| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Monroe, Mt. Washington, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop, Crawford Path, Gulfside, Cog Rail Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, January 6, 2020 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Paid $10 inside the base station building. Buy your coffee elsewhere. Should have filled the other thermos before leaving. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction, Traction, Snowshoes |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Gem Pool Bridged, no issues |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
No issues |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
saw none |
|
 | Bugs: |
none |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
nothing lost or found |
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
Planned for a 7ish start. There is a blue box mounted on the base station for parking fee or you can pay inside 7AM - 3PM. Parked in the upper lot. Greeted with 3-5" fluffy powder. Start with Kathoolas up to Gem Pool. Trailed was packed and stable below powder. A magical winter wonderland with trees coated white and the running water. I had decided on crampons for the steep sometime before Gem and changed at Gem. May have been one of the better decisions of the day. There was obvious signs of butt sledding from Gem all the way to the crossover. Crampons were the way to go to get a grip on the butt sled luge. There were some drifts up to knee high above the crossover in the wind blown areas and the trail could be difficult to follow. At times, there were multiple tracks to choose from, in this case take the path most travelled. First on the trail from Base Station to Hut. Took a quick break next to the dungeon door. Some nice rime building. On circling around to head up Munroe there was some fresh snowshoe tracks yet first up Munroe and no snowshoe tracks. Back to hut, Washington summit looked manageable. The track was fairly easy to follow up Crawford to the junction with Westside Trail. The wind started to pick up and reduced visibility, closer to the summit visibility was reduced to white, managed to follow the mysterious snowshoe tracks, saw no-one in snowshoes, guessing someone from the observatory had gone to the hut for breakfast? The tracks were of great value, finally the summit came into view. At this point, a human appeared in crampons and not carry snowshoes. Had decided to take the Cog down well beyond this point and chatted with this young man for a few seconds. He wanted to know if I had come from Munroe. When I mentioned my plan for the Cog, he said he had not heard of the Cog? He looked well prepared beyond that? Basically a tag and go from the summit there was no good place to get out of the wind. Leaving the summit was interesting, turning around the last time to get a glimpse of the building and then turning to find the next cairn. Cairn to cairn to the straight line in the snow, the Cog was indeed a welcome sight to behold. Followed it down, still very white out, went in and out form windblown hard surface to some hip deep drifts but it was heading down. The base station snow cat tracks were another welcome sight around 5000 or so. There was a smooth track between the tracks from there to base station. Had some time to reflect on the day and more. Would have been a butt sledders dream. Snowing from before the summit to base station. A day filled with challenge and exhilaration. |
|
 | Name: |
Mark |
|
 | E-Mail: |
|
|
| Date Submitted: |
2020-01-07 |
|
 | Link: |
 https:// |
|
|
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. |
|
