| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Cabot, NH |
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 | Trails: |
York Pond Road, York Pond Trail, Bunnell Notch Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, February 22, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
York Pond Road plowed to within a mile of the summer trailhead. Room for at least half a dozen vehicles. Plowed all the way to the summer trailhead, but with Do Not Enter signs (hiker welcome). |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Snowbridged at the moment. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Decent sized blowdown in the notch. A few leaners higher up. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
York Pond Road walk was just over a mile. The Unknown Pond lot is filled with logs, as is the small York Pond Trail lot. The York Pond Trail trailhead has been moved a few dozen feet further down the road, cutting through the woods to get around the log yard. There is very little logging impact from the York Pond Trail (if not for the pile at the trailhead, one would probably not notice any activity), but it looks like a lot may have been done around the lower Unknown Pond Trail.
Trails were decently packed out for snowshoe use this morning. Base depths were generally 3-4 feet, the top foot or so being powder. Some deeper drifts higher up. Active drifting (as is the norm) between the cabin and the true summit.
Looked like day old snowshoe tracks coming up the (insert adjective here) Mt. Cabot Trail, and going down the Kilkenny Ridge Trail toward the Bulge (no idea if they actually go all the way, or just end around the corner). No tracks heading south toward Terrace, or out toward the Weeks from below.
While the track was nice this morning, a group of Microspikers churned it up. In my opinion it is unsafe to do this peak in winter without at least carrying snowshoes, due to the snowpack, active drifting, remoteness, and colder-than-the-rest-of-the-Whites temperatures. Conversation implied they had waited until they knew snowshoers had broken out the trail before heading up. Everyone else was snowshoeing, but it took 4 snowshoers just to fix their uphill damage. No idea what carnage they left behind on their descent, with temperatures climbing above freezing in the afternoon down low.
Please wear snowshoes tomorrow, as the packed powder will give way to postholes in the warmer temperatures. When temperatures drop, the postholes and divets set up and make the trails unpleasant for all that follow. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-02-22 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos |
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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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