| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
North Twin Mountain, South Twin Mountain, Galehead Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Herd path, North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Gale River Trail, herd path |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, April 7, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of space at both Beaver Brook and the end of Little River Rd. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Wet/Sticky |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All still well bridged for now |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Besides the low hanging branches from all the snow, no major issues - few stepovers on the lower Gale River trail where the old trail is broken out. The top of the steeps on North Twin trail could use some more blazes - with the current snow depth, the corridor was hard to follow in a few places. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Hannah had a great day - her coat got wet from the fresh snow but it was warm enough where she never got cold. Plenty of pine marten and other critter tracks to investigate. |
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 | Bugs: |
Surprisingly saw a few mosquito-type ones down low along with some snow fleas |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Started with 3-4" of new snow down low, not too sticky in the morning and fairly easy trail breaking. Once on North Twin trail, not much of a visible trench visible in parts (looks like the trail had been traveled 2-3 days ago), but trail was still fairly easy to follow - after the first crossing, it meanders around and over the side brook a bit - after the start of the Fire Warden's trail (which didn't appear to have seen traffic in at least a few days) but before the second crossing, we crossed over Little River to the real trail which ended up being a good choice - nice wide level trail with a faint trench, unlike the herd path. Crossed back at the second crossing and followed the real trail the rest of the way. New snow depth increased to 6-8" up high and might have hit 10-12" in spots on the ridge - a few of the steeps heading to North Twin had more snow piled up and were difficult to get up cause the snow kept sliding and it was difficult to gain traction - poles very helpful for these sections. We started in the clouds but broke out with some sun and undercast approaching North Twin. As usual plenty of snow heading to South Twin but overall not too many issues following the trail. Even more sun and great undercast views form South Twin - took a 15 minutes break, probably the longest break on any summit this winter!! Quick trip with good trail breaking down to the hut. Frost trail was fairly easy to follow if you know pretty much where the trail is supposed to go - the sign at the start is totally buried. Galehead summit cairn also totally buried but got some great views just before the summit from the deep snow pack. Uneventful trip down Gale River trail, overall it had a bit less snow than North Twin trail, and there was even a few open spots on the edges of the Beaver Brook XC trails. Forecast ended up being much better than forecasted and we didn't see a soul all day - can't beat that - thanks Tim and Hannah for a fabulous day!!
Snowshoes a must! |
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 | Name: |
Hikes with Hannah |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-04-07 |
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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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