| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Huntley Mountain (Lempster), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Unofficial trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, February 27, 2022 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I parked at the end of West Shore Rd. On Gaia, this is at the last fork in the road. The forks from here are driveways. There is a plowed space to park one car here. The road in was flat and plowed well enough and suitable for all cars. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction, Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The unofficial trail is marked by a small cairn at its start. It is blazed (fairly well) in red and surveyors tape (mostly pink) further up though had some blowdowns and debris and such on it. Doesn’t seem very well used. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Seems like a fine trail for dogs. |
|
 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
Day 119, Peak 100. 4th hike and 5th peak of the day after Ames Hill, Bean Mtn and Kennedy Hill, and Silver Mtn. Windy but moderate temps and the skies were clouding over in preparation for the coming snow squalls.
I walked up the private driveway (didn’t say anything about not trespassing) on the right fork for maybe 100ft or so until I saw a small boulder covered with snow on my right and what looked to be a small snow covered cairn atop of it. Didn’t look like the start of a trail but I dove into the woods here and saw a red blaze. I followed the red blazes due south at east grades for awhile before coming more rough as the trail climbed up the western side of the peak, avoiding the steeper, cliffy areas. I followed animal tracks that, amazingly, stuck to this trail the entire way. Since the trail wasn’t very discernible beyond the blazes, I was quite surprised to see that an animal followed it!
As the trail gets steeper and rougher, there’s some rope to aid you. Unfortunately, this part of the trail didn’t have much ice, but the next part, where there was not rope, did. I threw on my microspikes but it didn’t do much. Caution and taking to the woods at times was needed, more so on the descent. The ledges aren’t that steep but are definitely covered with black ice under the snow. I arrived at a cairn at a viewpoint, then followed the trail to another cairn or two to the true summit with a larger cairn just barely within the highest contour shown on Gaia. No register. I descended carefully, avoiding some of the ledges.
The hike was 3/4-1mi with just under 400ft of gain, taking me 50min. 246 more days and 265 more peaks to go… |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
|
 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-03-03 |
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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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