| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Madison, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Great Gulf Trail, Osgood Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, May 13, 2011 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Spring Snow |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All bridged. Water looked like it was raging though. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
3 or 4 blowdowns on Osgood, easy to get through. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Kya, our rock-climbing, mountaineering husky had a blast. Plenty of water even above timberline. The loose, sharp rocks on the first 2 sags did a number on her though. |
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 | Bugs: |
Black flies from start to timberline. They were only biting around 2,500', right at Osgood tent site. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Thanks for this suggestion by the administrator for newenglandtrailconditions.com facebook page!! "Like" them if you have facebook. Beautiful time of the year to hike the presidentials, and I am convinced this was the best route for Madison right now.
The ~girlfriend~, dog and I enjoyed all the wildflowers in bloom. Painted trilliums all over Great Gulf tr, purple trilliums mixed in on Osgood, and even a couple trout lily patches near Osgood tent site.
We over-prepared and brought snowshoes, gators and microspikes. We used none. We saw our first signs of snow at 3,400', a few patches beyond there, and finally consistent cover for only 1/4 mile at 4,000' until timberline. At this point, the snow was stable, flat (no monorail), and easily barebootable. When we broke through to the alpine zone, we watched at least 10 fly overs from a helicopter shuttling supplies up to the Madison hut. The endless sags leading up to the summit are deceiving and took much longer than expected, but the beautiful views and welcome cloud cover (10,000'+) protecting us from the sun kept us going.
I proposed to Crystal on the summit that we had all to ourselves and she said yes!! As soon as we did, the sun came out and warmed us up. Take THAT Friday the 13th.
The way down above timberline was surprisingly slow due to the loose rock on the lower slabs. We passed a group of BU students who were celebrating their upcoming graduation by making a presidential traverse. Thanks for taking our picture as I forgot the tripod! The snowy section was nice and tracked out at this point and easy to go down. My ~fiancé~, who is not the most comfortable in snow and ice, still opted for bareboots. Some might want to put on microspikes, but I don't see it being worth the effort and the snow will probably melt out this weekend from the rain.
Be mindful of the ski trails weaving in and out of the Great Gulf trail. We got confused because we saw many more blue diamond ski markers and ski signage than blue blazes and thought we got off trail but didn't. We back tracked for no reason and the dog thought we were crazy; should have listened to her!
Catch this now while the lower elevation wildflowers are out and before the deciduous canopy comes in fully. |
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 | Name: |
Brian, Crystal and Kya |
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 | E-Mail: |
bmr9@unh.edu |
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| Date Submitted: |
2011-05-14 |
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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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