| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Isolation, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Rocky Branch Trail, bushwhacks, Isolation Trail, Davis Path, Isolation Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, January 30, 2014 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lot was mostly bare pavement with bits of ice, and a groomed ski trail section. |
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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: |
We avoided all but the last crossing. It is ice bridged but it is worth poking around with poles to avoid thin spots. The other crossings looked like they were bridged too. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Nothing new and nothing that is a big problem. There's a few big trees to duck under or around, and a few small ones leaning into the trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
There are multiple wet small drainages on the trails that could get the paws wet, but they are easily jumped. We talked with the guy who did a more typical Engine Hill whack and he said there were several spots where a dog would likely get their paws wet on it. Pepper did have some icing on the paws due to the new/drifted snow on the trails and our whacks where the snow was deeper, but he's used to it. As usual I applied Vaseline to his paws before hiking. The trails are fast and solid enough, the slopes are modest at worst, and it wasn't terribly cold. Pepper questioned our choices to do whacks when there was trail, but he had no real problems on these earlier despite the deeper snow and rougher footing for him. He loved getting bits of Georg's monster bagel. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
We started out in bareboots; the lowest section of trail is pretty solidly packed. But further up we shifted to snowshoes and stayed in them the rest of the hike, as there was new/drifted snow, and they provided very useful traction on the hike in, and a fun snowshoe on the way out.
Expecting the regular Engine Hill whack to have wet spots, and to try something new, we looked for Silverfoxe's much lower whack. We found one but we don't think it was his as drifted snow had covered tracks. The one we took does have some ribbons, and it works so that was okay. It left the Rocky Branch at a USFS sign and hit Isolation near the second crossing. On the hike back we followed another set of drifted in tracks but these too disappeared, so Georg just mixed a general direction with a workable path to produce a nice dry whack that hit Rocky Branch further up. We ran into one other hiker today, Phil, who did the Engine Hill whack a bit higher than the existing, staying around 3250'. So anyone hiking tomorrow has four choices that all work.
There was very little wind on Isolation today. We had a leisurely 40 minute lunch in the sun up there enjoying the great views. Temps were a bit milder as the day went on. It was a splendid day for Plan B, a great day to take off from work, the kind of day and trail that makes winter hiking so wonderful. Thanks Georg and Pepper for a wonderful hike. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
windriversjohn at gmail dot com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2014-01-30 |
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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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