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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Isolation (attempt), NH
Trails
Trails: Rocky Branch Trail, bushwhack
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Sunday, February 22, 2015
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Plenty of parking; the only other cars were skiers.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: We didn't make it that far 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: A few duck-unders 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: A few people had walked dogs on the lower part of the trail by the time we returned.  
Bugs
Bugs: Nope 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: After getting run off the road by a snowplow in the morning and losing a couple hours of daylight dealing with that, we abandoned our plans for the northern Presis and decided to see if Isolation was packed out from the snow the night before. It was not. I told my friend there was an 80% chance we would lose the bushwhack and have to turn back. She thought we should try, and I am desperate to bag Isolation, so what the heck.

We took turns breaking trail; 1mph through increasingly deep powder (6-8") until we reached the sign for the Engine Hill bushwhack. At certain points on Rocky Branch we weren't sure if we were still on the trail, but there was a trough so we went with it. There were the remnants of a track to follow as we turned onto the bushwhack, but it became blown over in the birch glades. The faint track split in three directions: one ended in a wall of fir trees; the other ended in giant hole; the third might have been a moose that decided to climb a tree, because it was small round footprints that just stopped.

We retraced our steps back to the Rocky Branch trail and out of curiosity followed a faint track that continued straight on the real trail. This turned into a slow wallow that ended in another giant hole. We imagined this poor soul finally saying to heck with it, and so did we. We followed our beautiful tracks all the way down.

If there is anyone out there who knows how to navigate the bushwhack and is planning a trip between now and 3/20, please let me know! I need to try again when there is a good track to follow.
 
Name
Name: Liz 
E-Mail
E-Mail: lizwyman at yahoo 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2015-02-27 
Link
Link: https:// 
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