| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Monroe (attempt), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Crawford Connector, Mt. Clinton Road, Edmands Path, Crawford Path |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, April 4, 2013 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of parking at the Crawford Connector trailhead parking lot, off of Mt. Clinton Road near Route 302 and AMC Highland Center. Lot is almost completely devoid of snow, so all parking spots are clear. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Ice - Blue, Snow - Drifts, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Snow - Spring Snow |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Snow bridges are eroding fast at lower elevations. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trails are in good shape -- only blowdowns are the same couple of large duck-under ones reported on the Edmands Path and the one on the Crawford Path from last week. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Opted for a late start to head up Mt. Monroe from the Edmands Path/Crawford Path/Mt. Monroe Loop; wanted to let the high winds die down a bit. Did not anticipate some of the new 3-4 foot dense drifts on the Edmands Path on the final 0.6 miles, and ran out of time. Made it just about to Mt. Franklin before heading back. Returned on the Crawford Path around Mt. Eisenhower and then down to the Crawford Connector.
The pure white snow coverage from last week on the high peaks is eroding fast, and the trails are becoming boney with thick ice in some spots and bare rock in others. Add to that the thick crust on sideslope snow in some areas (Crawford Path around Mt. Eisenhower) and the deep new drifts every few feet, and you've got some, well, interesting conditions.
New snow from the past few days combined with redistribution from high winds from the same time has added about 1-2+ feet of dense drifts on the Crawford Path from about treeline near Mt. Pierce all the way to the Mt. Eisenhower Loop, with occasional rocky sections. Crawford Path past this point to Edmands Path is glaze ice and crust on angled sideslope of about 2-3 feet. Up toward Mt. Franklin, drifts alternating with blue ice on rock begin anew. At lower elevations, snow is softening rapidly with occasional spots of hard-pack ice.
Wore snowshoes the entire way and skirted the boney parts of the trail. Saw evidence of only a few other folks out today -- quite a few very deep postholes between Mt. Pierce and Eisenhower, easy to walk around.
Excellent day -- warm temperatures, brilliant blue skies, moderate winds, and several lenticular clouds. |
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 | Name: |
Pancks and Tesco Heaney |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2013-04-05 |
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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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