| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Washington, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Great Gulf Trail, Gulfside, Trinity Heights Connector, Nelson Crag Trail, Madison Gulf Trail, Great Gulf Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, August 25, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking not an issue at the Great Gulf Wilderness trailhead off NH 16, unlike most other Presidential trailheads. Rolled in around 7:15 AM and the lot wasn't even half full. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All rock hopped. Might not be the case under high water conditions, though. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Past the wilderness boundary, parts of the Great Gulf Trail were lightly maintained and trodden, with lots of mud and standing water. On the flip side, other parts beyond the boundary were in excellent shape. The trail up the headwall of Great Gulf was very hard to follow, particularly above treeline, and I actually lost the trail about 2/3 of the way up it. Nelson Crag Trail, despite not being in a wilderness area, had a faint footway in a lot of areas above treeline, and was very grown in in spots below treeline. The southern section of the Madison Gulf Trail, despite being a wilderness trail, was in good shape (it is a link in the AT). |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
A minor annoyance, otherwise not as bad as they could be (cool temps kept most of them away). |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Approached the Rockpile using less commonly hiked trails this time around. Since this hike ended up being almost 17 miles roundtrip with about 5,500 ft. of elevation gain, the masses usually stay away from here, and I believe it- I only saw two other people in the first 7.5 miles of the hike, despite being a summer Saturday with great weather. Similar scenario on the hike down- not very many people at all. If you want to hike Washington via the Great Gulf Trail, you should be in good physical shape and be comfortable with long hikes and following obscure trails, since it's a 6.6 mile hike just to get to the base of the headwall, and once you start up it, it gets steep, wet, and rocky, and cairns or markings of any kind seem almost non-existent. |
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 | Name: |
Spencer |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-08-26 |
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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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