| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Tom, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Avalon Trail, A-Z Trail, Mt. Tom Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, February 25, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the Highland Center, no issues - Crawford Depot is still the windiest place on earth (and had the strongest winds we saw all day) |
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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: |
First large crossing was completely bridged and an easy walk over, second large crossing had an awkward ramp down on one side and open water but was an easy step over - all other smaller ones completely bridged, overall no issues |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Nothing major for this time of year - not many blazes on parts of AZ trail but was able to follow previous tracks well enough |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Hannah had a good day - no major issues for winter hardy canines |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
There's a folded tripod (I think) mostly buried in snow at the Mt. Tom spur sign |
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 | Comments: |
Snowshoes car to car - followed one track that was bare boots for the first half mile, then mercifully changed to snowshoes - there was 4-6" of powder with smaller drifts even down low so anything other than snowshoes made for a choppy and tedious track. The reroute down low on Avalon trail had an annoying side slope even with snowshoes but was easily traversed with care. No tracks headed towards Avalon and Field on the way up - nice reroute around the Avalon/AZ junction that cuts out part of a PUD. Lots of drifting headed up to the col, though the trench was visible enough where there was no issues following the trail even when everything was completely drifted over. Drifted tracks continued up to Mt. Tom and further down AZ presumably towards Field but never saw the hiker, thanks for your work breaking trail and hope you finished your hike safely. Even our tracks on the Mt. Tom spur were getting blown in quickly - on our way down our tracks from the hike up were already disappearing. Crazy amount of snow up high, some ducking under branches but no where near what we saw on Davis Path yesterday. Winds weren't nearly as bad as forecasted, probably one 40-45 mph gust near the summit but nothing to knock us around and the woods were overall very quiet - quick and uneventful trip down. This one fit the bill perfectly for a relatively short sheltered hike today - we were fully prepared to turn around if weather or conditions dictated at any time but fortunately we didn't need to do so. With several inches of new snow the past few days and record breaking winds the next few days, anyone who ventures out this week should be prepared with snowshoes - don't be like the guys we saw on Isolation yesterday that were tearing up the trails with microspikes with snowshoes strapped to their packs (???) - new SNOW plus high winds equals drifted SNOW so please wear your SNOWshoes - anything less is inconsiderate and extremely unsafe, it will be several days before the trails are consolidated enough for anything less. As always a great day out with Hannah the hiking beast. |
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 | Name: |
Hikes with Hannah |
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 | E-Mail: |
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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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