| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Eisenhower, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Crawford Path, Eisenhower Loop |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, February 3, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Clinton Road lot was not plowed as of this morning. We parked at the Highland Center. There is also off-road parking by the Depot. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Trail was packed to the intersection of Mizpah Cutoff, then soft (but broken) to the intersection for Pierce’s summit. We didn’t need Pierce today so we didn’t go up, but a path to that summit was broken.
From Pierce to Eisenhower - drifts, drifts, and more drifts! Alex and I had the pleasure of breaking through two to four foot drifts and figuring out where the trail was supposed to go. We would occasionally come across an almost-buried cairn or faint tracks of yesterday’s hikers. Visibility was limited with the fog. We did really well figuring out where to head....and then, maybe four tenths of a mile from Ike’s summit, we came across a bump that the Crawford Path goes around to the left. With no visible tracks and zero visibility past the bottom portion of that bump, we headed up it instead of around the the left. When we reached the top of this bump (nice ledges up there, and what looks like the remnants of a cairn), we realized this was not the way to go. By this time, we had one nice fellow and a group of three with us, as they had followed our tracks from Pierce and had caught up with us. Visibility cleared suddenly to show where we should be (which was not where we were). We were about eighty feet off the trail...should have gone around to the left instead of climbing this bump. Someone’s GPS confirmed the route and we all set off to get back on track. The group went ahead and took over what remained of the trail breaking duties to the summit cone. On the way back, they broke out the section we had missed (between our errant climb and where we refound the trail).
Both Alex and I sunk to our waists multiple times today, Alex came home with a small pine branch tangled in her hair, and we had fun meeting the other hikers. A wonderful adventure above treeline. My apologies to anyone who took that climb instead of going to the left. You got an extra fifty (?) feet of elevation gain and probably an extra tenth of a mile today.
Snowshoes are an absolute must - you will not make it far at all without the ‘shoes. Seriously - you’ll sink to your waist (at least) with every other step.
Alex will have a report on her blog later this week. Sage really wasn’t in a hiking vibe this morning, so she elected to stay home (and then told us she later regretted not joining us - but hey, she got some extra sleep, which is always good). |
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 | Name: |
TrishandAlex |
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 | E-Mail: |
patriciellisherr@hotmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-02-03 |
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 | Link: |
 https://alexinthewhitemountains.com |
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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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