| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
North Twin Mountain, South Twin Mountain, Galehead Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Herd paths, North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Frost Trail, Garfield Trail, Gale River Trail, Gale River Road, Beaver Brook XC Ski Trails |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, February 19, 2017 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Both Little River Road and Beaver Brook were well plowed, if a little icy. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
As noted by rocket21 & Nordic Gal, the Little River crossing uses the river bed for an uncomfortably long time, especially during sunhit on a warm day! No issues for the folks I crossed with, but may change rapidly. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The usual assortment of broken trees (due to snow load). |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw Bernie the Bernese Mountain Dog and his peeps. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Single dark gray snowshoe at the N. Twin Trailhead. |
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 | Comments: |
After breaking trail for the past few hikes, I was ready for a simpler day. Thanks rocket21 & Nordic Gal!!! Just put my head down and stepped forward.
As noted by rocket21 & Nordic Gal, the Little River crossing uses the river bed for an uncomfortably long time, especially during sunhit on a warm day! No issues for the folks I crossed with, but may change rapidly.
The trail near the summit of North Twin does have some derivations, but I managed to follow the "canonical" route, which served me well. It will require fixing at some point, though.
Dug out the outlook sign near the true summit. North Twin spur sign was clearly visible.
Some really cool sastrugi formations up on the ridge. Wavey and billowy shapes, as well as every snowshoers' favorite: spruce trapezoids!
North Twin Spur was the hardest part of the trek, since it was still quite drifted and unconsolidated, unlike the rest of the trails, which had been tracked well and set up nicely. Lots of face slappin' branches. I was impressed with the route-finding of rocket21 & Nordic Gal. Bravo!!
South Twin was windy, but it was warm. Indeed, I had a short sleeve wool shirt for the ascent of N. Twin, then just a light pullover for the rest of the day. The breeze just kept me dry.
Twinway was steep but not terrible. A few sprucetraps.
Galehead had seen a lot more traffic. Well tracked out. Everyone had snowshoes on, until the last 2 miles on the descent. Four guys were barebooting up.
No traffic visible on the Twinway toward Guyot, though I know two of the four folks behind me were heading over the Bonds (Bernie's peeps). No traffic on Garfield Ridge west of the Gale River Trail junction either.
Long hike, but so much easier because of other peoples' work. Thank you all!!
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 | Name: |
icegulch |
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 | E-Mail: |
icegulch [at] gmail |
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| Date Submitted: |
2017-02-19 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.dropbox.com/sc/3vwy35ycfqc5smn/AAAkXUMJJ3VmlMwH_sHxwDoHa |
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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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