| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Fletcher's Cascade, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Drakes Brook Trail, Fletcher's Cascade Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, January 27, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lot well-plowed with space for 6-8 vehicles. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Found enough solid ice-bridge-over-rock to cross the one significant crossing in about my usual three-season spot. Evidence of prior tracks suggested that the smaller crossings weren't pretty during last weekend's melt, but none gave me any pause today. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
The trail is fine but the ice crust is no joke. My light-footed fellow thought it was a walk in the park, but my dog who tends to punch through crust was glad to regain the groomed trail on our way out. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Not the most enjoyable snowshoe of my life, but still better than sitting at home! The first 0.4 is impeccably groomed shared-use ski trail. Things got a bit ugly at the turn onto Fletcher's Cascade trail, with steeply sloped sides to the treadway and a heavy but breakable ice crust over mostly unconsolidated snow. The first few tenths of a mile were postholed during the melt and then frozen solid. The wiser hiker might have switched from snowshoes to spikes here rather than fighting it, but I wasn't convinced the ice would hold me and didn't feel like punching through. My ankles took a beating. Those folks turned around not far past the wilderness boundary, though. Followed one snowshoer's tracks until shortly before the significant crossing, then laid fresh tracks the rest of the way to the lower and middle cascades. I did turn around 150 yards short of the trail's end where the sidehill was juuust steep enough and the ice crust juuuust resistant enough that I didn't want the dogs on it. Must admit that the breakout is not my finest work; I was able to bust up the ice a bit but it's not a well-developed track by any means. |
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 | Name: |
Bullyandblaze |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-01-27 |
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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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