| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Jefferson, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Jewell Trail, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop, snowfields |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, March 11, 2010 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Used the main lot as it was open and the lower had snow pushed into it, perhaps due to efforts to get snow off the road with the coming storm. On return there were many more vehicles but still open spots although we never saw anyone hiking or skiing on Jewell or over to the Cog. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Only the one with a wooden bridge. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Plenty of issues (see below) but most were probably off the actual trails on the current packed paths. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
A great day to be a mighty tough little dog. He could go anywhere above treeline, and did, and in the lower section he could go under almost all the soup strainers. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
braiding. At its worst there is a stretch of down/bent trees the beaten path (not the trail, it is somewhere else) twists around ending in three broken trees, and right after them it appears the trail continues on but it soon dead ends; the actual packed route is a sharp left partially hidden by a small tree. I microspiked to the lookout and switched to snowshoes while shedding some clothes. Once above treeline we could pretty much go where we wanted on the styrofoam snow although there is a path (or two) of snowshoes marks that can be followed. My snowshoe crampons were perfect as was Pepper’s claws. Almost no ice or exposed rock. On the way back the warm sun had softened the snow. The snow sometimes balled up on my snowshoe crampons, but I sure wouldn’t want to have been barebooting it risking drops into spruce traps with possible sharp “stakes”, not to mention the unacceptable damage to the packed path of postholing.
The weather was both sunnier and windier than forecast, although the wind was annoying only after we were on Gulfside past Clay, and it was at its worst on the way in around the col. On top of Jefferson by the cairn we were sheltered from the wind pretty well and had a leisurely lunch in the sun. We were lucky to run into one of the nice guys of the outdoor gear world, Chuck, who had hiked up Caps Ridge Trail after skiing up the road to the trailhead. He said some barebooter had previously gone in about a half mile from that trailhead before quitting, so he had to break trail in his snowshoes the rest of the way. He said he couldn’t find many signs of the trail and anyone who follows him will soon find that out. We saw 2 or 3 other hikers on Gulfside on our way out, 2 in crampons, but they didn’t seem headed for Jefferson.
It was a great day to be away from the work computers and out above treeline, especially knowing the weekend forecast. No downhill boogie due to taking in the views up high and ducking the eye pokers down below. Pepper had a ball since he could go almost anywhere above tree line, and he pretty much did checking out all the views, and he still got way ahead of me. Good thing I kept the car keys.
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
windriversjohn at gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2010-03-11 |
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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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