| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Galehead Mountain, South Twin Mountain, North Twin Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Gale River Road, Gale River Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Frost Trail, Twinway, North Twin Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 14, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I was one of two cars at 5 Corners. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable) |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The first water crossing out of the summer parking lot is rock hoppable. Best spot today was ~20 yards upstream. Second river crossing at 2.5mi on Gale River Trail has a snowbridge of degrading integrity. I made it across twice, other hikers reported going through on the return trip. All other stream crossings are easily hoppable. Some still bridged degrading. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few blowdowns on Gale River Trail, all walkarounds or step-throughs. Same thing on North Twin Spur. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
No dogs. |
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 | Bugs: |
No bugs. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
The schlep in on Gale River Road is just dirt, turning to glare ice at 1 mile, then back to dirt 0.25mi later. You can walk on the edge of the ice for a while to avoid having to spike up. The lower part of Gale River Trail has breakable ice down into a few to several inches of water/muck. There's a 1/2 mile stretch that's a real pain, the rest of the lower part is just a little soft. Above the 2nd big river crossing the trail is very firm and snowshoes would have been superfluous on the ascent all the way up to Galehead (Frost Trail) and then South Twin (Twinway). I brought intermediate traction because I was unsure of what the conditions would be on Twinway going up South after the rains yesterday, which I wore up and down South just for the extra grip. North Twin Spur is not nearly as packed down as the other trails, so snowshoes are advisable there. Saw one set of tracks heading from North to South Twin; must have been someone doing a Bonds since there were zero other tracks going up South from the hut. Hike on! The trail down in the afternoon was starting to loosen up. Still wore the spikes, but if it were any looser would have switched over to snowshoes.
If I had enough time and spark (I had neither) I was going to cross Garfield Ridge Trail over to Garfield and then down. Saw tracks from another hiker who did make the trip. They were wearing spikes and the trail seemed pretty firm to start. What it's like in the rocky sections in the middle...?
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 | Name: |
Muench |
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 | E-Mail: |
erik.coder@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-03-14 |
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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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