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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Goose Pond, Sugarloaf, Little Sugarloaf, NH
Trails
Trails: Bushwack (old Elwell Trail), Elwell Trail, Orange Trail (snowmobile trail), Goose Pond Loop, Green Trail (snowmobile trail), bushwack
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Friday, January 10, 2014
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: There is plenty of parking at Wellington State Park; the regular trailhead for the Elwell Trail is not plowed/maintained in the winter. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes, Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Crossings were not an issue. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Trails are in fine shape. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Given the warm-up and rain from last week, we were happy to see that the snow on trails had not suffered that much. Of course, that may change a bit over the next few days with the 40-degree temperatures forecast through mid-week.

We parked at Wellington State Park and walked directly across West Shore Road to the snowmobile trail -- the old Elwell Trail, prior to the construction of the current parking area and the trail's re-routing in the early 1970s (the 40-plus-year-old blazes have faded but are still quite visible).

From there, we followed the Elwell Trail to the Orange Trail (groomed snowmobile trail) to the Goose Pond Loop, then back to the Orange Trail and on to the Green Trail (groomed snowmobile trail), before bushwacking around the extensive logging operation near the Green Trail's intersection with the Elwell Trail (at this point, the Green Trail is concurrent with the Old Hebron Turnpike), back to the Elwell Trail and then up both Sugarloaves.

Where logging is taking place, the Green Trail will probably require re-blazing -- a number of the blazed trees have been cut down. We were not able to see how much logging had taken place on the Elwell Trail where it crosses the Old Hebron Turnpike, and whether re-blazing is required for that trail, as well.

We used light traction for all of the trails today EXCEPT the Goose Pond Loop and the Elwell Trail north of Sugarloaf (well, and our bushwack around the logging) -- these sections required snowshoes, as they were unbroken trail with anywhere from a foot to two feet of new snow under a thin crust.  
Name
Name: Pancks and Tesco Heaney 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2014-01-11 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share 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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