| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Whiteface, Mt. Katherine, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Dicey's Mill Trail, Tom Wiggins Trail, Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, McCrillis Path, Tilton Spring Path, Pasture Path, Red Path, road walks |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, December 14, 2014 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Ferncroft parking has been plowed; it is a mix of bar ground and roughish ice. The road in is ice but not slippery. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The one major crossing was on the Tom Wiggin trail. It is open; the rocks were mostly not icy and solidly placed (choose wisely) but wet boots may be likely. The others are hops or jumps. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Red Path has been re-routed around the house with the funny little cairns; it is well paint blazed. I mostly followed bootprints up Tom Wiggins and in one spot they got off trail a very short distance. There are a few bendovers that require ducking or going around a bit on Blueberry Ledge. The big blowdown where Tilton Spring intersects McCrillis Path was addressed - nice work. Tom Wiggin sign where it intersects Blueberry Ledge is a bit down the trail and could be missed by someone coming down Blueberry Ledge. All signs otherwise in place. Trails, as expected in WODC country, had no brushiness issues. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Pretty good day for Pepper. He could walk on the crusty snow up Tom Wiggins, the ledges were pretty easy with the snow on them, and we met few hikers all day. I treated his paws with Vaseline, and tried to keep him out of the numerous stretches of standing water on Dicey's Mill (and later Blueberry Ledge) by having him walk to the side, but he got his lower legs soaked on the major stream crossing and a minor one immediately thereafter on Tom Wiggin. He never really iced up, however, on the hike up, and on the hike down temps were warm enough to melt anything he did have on him. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
I expected Blueberry Ledge and Dicey's Mill to be well trodden by barebooters; there wasn't much snow down low. Anyone starting a hike on either will want to start in bareboots due to the thin snow and many bare areas. I was, however, surprised Tom Wiggin had been used, and it was postholed its entire length. I used my Evo Ascents which worked great in the lower half of the trail where it is wider and very crusty. In the narrower and steeper upper section though I couldn't avoid the postholes in places and I should have given up and switched to boots since it was too crusty to smooth out. Blueberry Ledge was a rough surface mix of bootholes and untouched crusty snow, making snowshoeing more work than expected, but by going up and down I made a decent trench for much of it. The MSR crampons/rails made the ledges pretty easy; there was enough crusty/solid snow on them without ice to enable us to climb up and down them pretty easily. Barebooters had done them too without apparent problems. I don't think spikes would have actually been all that helpful. The McCrillis et al paths have 1-2" of crusty snow and are easily barebooted. There is a lot of snow/ice on trees in the higher elevations, so expect some "rain" when the sun gets to them in warmer temps. There were not a lot of hikers out today; maybe 6 cars in the lot all day. There were some clouds to start, but when the low sun lit up the upper ridges, in their frosted whites, against the deep blue sky, it was beautiful. By later afternoon it was quite pleasant; I didn't need any gloves. Today's hike was Plan B, but as always, it is great to be in the mountains with Pepper. |
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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: |
2014-12-14 |
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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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