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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Whiteface, Mt. Passaconaway, NH
Trails
Trails: Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey’s Mill Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, December 12, 2020
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Not too many cars (between a half dozen and a dozen) when we arrived at 7am. The lot has been expanded so that you can pull-in park on both sides of the lot now. Some of the spots on the other side had been taken by the time we returned around 1:30pm but there was still plenty of room.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: The crossing on Dicey’s Mill Trail has a log across it that most people seem to use. I rock hopped instead which was also pretty easy.  
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: These trails are not well blazed as they’re mostly within a wilderness area. Rollins and Dicey’s Mill trails I think had the occassional old yellow blaze. I don’t recall if Blueberry Ledge had any. That said, all these trails are well trodden and easy to follow. I don’t recall any blowdowns.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: None seen and I wouldn’t recommend Blueberry Ledge Trail for dogs given the scrambles. Dicey’s Mill other than perhaps the steeper climb up the cone of Passaconaway should be fine for most. Same with Rollins Trail.  
Bugs
Bugs: None 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: None 
 
Comments
Comments: A nice loop hike with friends to visit Whiteface and Passaconaway for our grids. These were my 6th and 7th 4000 footers for the month and my 13th and 14th for the month of December.

There was only a trace amount of snow at the trailhead though we started with spikes from the start although they weren’t immediately necessary. Only one stretch of black ice a bit into the trail where the spikes came in handy. The snowpack became more consistent probably around 2000ft although the area around the ledge scrambles was occasionally dry/bare rock. There was some ice around the scrambles but all in all they were pretty dry and easy. The snow, while I believe it was broken in snowshoes, had seen boot traffic a little too early it seems. It was not very smooth or hard packed. Warm(ish) temps made the snow a little soft too. I wouldn’t recommend snowshoes BUT I personally felt that the snow was soft enough that it was a little hard to push off of and move quickly on. My friends didn’t notice this though. The snow depth wasn’t really deep enough for snowshoes anyway. That said, Kate Sleeper Trail hadn’t been broken out so you’d probably need shoes on that. McCrillis Trail looked like it had seen some traffic although I don’t recall if it was shoes or boots. The Oliverian Brook approach has at least been broken out but not sure if snowshoes are necessary on it or not. Same goes for the lesser used Walden/Square Ledge approaches to Passaconaway.

Ran into rocket21 on the summit of Passaconaway and hiked most of the way down with him which was very enjoyable. Room our spikes off just above Blueberry Ledge Cutoff on Dicey’s Mill Trail. Some snow free and wet sections of trail down low here. It was nice to be on it and Blueberry Ledge Trails again each of which I’d only done in their entirety once I believe.  
Name
Name: Liam Cooney 
E-Mail
E-Mail: liamcooney96@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2020-12-14 
Link
Link: https:// 
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