NewEnglandTrailConditions.com
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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Hale, NH
Trails
Trails: Zealand Road, Hale Brook Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Friday, March 3, 2017
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Lots of parking at 302 lot. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Ice - Blue, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Postholes 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes, Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Lower crossing on Hale Brook open but easy to hop over. Upper crossing fully bridged and quite stable. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: 1 blowdown on Zealand Road. ~3 decent-sized blowdowns on Hale Brook. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Wore snowshoes car-to-car, and I'll admit they were crying a little on Zealand Road - lots of ice to start and some intermittent bare road stretches, but the snow cover increases as one makes her way towards Hale Brook. In sum, much more suited for light traction. I'm no skier but if I were, I figure skis would have been equally as sad as my snowshoes were on the road.

Hale Brook: slow going... i.e. If you elect not to wear snowshoes, be prepared for a potentially hearty/post-holey crawl (heck, I was crawling both up and down the mountain even in my snowshoes). Think breakable crust and navigating extended stretches of posthole minefields, made even more exciting when you hit the "sidehill" section. Based upon footprints (err, postholes), the lone soul who attempted to bareboot today turned around before the first water crossing. Smart fellow/gal.

All in all, a fun adventure though. Apparently I dodged the high-winds-and-crazy-wind-chills-that-were-predicted as it was calm as can be throughout my hike :)  
Name
Name: LRiz 
E-Mail
E-Mail: larisa [dot] dannis [at] gmail [dot] com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2017-03-03 
Link
Link: https://www.strava.com/activities/886541335/overview 
Bookmark and Share 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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