| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Carrigain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Signal Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, December 16, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The road in to the "summer" trailhead parking was in fine shape, no snow or ice, just good ol' gravel. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Blue, Wet/Slippery Rock |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Main crossing on current trail just rock hops. The two crossings on the discontinued section where Carrigain Notch intersects lack good rocks but today they were still easy due to low stream flows. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
One blowdown; I trimmed enough branches on it to open up the trail. It appears someone has added some blockage to keep hikers on the trail up by one of the wet/ice ledge sections which is good for most of the year, but in winter it sometimes is safer to take the short bypass. All the old decking at the tower is stacked on the summit. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Fun day for Pepper, he even had a short sip n dip down low. Four paw drive works well on any ice patches. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
The lower trail was clear and fast; like a fall day. There was a dusting of sugar snow starting as soon as the trail began its climb up the side of the peak, and it slowly increased to a full coating of the trail, which made things a bit slick but going up it wasn't a big deal. There's some ice in the usual 3 or so ledge drip areas. some snow had accumulated on branches which produced some "rain" when the sun hit them. On the hike done I put the spikes on thinking I wouldn't have to slow down to avoid a risk of slipping, but they actually slowed me down since there was so little snow, so I took them off. The snow coating was melting/sublimating wherever the sun could get at it as well. I still managed to slip a few times on bare rocks in the lower part of the climb on descent when daydreaming. All in all it was almost as easy as an October hike. I was tempted to go down Desolation and back via Carrigain Notch; if I had my Hillsounds we would have gone that way.
We had another spectacular undercast up on Signal Ridge and the summit. This past month has featured so many of these from all sorts of peaks, not just Washington. There was almost no wind as well. What a great day to take off from work. Thanks Pepper for the Calendar Day excuse. We met and had nice couple of chats with the one other hiker who was thoroughly enjoying his first "winter" hike. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-12-16 |
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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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