| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Zealand Mountain, Mt. Guyot, West Bond, Mt. Bond, Bondcliff, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Lincoln Woods Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, March 8, 2021 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
3 cars at zealand at 6:30AM; 2 cars at Lincoln Woods at 8pm |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All bridged or hopable |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Couple of ducks, couple of step overs, hundreds of right and left swings to avoid the face height branches |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
None seen |
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 | Bugs: |
N/A |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing lost/Nothing found |
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 | Comments: |
A last minute decision for a second attempt at the bonds met with success. The trail conditions were far better than they were on 2/18. The weather was cold, the sky a bright blue, little to no wind and the views endless and spectacular.
Bare booted Zealand road, there is a red sled with a “free to haul stuff†sign attached, which we did for the 3.5 miles. Left it at Zealand TH for the next someone to use. Wish we had found one at LW for the last 3 miles.
All trails were broken out and very easy to follow. The lower elevations had soft snow above the hard pack, especially around the pond areas that are exposed to direct sun. The false trail around Zeacliff was re-routed so the trail is true. The biggest issues in tree cover was the amount of right and left ducking to avoid branches to the face.
Didn’t encounter any snow drifts at the higher elevations, the snow is packed between the rocks and a hard icy glaze covers it all, so rather than rock hop it’s a smooth trail. The trail has been travelled enough to break up a bit of the ice, making it ideal to spot the trail and provide a better bite for the snow shoes (didn’t use anything more aggressive than the snowshoes) overall made for a faster pace (faster for us old folks).
Met Kevin Z on the trail on his way to finishing up his W48 with the summit of West Bond. Congrats! Only one more for us to complete our W48.
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 | Name: |
TicTacMan and Patches |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2021-03-09 |
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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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