Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
Mt. Washington, NH |
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| Trails: |
Jewell Trail, Gulfside, Cog Rail Trail |
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| Date of Hike: |
Thursday, December 30, 2021 |
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| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of parking at the Cog Railroad Station. About half a dozen cars in the parking lot by the time I arrived at 8:30 AM. |
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| Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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| Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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| Water Crossing Notes: |
Just at the very beginning of the Jewell Link, but there is a fairly stable ice bridge over the Ammonoosuc. |
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| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A number of minor blowdowns over the the Jewell Trail, but nothing that requires a detour or dropping down for a crawl-under. |
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| Dog-Related Notes: |
No dogs today. |
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| Bugs: |
A single, solitary fly (of some sort) slowly buzzing over the snow below tree-line. |
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| Lost and Found: |
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| Comments: |
Jewell Trail, Gulfside Trail, Davis Trail, Cog Railway (trail?)
The original goal was Jefferson. The weather was very overcast with temps in the 20s/30s. Barebooted Jewell which sported only a few inches of snow. No ice as far as I could tell. Above treeline things got tricky. What was once a distinct trail became a set of faint footprints all but obscured in the dense fog. The cairns, not always easy to make out in the best of conditions, were covered in snow and all but invisible. Instead of bearing left towards Jefferson, I slipped on the spikes and headed to the right towards the Cog which would either lead me up to Washington or back to the parking lot. About thirty minutes later, the cloud layer unexpectedly dropped away replaced by a bright blue sunny sky. Finally found the Gulfside Trail (once again just a set of footprints) and followed it up to the summit. By this time it was getting late, so followed the Cog tracks back down through the clouds to the parking lot. |
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| Name: |
warmsummersun |
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| E-Mail: |
robertcfinne (at) hotmail |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-01-02 |
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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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