| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Snows Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Snows Mountain Trail, Snows Mountain Spur, Greeley Ledge Trail, Elephant Rock Trail, Cascade Path |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, February 1, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The large parking lot at the base of the Snows Mountain ski slopes was icy, but otherwise quite usable. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None on this route. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
One major blowdown on Snows Mountain Spur just before the viewpoint. A couple of others throughout the hike. Snows Mountain Trail was very well signed, including from where it starts at 76 Snows Mountain Road (there's a yellow sign marking the beginning of the trail that is visible from the road). All junctions had signs, though at some of them, there was only one sign, and it wasn't always facing the direction we were coming from. Cascade Path coming down from Elephant Rock Trail was also well signed where it intersected with other trails and roads. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
None. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nada. |
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|
 | Comments: |
What a fun loop! From the parking area, we walked up the roads to the trailhead. The trail had the tracks from a few barebooters and one or two snowshoers. Snowshoes would have worked, but were not strictly necessary - there was only about a foot of snow for most of the climb, and under the top layer it was stable. Spikes helped on this section, though it is possible to bareboot it. I put snowshoes on right where it turns left off the old road and gets much steeper - some sort of traction is necessary for that part, and snowshoes worked best for me in those situations. The uppermost sections of Snows Mountain Trail (and the spur) had only been used by snowshoers, but should now be more packed out. About a half-mile down on the north side of the trail, it looked like a larger group of hikers had decided to turn around, and below that point, the trail was well packed out and easily doable in spikes. Greeley Ledge Trail, Elephant Rock Trail, and Cascade Path are doable in either snowshoes or spikes, though snowshoes might be better for the sections along the groomed ski trails.
We saw a half-dozen skiers and no other hikers the whole day. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-02-01 |
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 | 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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