| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Galehead Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Beaver Brook ski trail, Gale River Road, Gale River Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Frost Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, February 7, 2013 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Gale River Road closed. Winter and summer lots both in great shape. The Gale River road at the bridge before the summer trailhead almost suffered a blowout during the last big rains as one of the side brooks jumped its banks and left some big ice chunks running up to and even on it. But fortunately there was minimal actual damage to the road bed. No snowmobilers or skiers were or have been out on their trails for some time due to the lack of snow down low. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Ice - Blue, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Easy crossings today as they are iced over mostly, but if hidden by new snow a boot or paw could find a hole in a couple of places; snowshoes likely would have no problems. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Gale R had a few stepover blowdowns down low, a couple blowdowns running with and to the side of the trail further up which are a minor nuisance, and one easy walk around higher up. Frost could use a brushing. The ski trail had one blowdown that was easy for hikers to step over, but I moved enough of it so a skier could get by skiing. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Pretty good day for Pepper. There was more powder snow than I expected, none down low but 2-3" up high, but I luckily worked a lot of Vaseline into his paws and their icing wasn't bad. He wore his now frumpy sweater as usual, but had no snowballing. There were at least several sets of new "dog" tracks on parts of the trail, and since I saw no human signs anywhere I thought coyotes but they didn't seem big enough for our eastern types. Maybe they were just some teenager coyotes skipping school. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
I used spikes from the car to the summit and back part way down before barebooting it. They were mostly unneeded and even a bit of a hindrance until a ways past the summer trailhead but it was too cold to stop knowing they would probably have to go back on in a while. My MSR snowshoes went along for the ride, and I would have preferred to have their traction from about midway on the hike and up, but it was too cold to stop to put them given I was doing okay in spikes. If the forecasts are correct, snowshoes will be essential. I'd expect lots of snow on branches sticking into the trail which will slow one down more. It felt odd to be on trails down low with little or no snow in early February, but up on the ridge it was winter, with several inches of powder snow on the trail and some on the spruce-fir branches.
The steadily worsening forecast for tomorrow's storm led me to take today off to do this hike, since Pepper finds 1-2' of snow tough sledding. We were the only ones on these trails today, and it was a great hike. It was cold (both camera batteries failed until I warmed them up in my pockets) but there was little wind and that only near the hut and above. Add in some brilliant sun on the snow with blue skies and it was quite pretty on the ridge. We spent over a half hour sitting on the benches at the hut eating our snacks without me adding clothes. Thanks for getting me out Pepper. |
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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: |
2013-02-07 |
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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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