| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Hale, Zealand Mountain, Mt. Guyot, North Twin Mountain, South Twin Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Hale Brook Trail, Land-A-Hand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, North Twin Spur, North Twin Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, October 24, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Hale Brook trailhead parking 2.5 miles up on Zealand Rd off of Route 302 and is large, enough to hold 10 cars. Zealand Rd is partly paved and part gravel. The gravel portion is passable by any vehicle but is not plowed in winter. The paved portion had numerous pot holes.
North Twin trail head is 2.5 miles up Haystack Rd off of Route 3 and can hold at least 10 cars. This good gravel road is passable by any vehicle but is not plowed in winter. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Three significant, difficult water crossings at the end of North Twin Trail. This is a large river and would be impassable for children and dogs. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Several blow downs on North Twin, but excellent blazing and signage at the water crossings. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
North Twin is unsuitable for dogs due to the difficult water crossings. Otherwise these trails offered numerous water points. |
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 | Bugs: |
Nope! |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Expedition course:
Hale Brook > Lend-a-Hand > Twinway > North Twin Spur > North Twin
Hale Brook: well blazed in yellow and well maintained. Giant carin (I mean GIANT) and footings of an old fire tower mark the summit. Easy to follow and not steep. Great junction sign.
Lend-a-Hand: simple, straight forward trail that is well maintained. Nice rock stairs in parts. Moderate descent to Twinway. Super nice brook sliding over massive rocks just past the junction with this trail and Twinway. Easily crossed.
Twinway: also known as the AT. Good, standard white blazes. Rough footing with rocks and roots. Standard AT trail. Lots of mud. Zealand is a short spur off this trail. Zealand summit is marked with an awesome sign and small carin. South Twin summit easy to discern, excellent signage at this summit. Wonderful 360 degree views from South Twin. No exposed ledges on this trail.
North Twin Spur: sporadic blue blazes but well defined foot way. Summit has an off trail viewpoint that is signed with a well defined path. Wicked nice view! No exposed ledges, just the regular variety that go in and out of scrub.
North Twin: this is a wet, rough, rocky, rooty trail. It is not blazed (except for the last water crossings which are blazed yellow and two crossings had the metal hiker symbol sign tacked to a tree) but the footway is easy to follow. This trail has not seen maintenance in at least a couple of years as it contained the most blowdown and least dug out water bars. Running water on the majority of the upper section of this trail. There are multiple water crossings on this trail. The most challenging are the last 3 at the end. My buddy and I made it but, man, those water crossings were a bit unnerving. |
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 | Name: |
Remington34 |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-10-24 |
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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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