| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
None, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Cascade Path, Elephant Rock Trail, Greeley Ledge Trail, Norway Rapids Trail, Livermore Trail, Big Pines Path, Boulder Path |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, February 24, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
There were probably about a dozen cars in the Snows Mtn Ski Area lot. I had no trouble getting in with the snow at 1:45pm and next to no trouble getting out with the additional snow/sleet at 5:45-6pm.
From the parking area, cross the roads perpindicular to the one you came in on to get on a slope. Turn right up this slope and in 50 yards or so you’ll see the trail signs :)
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
On the Cascade Path and Norway Rapids Trail, the crossings were mostly covered by snow and I couldn’t hear much water underneath so I just probed with my pole and went for it; they were fine (always a little risky when they’re snow covered though). Huge ice bridge on the Boulder Path that looked like it had crumbled some recently so it seemed a bit sketchy going over it to me. That said there were recent ski tracks over it so again I went for it and I was fine (luckily there were people behind me too although they didn’t cross). |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Most of these trails were marked with yellow blazes and there were one or two that I don’t think had any blaze. Those with yellow blazes were often sparsely marked and/or the blazes were often faded. Cascade Parh was easy to follow until a bit after the jct with Elephant Rock Trail where it was led travelled, both the corridor and trench less obvious, less blaze if I remember correctly, and the parh was obscured by one or two blowdowns. Greeley Ledge and Elephanf Rock were easy to follow. I had to break trail on Livermore and there wasn’t much of a trench or corridor. Add to that the blazes being scarce and this was the most difficult to follow (pulled Gaia out once to see which way the trail went as I was pretty stumped; if following my footsteps take the left fork). Livermore and Big Pines were both easy to follow and in good shape. Boulder Path was unbroken past the hard right turn (make sure not to miss the signs!!) but was still easy to follow. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
I imagine they’d do alright except perhaps on the unbroken trails mentioned above. |
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 | Bugs: |
One small crawly thing on the snow. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
Given the weather yesterday, this was actually quite a pleasant hike! Then again, I have a soft spot for Waterville Valley ;) The drive up however was much more treacherous than I thought it would be with one car flipped on the side of the road (everyone seemed okay), and another smashed up on the side of the road (again, everyone seemed to be okay). The roads were fine south of exit 22 on 93N. After that is when I saw the accidents and I lost control of the car a few times myself. Given all that I scrapped my plans to redline Colonel Whipple Trail which would have required me to drive through Franconia Notch and got off at exit 28 in WV. Still slipped once on Rt 49. Point being, if you’re out and about driving up there the next few days I’d be VERY wary of the roads; I imagine that a lot of black ice could form. That said, I had next to no issues driving back.
As mentioned above, a few trails were difficult to follow and there were some blowdowns but nothing major. Nice afternoon out redlining :) |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-02-25 |
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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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