Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
Mt. Garfield, NH |
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| Trails: |
Gale River Road, Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail |
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| Date of Hike: |
Saturday, April 21, 2018 |
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| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Clean and clear. |
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| Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow |
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| Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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| Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossings are thought provoking, but easy. |
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| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Nearer to the bottom (maybe 20 minutes in from the summer trail head) is a large blow-down, and people had been walking a wide path around it. I took a small pruning saw and did some limbing, so now people can fairly easily hop over the trunk, and avoid eroding the bypass area. Anyone else with a somewhat larger saw (maybe a mid to large folding bow saw) could make quick work of the remainder of the trunk. It's probably 12-15 inches in diameter, not much more. The remainder of the trail is unremarkable from a maintenance standpoint. |
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| Dog-Related Notes: |
Regrettably, no pups on the trail today. |
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| Bugs: |
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| Lost and Found: |
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| Comments: |
The recent snows have left a winter wonderland on the slopes of Mt Garfield. The lower elevations are blanketed with a dusting to an inch or so. As the deciduous forest gives way to spruce, the inches pile up to around 4-6. Somewhere around the 3,000-3,500 foot mark, the astute observer can find hoarfrost on the tree branches. Higher up, the path starts looking like a cathedral to the snow king. And then at the summit, the wind sculpted sensuous forms around any protuberance.
Throughout, the trail was in fine shape. On the way up, bare boots had their way with the surface, but on the way down, myself and a couple other hikers used snowshoes, and that seems to have smoothed things out quite a bit.
With the snow in its unconsolidated form, Microspikes are likely to ball up and slide on the wet snow. I wore Kahtoola K10 crampons on the way up, and halfway, switched to snowshoes, because I was having trouble slipping with my back foot -- not losing balance, but losing forward power. With the snowshoes, I saw a remarkable improvement and made much better time. Toward the summit, the trail was getting spongy enough, and the snow deep enough that the snowshoes were indeed the way to go.
Blog post with pictures will be forthcoming as per usual. |
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| Name: |
Protean Wanderer |
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| E-Mail: |
hiker@proteanwanderer.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-04-21 |
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| Link: |
https://www.proteanwanderer.com |
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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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