| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Washington, Mt. Monroe, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Cog Railway Trail, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop, Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, January 18, 2020 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the Amonoosuc Trail Head and walked to the Cog - employee met me in the parking lot to inform me that if I walked through their parking lot again they would charge me $10. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Drifts |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Several open jump-overs on Amonoosuc Trl, that's it! |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
None to mention. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Not a one today. |
|
 | Bugs: |
Nothing anywhere. |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
Not a thing. |
|
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|
|
 | Comments: |
Stable on the ascent up the Cog - looked as if the snowcat had gone up earlier in the morning before me, I chose this trail for a mean ascent to test out the new snowshoes, which did awesome! Obviously easy to follow trail, some ice toward the top (trail to Jefferson was straight up rock and ice.. I took it for a few feet and opted to turn back and ascend Washington and move on with my day), some drifted snow in spots - knee deep, I flattened out some of the crampon users post holes in these spots.
Minor wind was a surprise above treeline, gloves came off for a tolerable 2 minutes atop Washington then pressed on down toward Lakes of the Clouds. Most of the descent was wind-swept packed, rock-hard snow with trace ice in spots where rocks shone through. Hopefully after last nights snow more rocks will be covered. Lots of ice flumes around the hut/lakes, mostly packed powder (Hillsounds did pretty terribly, opt for crampons for the needed traction) - snow on ice was too thick for Hillsounds to grasp the ice underneath, crampons next time - which went for a ride in my pack all day.
Most people I saw seemed to ascend Amonoosuc in full crampons which did nothing to help pack the trail - I switched back to snowshoes for the descent - hopefully that helped the next folks out a bit!
Overall crazy beautiful, unbelievable conditions above treeline, can't wait to get back up there! |
|
 | Name: |
Erik Hamilton |
|
 | E-Mail: |
ehamilton9481@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2020-01-19 |
|
 | Link: |
 https://www.veggiesvistasandvert.com |
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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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