| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Hibbard Mountain, Wonalancet Hedgehog, Nanamocomuck Peak, Mt. Passaconaway, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Old Mast Road, Wonalancet Range Trail, Walden Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, February 2, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
There was plenty of parking in the Ferncroft Trailhead parking lot. Many parts of the lot were covered in wet ice, so we had to be careful getting out of the car! |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
In the middle of Dicey's Mill Trail, there is a crossing over a branch of the Wonalancet River. Half of my group crossed it by walking across a log, and the other half hopped across rocks on the upstream side of the log (the water was low enough to make this possible). Either way requires a little care, but is not difficult. Probably rock hopping is safer. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
There was a fallen tree across the trail on the way up to Mt. Hibbard, but it was not hard to go around. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
We saw no dogs. Some of the scrambling on the Walden Trail going up to Nanamocomuck might be difficult for dogs. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
We found a trekking pole belonging to the MIT Outing Club and returned it to them. |
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 | Comments: |
The route to Mt. Passaconaway via Wonalancet Ridge Trail and Walden Trail is much less traversed than the more direct route via Dicey's Mill Trail, and involves more up and down, and involves scrambling up some very steep sections (in particular, on the way up to Nanamocomuck); it is more interesting, for those who like a challenge. We saw no other hikers anywhere, except at the parking lot. In the middle of the Wonalancet Ridge Trail, we took the shortcut to avoid Mt. Wonalancet and the icy ledges leading up to it. Just before Mt. Hibbard, there is a short spur to the right leading to a view. From the junction of Wonalancet Ridge Trail and Walden Trail, one can go 0.3 miles east, and just beyond a boulder on the left marking the summit of Wonalancet Hedgehog, there is a spur on the right leading 100 yards south to another viewpoint. The beginning of the Wonalancet Ridge Trail was OK with microspikes, but eventually we switched to snowshoes, and it would have been reasonable to do that whole trail in snowshoes. Snowshoes were really necessary along the Walden Trail between Wonalancet Hedgehog and the junction with East Loop; we were breaking trail, although we saw postholes. Parts of that trail were steep enough that one could have used crampons, but it was not a problem to do it in our snowshoes, using trees to help pull ourselves up in places. We did not have time to take the "To View" spur going 0.3 miles down the north side of Mt. Passaconaway. From the Mt. Passaconaway summit, going down Dicey's Mill Trail was steep at first, but very soon we switched from snowshoes to microspikes, since the whole trail was a steady descent on well-packed snow, quite easy; in fact, there are long sections of it where one could slide down on a butt sled. Our route was about 10 miles in total. We took 5.5 hours going up and 2.5 hours going down! |
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 | Name: |
mathbp |
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 | E-Mail: |
tiramisu_eater@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-02-03 |
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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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