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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Monroe, NH
Trails
Trails: Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, December 7, 2019
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Parked at the official lot. Had been plowed but there was about 4 inches of fresh, loose powder throughout. Only one car when I arrived and none when I left. Outhouses were open and in good condition and well stocked.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow - Drifts 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: All of the little brooks and drainages until well up the ravine were open and flowing. No real problems. The crossing of Franklin Brook had an awkward spot where it looks like ground but is actually two logs over fairly deep water. Take care in that spot. My snowshoes picked up a lot of frozen snow from the open water, which added a lot of weight I didn't notice until back at the car. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Really good shape over all. Lot of fresh blue blazes that were actually visible even with the fresh snow plastered to everything. There was also several blue flags in the upper glade area at several turns. I only recall one easy step over down low and a couple of easy leaners. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Didn't see any but I suspect it would have been pretty tough for dogs. Very deep, loose unconsolidated snow car to car. 
Bugs
Bugs: n/a 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: n/a 
 
Comments
Comments: Trails had a lot of snow and not consolidated yet. You could see the corridor well but I wouldn't call it a track yet. Very soft and loose. Down low it had maybe 6-12" of loose snow. Some roots and rocks still a factor too with the current snow depths but not a huge issue overall. In places you could feel some firmness underfoot, particularly down low along river. After Gem Pool when the climbing started progress was more challenging. Very loose and soft snow. Not really sure what was fresh snow and what had blown into the corridor. Remained roughly 6-12 inches or so until higher up. Couldn't really feel the track in most places under foot but there must be one because if you strayed from the corridor you sunk in pretty far. Lot of treadmill walking on the steeper sections, taking 4-6 steps to move forward 1 step. Getting into the glades it gets a bit deeper, stays very loose and has some occasional very deep drifts (as high as arm pit deep on me at 6'3" tall). Once out of the scrub the snow firms up quite a bit, is much shallower and has only occasional pockets of powder in the hollows, which were not always visible and led to some surprises in the very flat light. The cone of Monroe was in pretty good shape, generally firm and fairly shallow snow. No need for crampons or an ice ax. The tops of the rock "fence" bordering the steps heading up were still visible so despite the bad visibility it was easy to follow. all of the cairns and rocks were blanketed in amazing rime formations and were a bit hard to spot but they're not buried yet. Measured temp of 0 deg F on summit with sustained 20-25 mph winds but no gusts. Overall only saw 3 people and despite everyone wearing snowshoes the track is still very loose and unconsolidated. If you are a competent glissader you would be in heaven. If you're not, like me, plan on falling a lot coming down the steep spots. Will need a lot more foot traffic or a warm up to condense the snow and get a real track down. Really, really nice day out with everything blanketed in snow and the on and off snow showers all day. Gorgeous.  
Name
Name: DayTrip 
E-Mail
E-Mail: bblanchette0709@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2019-12-08 
Link
Link: https:// 
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