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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Hale, Zealand Mountain, NH
Trails
Trails: Zealand Road, Hale Brook Trail, Lend-A-Hand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Zealand Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Ample parking at the Zealand winter lot. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Standing/Running Water on Trail 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: All of the crossings were fairly easy rock hops- sometimes with ice-covered rocks. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Major blowdown (like an obstacle course to get through it) 0.2 miles up the Hale Brook Trail; minor blowdown (stepover) about 1 mile up the Hale Brook Trail. Otherwise, trail corridors are excellent, and there is plenty of fresh blazing on Lend-A-Hand. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Numerous ice flows might pose problems. 
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Great day to take on these two protected peaks and stay sheltered from the high winds (Zeacliff outlook was relatively calm). Only person I saw all day was the Zealand hut caretaker, before encountering one other hiker during the long Zealand Road walk in the afternoon. Microspikes were very necessary- and sufficient. I put them on about 0.2 miles up the Hale Brook Trail, and they stayed on until I got back to Zealand Rd. I should have kept the spikes on for the upper 3/4 mile of Zealand Road as well, which had frequent stretches of wall-to-wall ice. I made it down unscathed, but not without desperately looking for soft snow / leaves at the edge of the road for traction, walking like a penguin, and sliding around like a fool several times. A few sections of trail looked like Ice-93, but everything was manageable in spikes. I needed to carefully pick my way down a couple sections of Lend-A-Hand Trail, and the stretch of the Twinway above and below the ladder. The steep pitch just below the hut has rather formidable ice flows as well. You could use snowshoes if you really wanted to for a few discontinuous tenths of a mile on the Lend-A-Hand Trail, but it really isn't worth the trouble right now. Especially at lower elevations, there are many bare sections, protruding rocks, and occasionally water on the trail (or water hidden beneath easily-breakable ice).  
Name
Name: Jason 
E-Mail
E-Mail: kurlando7@hotmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2021-12-14 
Link
Link: https://unnecessaryclimb.wordpress.com 
Bookmark and Share 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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