| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Adams, Mt. Madison, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Air Line, Gulfside, snowfields, Osgood Trail, Valley Way |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, December 20, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Appalachia plowed. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Open but minor. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Half a dozen or so blowdowns on Valley Way are resulting in slight herd paths. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Snowshoes round trip.
Air Line had not seen any recent use above the initial flats. Initially only an inch of powder (some nasty postholes too), but trailbreaking began around 4,000 feet, ranging from a few inches to a foot of powder, heavily drifted. Good snow cover above treeline and occasional boilerplate.
Plenty of postholes arond Gulfside. I opted to go a little west of Air Line and go up the snowfields, which were perfect for snowshoes.
Also due to the postholes and some monorail, I opted to bail off the Gulfside on the way toward the hut, staying south of it, then bee lining up Madison. Pretty good going in snowshoes.
Monorail on Osgood with barebooters breaking through and postholing in the warming temperatures today.
Valley Way was trashed early this afternoon, as barebooters were postholing in the drifted snow. I tried to fix what I could, but there were more barebooters on the way, installing more postholes. A bit more firm in the lower elevations, but still decent snowshoeing.
Snow pack is perhaps 2 feet down low, increasing 3 to 5 feet once ascending. Some isolated areas (wind scoured above treeline or perks in the woods) will probably go bare with the upcoming weather, but the woods will likely retain multiple feet of snowpack.
Nice weather, few folks out. Winds were noticeable atop King Ravine and Madison, but otherwise not too bad. Sun and temps felt like late March. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-12-20 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos |
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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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