| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Zealand Mountain, Mt. Guyot, West Bond, Mt. Bond, Bondcliff, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Lincoln Woods Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 16, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at Zealand winter lot with car spots at Lincoln Woods. Both lots plowed/accessible, no problems. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossings just above Zealand Hut were still bridged, but not sure how much longer those will last. Otherwise, smooth sailing until down on Lincoln Woods Tr where there are numerous small gullies to step/jump over with high banks on either side, relatively easy but a nuisance at the end of a long hike. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
didn't see any |
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 | Bugs: |
didn't see any |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
North to south traverse to visit Zealand and the three Bonds, including Guyot along the way. Wore spikes from the road up 'til Zeacliff, then snowshoes until the bridge on Lincoln Woods Tr, then spikes again back to Lincoln Woods lot. Cold, windy and blustery day, but all in all the trails were in good shape, broken and with monorail. With a bit of GPS routefinding our group from NEO40 did great. Postholes here and there, primarily on Bondcliff descending towards Lincoln Woods Tr, then again on Lincoln Woods Tr. The trail up to Zealand Mtn was a bushwhack off the Twinway, so as you were heading west following Twinway you essentially ended up at the summit; we used GPS to navigate break trail back down the "spur" back to the Twinway. From Twinway to Bondcliff and to West Bond Spur was relatively easy to follow (again some GPS route finding) but here the branches-in-face became the norm. West Bond Spur meandered and there were a handful of false paths, mainly between the junction and the col - beyond the col the broken trail was pretty consistent to the summit. Beware the spruce traps on West Bond! Up/over Bond and Bondcliff had sections of bare windswept rock with a good amount of ice. With the snowpack so high, sections of Twinway (after Zealand) and Bondcliff Tr (below treeline) have plenty of branches-in-face, nearly continuous in many parts. We wore goggles/balaclavas both for the wind and also tree/branch protection. |
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 | Name: |
Eric H |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-03-17 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.strava.com/activities/2218304490 |
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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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