| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Shaw, Black Snoot, Turtleback Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Cold Spring Road, Cold Spring Trail, Faraway Mountain Connector, Faraway Mountain Trail, Oak Ridge Cutoff, High Ridge Trail, Black Snout Trail, Turtleback Mountain Trail, Turtleback Summit Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, March 14, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The road is plowed and I parked in one of the many hiker parking lots. Yay for Castle in the Clouds! |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Bridged. With actual bridges! Yippee!! |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
I saw three blowdowns. The first is on Oak Ridge Cutoff, about 100’ past Upper Bridle. It’s the top of a tree that is across the trail so there are lots of small branches, none larger than 4”. The second is on Black Snout headed toward the Black Snout summit, about 0.2 m from the junction. It’s a really awkward step over (because I am short!) of two parallel limbs. One is about 4” but the other is about 12” and that’s the problem one. The third blowdown is about 100’ up the Turtleback Summit Trail and it’s an easy step over. It’s about 6” diameter. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
A very fine day for this hike as it was warm enough to be comfortable but not so warm that the world was slushy (until the last hour!!). I hiked the listed trails, which made a clockwise loop hitting Shaw, then Black Snout, then Turtleback. Snowshoes all the way except initially on Cold Spring Rd, as that had been bare booted so much that you could see the road surface, and except for the last few miles on Turtleback Mtn Rd, for the same reason. Other than that it was mostly snowshoe heaven, with 2-3” new and unbroken snow down low and 3-5” new and unbroken snow up high. Bliss! Unfortunately someone barebooted up Mt Shaw Trail and went to both Black Snout and Shaw - on the parts that are snowmobile road there are no post hole problems, but on the other parts the postholes are really copious and really deep (more than two dozen would be above my knees!). That person must have had a terribly rough day. Step carefully in that area. I hadn’t previously hiked this loop and thought it was fantastic!! |
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 | Name: |
Bikecamphikegirl |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-03-14 |
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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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