| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Chocorua (attempt), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Champney Falls Trail, Piper Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, January 28, 2017 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All bridged |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The signage below treeline was great. Above treeline, the cairns were small and spaced out. Presumably, most of the blazes above treeline were covered by snow and ice. Either way, it wasn't particularly easy to follow the trail up there. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
The trail was well-packed up to Champney Falls. Thereafter, it got pretty choppy. The track was very narrow and frozen solid, so we didn't think snowshoes were a viable option. We wore spikes up to treeline and then switched to crampons. It was a combination of blue/crusty ice with trace amounts of fresh snow up there. Winds were strong, so we didn't scramble the final few meters to the summit. We switched back to spikes below treeline. We were the first ones up and saw 25+ people as we headed down, so the trail was much smoother on the return, although it was still narrow.
I think the entire trail would be doable with microspikes on a calm day, but the crampons were nice insurance with the wind. We had a great day out, even though we didn't technically summit. |
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 | Name: |
KW |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2017-01-29 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.instagram.com/p/BP07f0wFJPs/?taken-by=kiahawalker |
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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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