| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Tecumseh, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Mt. Tecumseh Trail, Sosman Trail, ski trails |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, December 4, 2013 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of room on trailhead side of ski area parking lot one toward the end of the day. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Blue, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All three were rock hoppable |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Quite a few new blowdowns on Sosman in the past week and a half, but all are cleaned up now. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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|
 | Comments: |
Hodgepodge of icy conditions this afternoon/evening.
First quarter of a mile of trail was quite icy (uneven ice from footbed snowpack melt and freeze), but I stumbled through without Microspikes. The ice wasn't too bad in the open woods between crossing two and crossing three. After crossing three, one could put on Microspikes (black ice, blue ice, frozen granular, a dusting of snow thrown in). Snowpack increased to maybe an inch by 3,300 feet in elevation.
New drainage has reduced the blue ice bulges, however there are a few small ones in sections were the trail hasn't been repaired. Nonetheless, I was able to bareboot to the summit. Had I descended this way, I would have put on my Microspikes.
Nice views of the white Presidentials, as well as a so so sunset display from the summit loop of the Sosman Trail.
Sosman Trail on the ridge had a few areas of black ice, as well as maybe an inch of snowpack/frozen granular. I was able to bareboot this stretch without much issue.
The ski trails on the left (looking downhill) are open (with the exception of the one at the hiking trail viewpoint), but the ones on the right haven't been touched with snowmaking yet. I needed Microspikes to descend the upper portion, and would continued with them if I stuck to the access road (lots of black ice). However, going down the grassy ski trails was relatively smooth sailing, as there was little ice to deal with. I don't know what the technical protocol is this time of year on those closed trails, but I would suggest that if you're not on any ski trails that are open or in the process of being opened (ie snowmaking), then there shouldn't be much of an issue. Due to USFS pushpolling though, signage claims one has to have a pass to walk on the ski trails during ski season, a la Wildcat. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2013-12-04 |
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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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