| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Unknown Pond Peak, The Horn, The Bulge, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Unknown Pond Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail, bushwhack, Horn Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, April 22, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Access gate at Berlin Hatchery still open 24/7 this time of year. Southern Trailhead for Unknown Pond Trail is in good shape with room for let’s call it 10 cars — hard to estimate since we were the only ones there today. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All easy rock hops |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Sporadic blowdowns. Could use more blazes on unknown pond trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Amazing day in the whites. We saw no one and had no tracks to follow.
Highly variable conditions right now. Started off at 8:30 AM below freezing on solid snowpack, microspikes were useful. We lost the trail for a while and just hiked along the brook in the snow. Moose love the upper section there! We hit unknown pond on the southern side and walked around the edge to the tent site. Pond is frozen solid. Snow pack was looser and deep after the pond so we switched to snowshoes — plenty of snow balling up underfoot.
We set out for unknown pond peak, taking Kilkenny Ridge Trail to its highest point and then following the gradual slope upwards to the peak. There were plenty of viable paths up in the snow. The canister tree has been recently blown down, but the canister appears intact. We did not have tools to remount it.
We backtracked to the pond and set out for the Horn. We lost the trail a few times and bushwhacked to the top. The spruces were thick and the going was slow. From the Horn we found the spur trail and followed it to Kilkenny over to the bulge. We came back the way we came in and found a few sections of trail we missed on the way in. Kilkenny is blazed, but has a few long stretches where there were no blazes or they were below the snow line.
Coming down, we tried tried spikes after the pond, but long stretches of dry trail forced us into bare boots. There were still stretches of snow that had softened up and we postholed in places. It was hard to figure out the best approach.
We finished at 6 PM and it felt downright springlike!
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 | Name: |
Jon and Tom |
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 | E-Mail: |
jfwofsy@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-04-22 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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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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