| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Hale, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Herd path, North Twin Trail, herd path, Firewardens Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, February 2, 2014 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Haystack Road closed. On Little River Road, the cars were parked nose in to the left when we arrived rather than the more usual around the edges. It worked. Road in was sanded. |
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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: |
Rock steps for the one minor stream. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Great for an "unmaintained" trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Being the first one up after new snow in mild temps, Pepper developed snowballs on his legs, for the first time this year really. He's used to it though. It is unlikely it would be problem tomorrow. There are some slush spots on N. Twin and its winter herd path, and a couple of open water places, where paws can get wet and set the stage for later icing up higher. Otherwise it is an easy trail for dogs with gentle grades, no ledges or rock sections. There were no snowmobilers active today. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Great hike for a late start. Used spikes to FW and part way up, but switched to snowshoes as the snow depth increased for traction. There was less than 1" of new snow down low, and the mild temps had softened it and melted it off the trees. But by 3000' there were 3+" new snow, with some drifting, and snow on the branches. This snow was sticky to start but higher up it lost that. The packed path was hidden in places, but the old road is easy to follow. The white birch glades were, as they usually are, beautiful in winter. There were some deeper drifts in the last 100 yards or so to Hale's summit. It was a fun and fast snowshoe down in the upper section. I kept snowshoes on until we were off FW. At the moment one could bareboot the entire hike, and probably do so churning it up but without postholing, especially after an overnight freeze, but the upper trail's new snow wasn't really packed by us, and my guess is Evo Ascents or the like would give very useful traction going up, and be more fun on the descent. The Fire Warden's trail is just a great snowshoe trail. It could be awesome after a big snowfall mid week, a nice reward for the hard work it would take to get up it. |
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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: |
2014-02-02 |
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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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