Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
Mt. Garfield, NH |
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| Trails: |
Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail |
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| Date of Hike: |
Friday, May 16, 2014 |
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| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The road is open!!! We parked at the lot next to the trailhead with no issues. One other car was there when we left. We drove the whole road after our hike, and were surprised at the number of campers already set up and enjoying the day! |
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| Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow - Spring Snow |
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| Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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| Water Crossing Notes: |
They were all rock hoppable but just barely - and with the upcoming rain, I would highly recommend water crossing shoes to save yourself wet feet! |
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| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The first couple miles of Mt. Garfield trail is pretty littered with downed trees - but all are easily avoidable. The upper half of the trail is very muddy and wet - some more water diverts would be hugely helpful. |
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| Dog-Related Notes: |
We saw one dog on the trail. He hadn't reached the icy part yet and I would think he could have a bit of a struggle, it is very slick in places. |
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| Bugs: |
A couple buzzing around but nothing too irritating yet! |
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| Lost and Found: |
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| Comments: |
We were thrilled to see that the road was opened despite the report from WMNF that it would not be (thank you for the tip off Bob n' Geri!). Drove all the way to the lot with no road issues. Started of on a dry trail before coming to the 3 (ish, everything was very wet in this area) river crossings. Today they were passable, but with raining impending and how wet the trail was I would think it could be a while before they are easily passable again. The trail turned to wet rock/leaves as the rain started coming down on us. It is very muddy and wet in several areas as well - plan to get wet, muddy feet. Roughly a mile from the summit the ice began, we put on microspikes and had no issues with it. The GRT to the summit was icy but also had a bit more snow. Nothing like what we experienced on the Bonds-Zealand, this was very manageable with a semi-solid monorail to walk on. The actually summit is completely free of ice and snow. We met 3 other hikers today and on our descent we met a beautiful moose! Despite getting soaked we enjoyed our day out and our finish of 48x2! |
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| Name: |
A & A |
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| E-Mail: |
annieo23@comcast.net |
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| Date Submitted: |
2014-05-16 |
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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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