| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
South Moat Mountain, Middle Moat Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Moat Mountain Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, March 15, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
A little crusty snow and ice but mostly melted and clear. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
small brooks, no problems |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
clean |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw one dog slip sideways down the ice-covered rock slabs at the vista before South Moat. |
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 | Bugs: |
not yet! |
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 | Lost and Found: |
nada |
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|
 | Comments: |
The trail at the bottom went back and forth between too much bare ground to merit microspikes but too many patches of icey snow no to use them. By the time you decide to take them off, you should have left them on. Where there's snow, it's more efficient to have them on but then you just have to sacrifice the spikes to the rocks when the snow disappears. It's like that until the rock slabs at the vista at about the 2 mile mark. Those slabs were ice covered with water running underneath on the way up (most of it had melted off by the time I came down) but if you worked hard enough you could piece together enough dry ground to keep you from slipping. From that spot upward, it was all snow covered trail and the microspikes made it much easier to cover distance. Trail surface stayed hard packed all the way to Middle Moat summit. The trail between the two summits was a bit difficult to spy but the faint outline gave enough clues and it's a pretty easy path to figure out since it's quite open and you can see where you are headed for the most part. Cairns are visible, which also make it easier to stay on track. Snow depth is minimal at this point so postholing will not be too much of an issue going forward, except maybe for at the top, but doubtful snowshoes will be necessary anymore. |
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 | Name: |
Gi Jo |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-03-15 |
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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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