Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
Mt. Hale, Zealand Mountain, Mt. Guyot, South Twin Mountain, North Twin Mountain, NH |
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| Trails: |
North Twin Trail, Fire Warden's Trail, Lend-A-Hand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, North Twin Spur, North Twin Trail |
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| Date of Hike: |
Sunday, June 7, 2020 |
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| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the North Twin Trailhead on Haystack Road. Plenty of room since you can park down the road on one side. |
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| Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable) |
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| Recommended Equipment: |
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| Water Crossing Notes: |
Waded across the first Little River crossing (third on ascent) descending from North Twin. Bushwacked on herd path to avoid next two crossings. Otherwise, all crossings are easy hops. |
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| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Tons of blowdowns on the Twinway, especially between Guyot and South Twin. Needs major work as herd paths are developing around the blowdowns. Fire Warden's trail (officially unmaintained) is in very good shape and easy to follow. All other trails are looking good, maybe some minor blowdowns elsewhere but nothing significant |
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| Dog-Related Notes: |
The crossings on the Little River would be pretty tricky for more than the most ambitious pup. |
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| Bugs: |
Tons when the sun was up. They're hungry too. After the rain on Saturday night it cooled off and the bugs were kept at bay all day Sunday |
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| Lost and Found: |
A broken microspike on the Fire Warden's Trail, a pen on the Twinway, a spoon on Zealand Mtn. Nothing significant |
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| Comments: |
Awesome little two day loop around Hale, Zealand, and the Twins. My first time trying out the Fire Warden's Trail to Hale, and a really good option to do this loop without spotting a car. Lend-a-hand was in good shape. Zealand Falls Hut is closed, but apparently a caretaker is around. The Twinway to Zealand is in awesome shape, no significant work needed (even spotted a new sign at the Zealand Mtn. intersection!). Zeacliff was spectacular on Saturday, apart from swarming, biting little gnats. Had it to ourselves too. Spent the night on Zealand in the rain before finishing up over the Twins. There are stretches of decaying monorail on the Twinway, heaviest between Guyot and South Twin. No traction needed, but you might posthole up to your knees here and there. Big time blowdowns in this section too. South Twin was in complete cloud on Sunday morning, but got lucky with a bit of clearing on North Twin in the early afternoon. Very little monorail between the Twins and on the North Twin Trail. Some sections of mud in the saddle between the Twins. Social distancing doable but tough with all the crowds hiking the Twins on Sunday. |
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| Name: |
Moonboy and Shredder |
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| E-Mail: |
khecht@wesleyan.edu |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-06-08 |
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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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