| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Wonalancet, Hibbard Mountain, Wonalancet Hedgehog, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Wonalancet Range Trail, Walden Trail, Shortcut, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, January 23, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Ferncroft wasn't too bad today; filled up one side by early afternoon. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None of significance |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Some stepovers on Wonalancet Range Trail. Lots of faded blazes that make it hard to follow in the hardwood stands. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
No one had been up the Wonalancet Range Trail or on the ridge since the storm. Snowshoes roundtrip.
We ascended the Wonalancet Range Trail. Down low had a crunchy crust with sugar snow underneath; perhaps half a foot of granular on top of the existing base. Snowshoes were the most efficient form of transportation. Someone attempted to bareboot it later in the morning, but turned around before getting too high. Microspikes would be way too much work trying to get purchase in the loose granular.
Trail was bony in a few of the rocky places; this side of the mountain seemed to be in a snow-shadow. Gnarly stretch of ice prior to the lower Shorcut junction. We picked our way up, but even our large Flex Alps snowshoe crampons were being pushed to their limit with the hard blue ice underneath. Crampons would not be overkill for this short stretch.
Snow depth picked up above the Wonalancet view ledge. Drifts on the ridge and on the way to Hibbard. Nice views from the southern viewpoint (just below the summit, to the right), but the summit viewpoint has continued to grow up since the last time I was here years ago. Without a few more feet of snowpack, there isn't much to see from this viewpoint.
Some more drifting, but otherwise smooth sailing up to the Walden Trail. We continued over to Wonalancet Hedgehog (no recent tracks) and dropped down to that near-summit viewpoint. Great views, but hard to safely get too close to the cliff due to blue ice on the ledge.
We then retraced our steps and descended Shortcut, which took some trailfinding due to scant blazing in the hardwood. After taking it to the end, we backtracked up to the hardwoods (so that we wouldn't have to descend the previously mentioned icy stretch), then bushwhacked east, hitting an old logging road at around 2,100 feet in elevation. We then took that down to where it met a northeastern-bound logging road at about 1,550 feet in elevation (labelled 337 on Gaia). Rather than go out of our way to stay on the logging road, we opted to head south to the Wonalancet Range Trail in open woods, hitting the trail at about 1,360 feet.
Somewhat cloudy morning with cold temperatures to start, but the sun broke out as the morning progressed, with temperatures making it to the upper 20s. A breeze on the range, but otherwise no wind to speak of. Encountered no one on the trails. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-01-23 |
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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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