| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Hale, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Little River Road, unnamed trail, Haystack Road, North Twin Trail, Firewardens Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, March 4, 2021 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
$10 per vehicle at 7 Dwarfs Motel (Franz came out to say hi; very friendly host) |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Snowbridged |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Haystack Road is an active snowmobile corridor. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
From 7 Dwarfs, we walked to the end of Little River Road, crossed the bridges, and proceeded straight on the private drive (skipping the former immediate left turn). At the top of the first uphill, there is a sign on the left that says Trail. After a few tenths, the trail ends on Haystack Road, just over half a mile from the summer North Twin Trail parking lot.
We barebooted across the bridge and up the driveway, and continued that way on the unnamed trail. The unnamed trail had been barebooted when the snow was soft, so it was a frozen mess of divets and postholes. On the way back, we left our snowshoes on and found it was much easier on the ankles.
Haystack Road could also be barebooted or snowshoed, as it sees plenty of snowmobile use.
We put our snowshoes on for the North Twin Trail. Generally a decent footbed with an inch of powder on top of frozen granular. The herd path beyond crossing one was in good shape. The early entrance to Firewarden's Trail was a postholed mess.
Firewardens Trail had not been used since the deep freeze. Snowpack about even with the previous snowshoe trough, but not yet to elevated monorail. There are some random postholes, some quite deep, including one where it appears the parasitic postholer had a shelf over a drainage collapse from their barebooting; looked like a difficult extraction. The trail was somewhat firm down low (snowshoes did break through the frozen granular crust, so this probably would have been miserable Microspiking) with an inch of snow on top and had some occasional unpleasant sidesloping. Further up, the new snow increased to 2-3" with some deeper drifts (actively drifting over our tracks in places). Snowpack 3-4 feet deep. Snowshoes were definitely the way to go, particularly since the prior footbed was not evident (and this abandoned trail is not marked).
Signs of recent use on Hale Brook Trail, but not Lend-A-Hand.
Left our snowshoes on for the entire descent until we reached the private drive.
Had put in for the day off hoping for nicer weather, but it was mostly cloudy with a bit of wind and occasional snow flurries. Nevertheless, a decent afternoon for Hale. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2021-03-04 |
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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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