| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Bondcliff, Mt. Bond, West Bond, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Lincoln Woods Trail, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 12, 2016 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Huge paved lot with full facilities. Fee area. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All crossings were reasonable, although you may get wet feet standing on rocks 2-4" under water. The crossing on road grade of Bondcliff Trail and first two crossings of black brook are snow/ice free. The 3rd and 4th had some partial ice bridging on edges that is starting to weaken. The 4th crossing had some ice on rocks AM but was open PM. I noticed no real change in water levels AM to PM. (East Branch Pemi gauge was 650-700cfs for day). |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Lot of blowdowns and debris on Lincoln Woods and road grade portion of Bondcliff. Generally easy stepovers with I believe on duck under. The section of Bondcliff Trail that leaves road grades and angles over to Black Brook had very faded blazes and was a little ambiguous to follow because of the melt, open water and mud. Everything looks the same in any direction. If you are not familiar with this area take a little extra caution. There is a very large pine tree down about 2/3 of way up West Bondd Spur that fell over trail exactly where it takes a sharp right turn. There are a lot of tracks leading straight off trail here. Watch for footprints leading right for trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Fine. There is a fairly vertical scramble just below treeline on Bondcliff and the last 100 ft of West Bond is very steep and icy. Small or inexperienced dogs could have issues. |
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 | Bugs: |
A lot of snowfleas in the post holes up top. Quite a few moths around the headlamp walking out. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Lost one of my snow baskets early on. Feel free to toss if you found. Getting new poles soon. |
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 | Comments: |
Typical late Spring hike today. Lincoln Woods trail and the road grades of Bondcliff were a combination of ice, firmly packed granular, standing water and wet gravel. Quite a bit of mud and standing water in the section heading to Black Brook. The section along the brook crossings had more consistent ice and packed snow. The rock stair section after the 3rd crossing had a lot of ice and was slick, especially descending. The gravelly bluff section and the banks of the 4th crossing were also pretty tricky. Very firm side sloping and narrow snow AM and wet slippery snow PM. After the 4th crossing there is a much better snow pack which had some post holes but was generally firm. The scramble just before treeline was actually bare rock and fine. The Bondcliff ridge from just below the summit to the scrub just before summit of Bond is bare rock with a occasional patch of ice. The scrub on summit cone of Bond had quite a bit more snow, which stayed firm but was super wet and slick descending in the afternoon. Off the backside of Bond all the way to West Bond Spur is still very deep snow and heavily postholed. The track stayed firm all day though and was generally fine. The last 150 ft or so of West Bond summit had a lot of steep icy areas and was pretty dicey but doable in microspikes, especially coming down. I used my old micro spikes all day. It would be well worth having crampons should any of these areas harden. A mini/trail crampon would have been ideal traction for the day. Unless there is a lengthy warm up period I don't think snowshoes would really be necessary. Other than the back side of Bond (North) there really isn't a deep enough snow pack to post hole. |
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 | Name: |
DayTrip |
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 | E-Mail: |
bblanchette0709@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2016-03-13 |
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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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