 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, January 11, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Whiteface Intervale Rd and Bennett St were a bit icy on the way in during the morning but were clear on the way out. The parking lot on Whiteface Intwrvale Rd didn’t appear to be plowed but had cars in it so I was able to get in with just FWD although I knew it was a little iffy. It got worse in the afternoon as it was all slush so it was hard gaining traction and getting enough speed to get out of the lot but we managed. AWD would be better and you need a little clearance with how high the slush was. Bennet St was plowed to 0.5mi of the trailhead so we had to walk an extra 0.5mi to the trailhead. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow, Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
We did the trail in a clockwise direction (opposite of what the guidebook describes) so that we’d hit the larger water crossings at the end of the day. All of the larger ones are on the east side of the pond but there are a few on the west side that are smaller. The smaller ones were quite doable but the snow/ice bridges were not always solid here. The larger crossings were doable. The most difficult is the crossing of the Whiteface River just after the trail’s jct with McCrillis Trail. It is fairly wide and the water was deep. We would have gotten very wet had we fallen in. Luckily, upstream a little ways we found a sturdy snow bridge and used it. I believe this is generally the easiest place to cross as the guidebook mentioned the best place to cross being 30 yards upstream and there was a small cairn marking the crossing from the side we started on. There were some sections near the pond that had water underneath snow that you’d sink down to as well. In summary, be very cautious on the snow bridges right now. In fact the one right before Whiteface River collapsed as I crossed it so that may now be quite difficult. Water isn’t dangerously deep but deep enough to cause a real bad time if you fall in on the larger crossings. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Most of Flat Mtn Pond Trail isn’t blazed since it’s in a wilderness area. It follows old roads for much of its length so is generally easy to follow though. The exceptions to this would be as it follows along the pond (in part due to some relocations I think) and maybe a little after it crosses Whiteface River after its jct with McCrillis Trail and before it goes onto the road. Never took us long to find it though. Of course there were some blowdowns (mostly of all stepovers/straddlers I think; not much I had to duck under - yay!!) but nothing particularly annoying I can remember. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
My friends dog did okay. Might need to be careful around the water crossings. |
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 | Bugs: |
Saw one flying around :) |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Lost my snow basket at the very beginning. Retraced my steps briefly and didn’t see it so decided I’d go back a hundred yards or so when we got back to see if I could find it. Lucky me, it never even made it out of “the lot†and my friend found it as I was about to go look for it. |
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