Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
Smarts Mountain (attempt), NH |
|
| Trails: |
Ranger Trail, Lambert Ridge Trail |
|
| Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, March 27, 2018 |
|
| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The gravel section of Dorchester Rd is marked as closed with a local traffic only sign under it. I assumed this meant it was ok to drive the 2 miles to the trailhead. The trailhead is plowed but at a somewhat odd angle and is a mix of mud and slush. Room for maybe a couple cars. |
|
| Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Wet/Slippery Rock, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Mud - Significant, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
|
| Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
|
| Water Crossing Notes: |
Smaller crossings open but easy to cross |
|
| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Ranger Trail could use a few blazes after the first half mile. White blazes along the AT (Lambert Ridge Trail) could use a refresh. |
|
| Dog-Related Notes: |
Sarge thought it was a great hike! |
|
| Bugs: |
|
|
| Lost and Found: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Comments: |
I arrived to find both trails had seen traffic. “Great†I thought to myself. Well, 1.5 into Ranger the tracks just stopped. It’s fairly easy to stay on the old road assuming you know that’s the trail until the garage then it’s kind of a guessin game as there are really almost no blazes on this trail. Grades are nice throughout making the cement snow trail breaking somewhat less of a slog ;). Oddly enough, we arrived at the AT junction to find that Lambert Ridge was also not broken out? At that point I decided to skip the summit of Smarts and start my way down LRT so I could enjoy the views along the trail. Well, this turned into a real slow slog between breaking trail and route finding. I’m very thankful for my route finding capabilities as well as my GPS and map! I used it all today! After the last ledge we were greeted by a broken out trail which lasted for the remaining mile or so of the hike. This 6.5 mile hike felt like 12! |
|
| Name: |
Tip Toe |
|
| E-Mail: |
whitsilb at hotmail dot com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2018-03-27 |
|
| Link: |
https:// |
|
|
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. |
|