| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Adams, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Great Gulf Trail, Osgood Trail, Osgood Cutoff, Madison Gulf Trail, Star Lake Trail, Buttress Trail, Six Husbands Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, June 29, 2014 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
About a half dozen vehicles at the Great Gulf parking lot on my arrival at 1 pm; only two remaining on my return at midnight. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
No worries |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Great Gulf Trail below The Bluff and Madison Gulf Trail in good shape. Buttress Trail badly overgrown with vegetation in several upper sections. Short stretch of Six Husbands very wet. Upper part of Great Gulf very wet, with lots of duck-under and climb-over blow downs that have been there for two seasons now, so I guess that the USFS considers these ok, given reduced trail maintenance in wilderness areas. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Encountered one attacking, snarling, anti-social dog that should have been on a leash and muzzled on the Great Gulf Trail. The owners blamed me and my walking sticks for their dog's aggressiveness. Another case of bad dog owners giving others a bad name, in my view. |
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 | Bugs: |
Black flies and mosquitoes were biting, but not the hoards one usually expects to encounter in the Great Gulf, especially given the complete lack of a breeze. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Found an insulated pad high on the Madison Gulf head wall; please post a description on this site if you think it is yours, and will get it back to you. |
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 | Comments: |
Hard to believe that I had never before hiked the upper Madison Gulf Trail, especially given that I worked closing crew at Madhouse when in college. But, we were pretty much doing laps up and down the Valley Way with blankets that week, so too little time to explore alternative routes to the hut. I am really impressed by the steepness of the Madison Gulf headwall; right up there with Six Husbands and Huntington Ravine Trails, I think. The short stretch of the Osgood Trail to the tent platforms and the Buttress Trail were also red lines for me; the Buttress Trail is also very steep, and a boulder scramble for long stretches, with the tread commonly obliterated by overgrown brush. But, the AMC trail crew had been through recently and elected to only remove the blow downs, and the odd branch here and there. I certainly paid the price by starting in the pm, which led to 4.5 miles of stumbling down the Great Gulf Trail in the dark. Certainly a lot more work hiking these northern Presi peaks one by one than doing a traverse. But, pleased to have another solo, after 60, pm grid peak checked off those three lists. |
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 | Name: |
HFKA Dr. D. |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2014-07-01 |
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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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