| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
North Kinsman, South Kinsman, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Mt. Kinsman Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, March 26, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lot is not plowed, but is currently accessible for most vehicles (slight frozen hump at the entrance and a few inches of snow on top of ice thereafter). |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All three are currently snowbridged. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Mt. Kinsman Trail is very well maintained and blazed. A couple of stepover blowdowns buried in the snowpack on the relo prior to the sugar house. I recollect one or two duck unders (one large, one not so much) within a half mile or so above the Bald Peak junction, and one duck under within half a mile of the ridge (not much of an issue now, and even less so when the snow melts). |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Snowshoes roundtrip with full snowpack.
The initial trail (relo) from the parking lot to the sugar house has full snow cover, but I suspect the upcoming warm weather will zap significant portions of this stretch. Snowpack increases gradually thereafter, reaching multiple feet deep by the first water crossing. Trail was decently packed out to the Bald Peak junction and firm granular this evening, but looked like it could get soft pretty quickly as the warm weather arrives. Most recent users had been snowshoers, thankfully.
Unfortunately, above the Bald Peak junction, the only usage of the last few days was a single parasitic postholer. A few inches of powder/drifted powder on top of a previously packed powder snowshoe track. Countless divets and postholes. I was able to repair a lot of this damage with my snowshoes, but there are still a few nasty postholes. The snowpack is deep, so heading up here without snowshoes in the coming days will be a foolhardy endeavor.
The trail sign at the junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail was partially buried. The Kinsman Ridge Trail to the summit was fairly well packed out. The snowpack is deep enough that the usual ice bulge/scramble areas are fully filled in with snow and currently easy to get past.
Trail is not as consolidated between the peaks. Many feet of snow, as the average blaze is about 2 inches about the snowpack. One part of the current packed route near the col deviates from the trail, over a drift on top of spruce trees. If you posthole here in the warm weather, you may go in up to your neck, literally.
Nice sunset on the ridge, as the wind died down just in time. Great views from the added snowpack. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-03-26 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos |
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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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