| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Garfield Pond, Mt. Garfield, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Gale River Road, Garfield Trail, Garfield Pond Cutoff, bushwhack, Garfield Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, January 6, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plowed parking at the western end of Gale River Road, icy underneath an inch or so of fresh snow that fell through the day. One other vehicle there when we arrived, that was just pulling away as we approached the gate on our return. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Second crossing (ascending) has a rock to step on, between sections of ice. The other crossings were thin-ish ice bridges, one at a time a good idea. Several sections of flowing water and open drainages up toward the ridge. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few stepovers on the way, and one downed tree blocking the trail with a work-around packed out. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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|
 | Bugs: |
One lone spider down low on Garfield Trail. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
One Black Diamond liner glove between Garfield Pond and Garfield summit. |
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|
 | Comments: |
Gale River Road packed out from prior days traffic, and a set or two of fresh tracks in new snow. The first mile of Garfield Trail was thin cover over bare frozen ground, depths increased above the crossings, but the trail was well packed where tracked. At the top of the last switchback, we followed the abandoned Garfield Pond Cut-off to the pond, breaking through 6-12 inches of snow, sometimes with crust, then crossed over the ice along the eastern shore of the pond to Garfield Ridge Trail. Trail was a somewhat drifted in snowshoe track up to the summit, then a smoother windblown track down to the Garfield Trail junction, where tracks had come up and down today. When we returned to our point of diversion, our tracks had already filled in. Smooth going all the way out to the road. Snow fell off and on (mostly on) throughout the day, though with weather on the way in the coming days, this report is likely to be short lived in its usefulness. Great day out with zero people seen, other than Rachel. |
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 | Name: |
Bill Robichaud |
|
 | E-Mail: |
bill.robichaud@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-01-06 |
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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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