 2 dozen of the worst but there's still enough to make for a lot of dunking under, twisting around or pushing one's way through. There's a few on Carter Dome but Pepper had done enough, so I left them. The trail bed on 19 Mile is solid and smooth, pretty good but softer on Carter Dome (great for a downhill boogie), and pretty decent over to Middle Carter. There was drifting when we went over so my guess is there will be some overnight tonight. From the view past Middle Carter over to and down Imp and the Dodge cutoff it is at least broken based on Larissa & Rob's route. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Pepper had fun. He did have some icing on his paws and he did get chilled when I stopped to long to cut blowdowns, but as soon as we moved he was fine. I applied a lot of Vaseline to his paws which I'm sure helped. The main problem using the Great Gulf parking area is the road walk. He was on a leash and the traffic wasn't bad, but the salt on the road can't be good on the paws although the Vaseline helped. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
The Carters may have the best hike today, as the Presidentials and/or wind direction sheltered them quite a bit from the wind, and the summits were not only in the clear but under deep blue skies with sun and occasional clouds. The views of the Presidentials were fabulous. I drove up knowing the higher summits forecast was awful, and the winds and drifting snow on the drive matched it. I figured there was a good chance the hike would be cut short, but on hitting the packed and sheltered trail after the road walk, I just knew it was going to be a great day, and it was.
We passed a group and one other hiker on the way up, and then saw them again on the way back plus a couple others. It was so nice to be able to visit some with Rob and Larissa who had come up the Imp trail, and were heading up to Carter Dome so that trail, already in good shape, should be nice indeed.
Thanks Pepper for a great start to the New Year. |
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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: |
2013-01-01 |
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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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