| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Eisenhower, Mt. Pierce, Mt. Jackson, Elephant Head, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Crawford Path, Eisenhower Loop, Webster Cliff Trail, Webster-Jackson Trail, Elephant Head Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, February 26, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Late start. Highland Center, Crawford Depot all full. Lines down 302. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All frozen over. May get exciting as it warms up. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
None |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Several good puppers. Make sure your dog is sure-footed on Eisenhower for the ice. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Found: one yellow Eddie Bauer hiking pole. |
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|
 | Comments: |
Bring snowshoes and use them. Crawford Path from the Depot was well-packed with 3-6" powder on the surface although well-work due to my late start. The more groups I passed, the surface conditions were less packed. Ran into a large AMC group headed up to Pierce who had packed the trail out nicely. When I passed then, there was a lot more post-holing and surface churn. Most hikers appeared to do Pierce out-and-back. Crawford Path to Ike was a mix of drift snow and bony. Snowshoes are beneficial in the drift and provide enough purchase on the ice. Eisenhower loop (south-side) was icy and I switched to microspikes for the ascent up the summit cone. Solo on the summit with light and sustained winds with occasional gusts. Descent down the Eisenhower loop (north-side) was boilerplate ice. Microspikes were a little light and a full mountaineering crampon is advised even for this brief section. Rejoining Crawford path, the trail was difficult to follow at first, unbroken and drifted in back to the south side of Ike. The packed crust under the recent powder was sloped toward Pinkham making slow-going and an effort. Back at the junction of Eisenhower loop, the traffic from earlier the day had packed it down but it was rife with post-holes and churn back to Pierce. Webster Cliff Trail to Pierce summit was well-packed although there are signs that several groups had trouble wayfinding. Pierce to Mizpah was broken with evidence of butt-sliding down to the hut making for more difficult going. Mizpah to Jackson had much more snow and was packed by snowshoes until about 1 mile from the Jackson summit where prior hikers in the other direction had post-holed and butt-slid from the summit. Climb to the summit was tricky due to ice on the steeper sections. Descent from Jackson was icy with surface snow brushed off from butt-sliding leading to careful or treacherous going. Most of the descent was in good shape, although steeper sections were slow from prior hikers that failed to stay upright, intentionally or not. Elephant head spur was well-packed and easy.
Key takeaways: use snowshoes, bring traction, don't go out in the winter if you can't get back down again without causing a hazard for everyone else. |
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 | Name: |
Ragnar |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-02-27 |
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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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