| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Hale, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Herd path, North Twin Trail, Firewardens Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 15, 2014 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Little River Road was plowed to the end, but not too cleanly at the very end. There's room for maybe 8 cars if organized neatly. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction, Skis |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Bridged or buried. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A couple of small blowdowns, but overall, the FWT is in amazing shape. The herd path along the river was clear, as was the North Twin Trail. The biggest obstacle is hopping over / crawling under the gate at the start of the hike off Little River Road. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
We saw two HUGE husky type dogs (one wearing a pack) who were loving the new snow. The trails right now are clear enough for them. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
We found a small women's jacket, which we promptly lost again a short while later. : / Fortunately, we encountered the owner and told them about where to locate it. |
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 | Comments: |
Little River Railroad herd path, North Twin Trail, abandoned Fire Warden's Trail
This was originally going to be a Willey Range traverse, but with the sketchy forecast, a friend and I opted for something different. While the summit of Hale isn't anything great, then abandoned FWT is a favorite route. The forecast kept going back and forth with the rain, but we decided to go for it. As luck would have it, the rain came as soon as we got back to the car. The climb up included clearing skies and bright sunshine, but the clouds returned later.
The turn onto the FWT was very easy to spot with the current snowshoe track. No one had continued straight on the North Twin Trail, so if you're heading out to the Twins that way, you may have some work to do.
A group of skiers had gone out and broken the trail two days before, so the hard work was done after last week's snowstorm. They had stopped at 3,500 ft. however, so I wasn't sure what we'd encounter at that point. We met a hiker coming down who had helped finish the job, for which we were grateful. Snowshoes were needed the entire route, as the trail was broken but not well consolidated. I imagine it's crusted over now with yesterday's drop in temperatures.
The climb up through the birches was very pleasant as always. The viewpoint of the Presidentials seems to be grown in quite a bit, even from when I was here a year ago. I recall it being much clearer. Not that we could really see the Presis anyway, they were mostly in the clouds.
We popped out at the summit and stayed briefly to get some photos, but then ducked back down into the trees as the wind was picking up. After a bite to eat, it was an easy cruise back down to the North Twin Trail, then the flat walk out to Little River Road. |
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 | Name: |
KenM |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2014-03-17 |
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 | Link: |
 https://flickr.com/gp/kmacgray/vsR123/ |
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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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