| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Dry River Shelter #3, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Saco River Trail, Maggie's Run, Dry River Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, February 4, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Not enough side road area for me to feel safe leaving my car overnight along official trailhead. I parked down along the curve in 302 on the other side of the picnic area. Enough parking for about 3 cars completely off road but this is plowed to enable access to the utility box. Park at your own risk! - follow maggies run trail to saco river trail to avoid .5m road walk. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Had no difficulty. Suspension Bridge is open and all other crossings were snow bridged (barely). |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
This is the new dry river trail..all signs seemed to be in place. Trail is completely gone in some areas along the river. Surprisingly not a lot of blowdowns or other hazards. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Lost my own right side glove. Found it on way out only 1m from the trailhead though. |
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 | Comments: |
This was not my first time on this trail. One could park along the trailhead but your vehicle would be within 5-6ft of the road. I parked down along the road and bare booted in someones snowshoe tracks along Maggie's Run to the Saco River trail where I started snowshoeing east to hookup with the Dry River Trail .5m in from the road. Took the snowshoes off here as it turned into a solid highway with semisolid snowshoe crust as well as fairly recent shoe/boot activity. This lasted until about .25-5m before the suspension bridge. Both prints suddenly stopped and left me with nothing to follow than the faint trace of snow covered trail. Clouds socked in the views of the rock pile on the way in but got great shots of the DR valley and Mt Washington on the way out.
Broke trail from here on through 4-12"+ of snow on my way to the shelter. The Suspension bridge has been repaired and the new boards look nice and fresh! This trail is certainly not for beginners. There are no blazes (that i found) and portions of the trail are simply, gone. Although navigation is fairly simple (stay along the river), one must be aware. There are still several portions of washouts that must be either navigated up and around or right along the steep angled washed out banks.
Still running water in certain locations and you could hear the rushing water underneath the snow bridges. I filled up with liquid water all the way at the shelter nearby. Snow coverage was a foot or so above the shelter floor. There is plenty of snow out in Oaks and the Dry River!
Made good time on the way back following my own tracks. There is a solid trace/trail/tracks all the way to the shelter now(some funky routes/paths after I crossed the river not far from the shelter though). If anyone was looking for a time to go there this winter, it would be easy enough to follow the snowshoe path. |
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 | Name: |
Dexter |
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 | E-Mail: |
ericblanche@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-02-05 |
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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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