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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Jefferson, NH
Trails
Trails: Jewell Trail, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: The Ammo parking lot is now open and plowed. The winter lot just shy of the base station parking lot is now tagged with a "private property" sign and not plowed. Do not park there or you will be towed. Spoke with an employee who advised that hikers can park at the cog base station lot, walk inside and up the stairs and pay the office $10 to get a paper to put on their dash to park.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: The first water crossing was a bit sketchy on the return trip. All 6 of us crossed one at a time. I was second to last and one snowshoe broke through. Use care. The snow was too deep to head up the cog and over to avoid the crossing. It would be better to just break out the jewell trail across from the ammo now that the lot will be open and plowed. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes:  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: No pups today 
Bugs
Bugs: Frozen and blown away 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: Found: After much trail breaking - we did find the trail! 
 
Comments
Comments: A total of 7 hikers trekked up and back the Jewell trail in snowshoes. While it's technically now "broken," the trail is not yet hard enough for micros. There was so much snow it felt like we were still breaking trail on the return trip. The snow is still quite soft and our feet sank in snowshoes significantly on the return trip.

A significant amount of snow lies above treeline on Jewell. Cairns were indistinguishable from their surroundings. When we lost the trail we made sure to stick to the rocks and avoid the trees. This bode well and we were able to reach Gulfside with only one spruce trap mishap.

Once on the Gulfside, it was easy to pick up the pace. The wind picked up a bit and the snow was hard enough to not sink significantly. Wore shoes the entire trek. Amazing views and landscape was other-worldly. Winds picked up even more coming back and we decided to abandon plans to also tag Washington. Congrats to Ann on her W48 finish! Thanks to Brian for helping us break trail. This is what winter hiking is all about.  
Name
Name: BubblesTheHiker 
E-Mail
E-Mail: kdoer@yahoo.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2018-01-11 
Link
Link: https:// 
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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