| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Hale, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Zealand Road, Hale Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, December 12, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The winter parking lot is 0.2 miles south of Zealand Rd. It is well plowed and some pavement showing. This is a large lot serving both the trails off Zealand Rd and snowmobile trails. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The small crossings remain un-bridged by ice/snow today. I just walked through the only bigger one in snowshoes. I love those shoes... |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
None |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Great trail for dogs. No obstacles whatsoever. |
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 | Bugs: |
A few snow spiders. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Zealand Rd is gated in winter (open at points to snowmobiles and completely open to hikers/skiers) and one must roadwalk to the trailheads on this road until late spring. Footwear at the time of this posting on the road is purely of personal preference and elemental intervention. Though a LOVELY trench has been constructed via snowshoes. Would love to keep that...
Much snowshoe art on Zealand Rd. What rot! I had a lot of fun looking at the “art.†Made a tedious roadwalk at dusk, on the way out, more fun. And the wandering moose prints helped too.
Hale Brook Trail: yellow blazed from road intersection to summit. Corridor simple to discern. Large rock carin at summit. Funny story: a hiker we came across today advised to hold a compass at the summit carin to see if we could keep the “red in the shed†when pointing north. Ha! You can’t! Cool! This activity made bearing the 20mph winds with precipitation more bearable.
Not so many people out today. Those we met were super friendly. All but 3 persons were wearing snowshoes. Just three people (6 boots) really made a dent in the trail trench. Lots of postholes... I profess no innocence, however. My oldest son has apparently outgrown his snowshoes. Did not know that until I tried to bang them onto his boots at the trailhead. Oopps. At least he carried them on his pack the entire time. 😕 And he weighs 70lbs, and didn’t posthole...
Look. Just put on the shoes. Please just put on snowshoes. The community effort of encouraging snowshoers makes trails soooooo much fun in winter, it is THE favorite bug-free hiking season!
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 | Name: |
Remington34 |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-12-12 |
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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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