| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Crotched Mountain (attempt), NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Gregg Trail, Shannon Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, January 1, 2020 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Only car there at 7:30 a.m. and still only car there at 11:15 a.m. Parking for 10+ cars and porta=potty in parking area. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
No snow bridge at the stream crossing. Rock hopped but pretty easy, could do it in snowshoes. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
5 or 6 blowdowns due to ice on trees. All were small and light enough that I was able to move them aside. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw one pup who was having a grand time barking up a storm. |
|
 | Bugs: |
none |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
none |
|
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|
 | Comments: |
Could have bare- booted but wanted to break a nice, posthole-free snowshoe trail. Lots and lots of ice on trees. Some were broken as a blowdown but most were birches that merely bent over to the ground. Beautiful views of Mt. Monadnock from the observation platform. Only issue was with small saplings and brush between end of Gregg trail and in open girls before Lower Link/Shannon's Trail junction. Because they were bent over to the ground by ice and frozen to the snow, they effectively made nice little "velcro" loops that easily hooked snowshoes! On return trip, temp had already risen and with melting problem went away. Beautiful walk on Shannon's trail through the forest and an easy rock-hop across stream which was flowing; no ice bridge yet. Climb up from Bennington trail junction was a a little slippery. MSR snowshoes did very well, less so coming back down where built in crampons had little purchase. Beautiful views today from picnic table below summit but couldn't figure out how to actually get to true summit. No markings and lots of steep slabs. I'll go back next weekend to try again with crampons rather than snowshoes. Happy New Year! |
|
 | Name: |
Robert Nick |
|
 | E-Mail: |
rjnick@charter.net |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2020-01-01 |
|
 | 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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