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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Crows Nest, Mt. Cabot (Shelburne) , NH
Trails
Trails: Road walk, access road, White Trail, Wiggin Rock Trail, Yellow Trail, Red Trail, Yellow Red Trail Connector, Mt. Cabot Connector, Summit View Loop, Blue Trail, View Spur
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, December 22, 2018
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Did not see the cement pad mentioned in the AMC guide. I drove up to the inn to ask about it but it was unclear where the entrance was or even if they were open this time of year so I just drove back about a half mile down the road to where it splits and parked in a little pull off and walked.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Wet/Slippery Rock, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow, Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Slush, Snow/Ice - Small Patches 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes, Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Both the “small crossings” on the red trail were quite full and raging but not really dangerous. The first one was actually quite easy as there was a rock still above water that you could step on to pass over. The 2nd was much more tricky. There’s a small blowdown across the crossing that I began to walk on but I wasn’t sure it would support my weight so I stepped down onto a newly discovered snow covered rock which, once noticed, was clearly a safer way to cross anyway. I cleared some twigs that I was afraid I might get entangled in and took the one large step needed to cross...but I still got tangled and tripped somehow and ending up in ice cold water partway up my shin. Immediately changed socks (for the 2nd time today) but I still might have a minor case of frost nip tomorrow... Crazier than the “small brooks” I had to cross was the rivers that have formed where normally there is no water crossing at all. The biggest, and impassable without trash bags or really getting your feet wet, was right before the Yellow Trail along the Red/Yellow Connector. I turned back within sight of the Yellow Trail here. Some milder versions of this along the Blue Trail (all passable though).  
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: I think there was only one genuine blowdown all day and it was shortly before the 2nd crossing on the Red Trail. Small, but an awkward height. I’m 5’10” and I chose to duck under it but in reality it was more of a crawl. Lots and lots of small limbs, big twigs scattered among the trails. I threw a few in the woods. Lots of bent over saplings too that a thrust of my hiking piled upwards fixed :)  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs: Saw one or two flying things.  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: None 
 
Comments
Comments: I bare booted the entire way but was “postholing” at least a couple inches most of the time. I brought snowshoes in the car but didn’t bring them as I didn’t think I’d need them. They would have been a hassle anyway given the conditions. Kind of a lose/lose situation. The worst I ever postholed was up to my knee and that was only once. On average I’d say it was about 3 inches. There was more snow than I thought there’d be though!

Not as much ice as I thought there would be. Only significant ice I saw was towards the end of the day coming down he Blue Trail and redlining the Mount Cabot Connector Trail. I should have used microspikes but was too lazy to put them on on and was trying to keep moving to prevent frost nip.  
Name
Name: Liam Cooney 
E-Mail
E-Mail: liamcooney96@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2018-12-22 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share 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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