| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Avalon, Mt. Field, Mt. Willey, Mt. Tom, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Avalon Trail, Avalon Spur, Willey Range Trail, A-Z Trail, Mt. Tom Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, August 9, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Only one other vehicle parked at the train station this morning at 7:30 (no overnight parking). Lots of cars parked on the side of the road. Upon returning around lunchtime, there were cars lining the road as far as the eyes could see. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Rock hoppable |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trail creep is getting bad on Avalon and A-Z Trails, spurred by shoulder season Microspiking and now social distancing. There are sections were the trail is 20 feet wide and sliding downhill. This is not sustainable.
Willey Range Trail between Field and Willey is very brushy and has lots of unmitigated erosion, taking out entire rootballs of trees.
I took out the one blowdown between Field and Willey. There are about half a dozen minor blowdowns on the Mt. Tom Spur and there is one vexing jungle gym blowdown on A-Z not too far above the Avalon junction. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
Got stung four times by a yellow jacket (through the shirt) between crossings 1 and 2, a few minutes below crossing 2. Did not see or hear anything obvious, so maybe it was a random act of bee violence. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Avalon Trail was damp to start (from overnight rain) with minor mud in the usual places and some wet/slippery rock. Stopped by Mt. Avalon for the first time in years; more viewpoints than I recall (can pretty much piece together a nice 360 degree view now).
Willey Range Trail between Field and Willey was slowing going in places from unmitigated erosion and areas of narrow trail corridor from thick spruce growing out.
Started seeing the crowds between Field and Tom, and then from Tom down. Pretty busy.
Decent morning weather, though cloudier than I recollect being forecast. As has been the trend lately, saw more discarded masks on the trail. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-08-09 |
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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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