Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
Blueberry Mountain, NH |
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| Trails: |
Blueberry Mountain Trail |
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| Date of Hike: |
Saturday, November 16, 2019 |
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| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Only room for a few cars on the side of the road before the gate off Page Road. Lime Kiln road was icy but no traction issues with AWD. |
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| Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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| Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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| Water Crossing Notes: |
No major issues, water levels are low, icy rocks on a few though. There were also numerous areas of mushy leaves and no snow that were partially frozen, sometimes difficult to skirt around the edge but fortunately didn't sink more than a few inches - with a bit of a warm up this week though these areas may be much trickier to navigate without very wet boots |
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| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
One annoying duck under on the summit spur and 3-4 large blowdowns on the eastern part of the trail, most have walk arounds and are too large for a hand saw to remove. Also the above treeline ledge section on the eastern part (Long Pond road side) was difficult to follow in places - there were a few cairns and I think I saw two blazes on rocks, but in many spots there was bare rock with snow everywhere else and no prior tracks to follow. Even though I did the trail in both directions I still got off trail on the way back - more cairns above treeline (or blazes on trees if appropriate) are much needed |
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| Dog-Related Notes: |
No major issues for dogs that can handle cold weather and winter conditions |
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| Bugs: |
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| Lost and Found: |
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| Comments: |
Second hike of the day was an out and back of the whole Blueberry Mountain trail (red lining + 52WAV) - fortunately most of the grade was mellow and it never got too steep, a nice break after the steepness of the Chippewa trail in the morning. Started out 3-4" down low increasing to 5-6" up high with a few areas of tiny drifting. Put on rock spikes about a mile below the summit and left them on for the remainder of the hike, again they were the perfect traction choice - probably not necessary down low on the Long Pond road side but I didn't bother. Similar conditions to Chippewa trail with mostly packed snow with some crusty ice underneath but there were a few short sections of flow ice, easily navigable around as rock spikes got no traction, never wish I had my sharper Hillsound spikes though. Good views from the ledges but only a limited view to Moosilauke from the summit, windier than on Black earlier though and I got very chilly on the initial descent. Some issues following the trail up high (see above), otherwise no problems below treeline. Overall a great shoulder season hike (with mid-winter temps), only saw two people, lots of solitude! |
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| Name: |
SKS |
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| E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-11-16 |
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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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