| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Ames Hill (Washington), NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Bushwhack, unofficial trail, North Main Street |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, February 27, 2022 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I parked at a large plowed pullout next to a mailbox and opposite a home. This is nearly opposite Twin Bridge Rd in Washington. The pond is directly behind where I parked. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Some wet areas beneath the snow where the crust didn’t support me and I fell in a few inches of water. What’re waterproof boots for?? |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The unofficial trail is marked with pink surveyors tape mostly. Didn’t seem like a maintained trail though…lots of debris seemed to be in the way. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
|
 | Bugs: |
None |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
Day 119, Peak 97. 1st hike of the day. Warm but very windy. Mix of sun and clouds at 8:30am.
I walked south along the road a couple hundred feet to skirt the pond then turned left into the woods contouring NE for about 0.1mi before turning due east and beginning to gain elevation. Just above 1900ft, I ran into some pink flagging in a line coming up from the south. I paid it no mind and continued on up until I ran into it again and it became clear that it was heading toward Ames Hill. What’s more, it looked like it had seen both a pair of snowshoe tracks and bareboots. I followed it to the base of the summit cone, just south of the col between it and the bump just to the NW of it. Here, the trail split and made a loop. I turned right and followed the southern branch which contoured around the base of the cone, then turned left and ascended once it was around some boulders/minor cliffs. There were some little “view spurs” the person went to along the way though there wasn’t much of a view. The tracks took me to the summit where there was a small cairn and jar tied to what remained of a tree. I signed in and continued along the pink flagged loop to the north now. It headed toward the minor col between Ames Hill and its NW bump, then turned SW and met the other half of the loop again. Open woods the whole way.
I followed the pink flagged trail all the way down to the road. It landed me about 1/4mi south of where I parked. If heading north, it’s just beyond the mailbox for house 783 and on the opposite side of the road. Unfortunately, there’s no plowed spot there though. Also, unless it’s broken out, it may be hard to tell there’s a trail there as it just follows a road for a hundred feet or so (no flagging), then turns left into the woods where the flagging begins.
The hike was about 2mi with around 400ft of gain, taking a little less than 1.5hrs. In current conditions, it could easily be done quicker though. At one point, as I was obsessively following the persons tracks to the little view spurs they created rather than just making a beeline for the summit, I realized that I was essentially redlining a bushwhack ???? I’d planned on using snowshoes today but the prior warm weather seems to have destroyed most of the snowpack here and if they got the 10in earlier in the week that my phone said they did, most of it has already melted. Just a couple inches of powder. There was occasionally a base that I’d sink through a little bit. For me, not enough depth for snowshoes so I barebooted. Though there wasn’t much ice here, there was plenty of ice underneath snow on other peaks in the area so bringing traction with you isn’t a bad idea either.
246 more days and 268 more peaks to go… |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
|
 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2022-03-01 |
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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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