| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Moriah, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Stony Brook Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, February 16, 2013 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Well plowed, un-sanded but easily driven parking area. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Snowbridged all but one of the smaller drainages has an open hole down to it that could catch a bare booter. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
One multi-branched walk around and several step overs. A couple small drainages are still running. There were a couple of holes in the packed trail bed over a drainage and between boulders on the ledges that one wouldn't want to step in. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Pepper was the mighty tough little dog today. We broke trail from near the brook crossing on up, sometimes in deep snow, and although we kept Pepper behind us, he developed considerable snowballs on his legs and armpits, and had to work hard in the unconsolidated snow. Vaseline kept his paw pads in good shape but the snowballs turned to ice. He happily hiked down the trail as a mini-schnauzer maraca, occasionally stopping to gradually reduce the hanging ice ornaments and percussive effects. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Down low the trail had been snowshoed, but only one old filled in track was left at the first/main stream crossing, and it ended at the second. The upper part of Stony Brook was a tiring trail break for Marty and me, in places often sinking to above the knees with back sliding on the slopes. But on Carter Moriah the snow was much less deep and crustier, and for a short but welcome spell the 3 Quebec hikers that had followed us did some trailbreaking. After that it was a nice snowshoe to the peak, with the sometimes dreaded ledges just below the peak a piece of cake for man and dog. With little wind and fogged in views we leisurely ate our lunches while Pepper chowed down on his snowballs. The snowshoe down was a delight; it made the hike. We met a few more hikers down the trail a ways, all in snowshoes. As we got down low and noted how much easier it was on a packed trail, I mentioned to Marty that I would pity the man who tried to go up the trail today in bare boots, and almost immediately we ran into one. It was pretty low on the trail which by then was more packed, but that mean it was also late to be starting up, though he knew enough to have a girlfriend who was using her snowshoes. It should be a great snowshoe tomorrow.
Someone with a dog came up Carter-Moriah from Gorham before we got there. The old piece of trail often used as the winter trailhead access, only had the single old and filled in snowshoe prints on it today.
The clouds started to lift as we worked our way down the trail but we never had any views of the Presi peaks. The trail breaking work and the fun snowshoe down are what made the hike special, in addition to having great companions, Pepper and my co-worker Marty. Thanks guys. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2013-02-16 |
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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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