| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Tecumseh, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Mt. Tecumseh Trail, Sosman Trail, ski trails, herd path |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, March 14, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of room at ski area this afternoon. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossing one (at trailhead) open as usual. Crossings two and three are snow bridged at the moment. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trimmed back one blowdown. A stepover remains buried in the snowpack prior to crossing 2 that will have to wait until spring. Some areas higher up seem brushy because the packed footbed has deviated from the trail; will be left alone to discourage trail creep. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Though we had some melting in the 93 corridor today, there was very little melting up on the mountain. The first few tenths had wet/sticky snow from temperatures touching 40, but it remains powder/packed powder thereafter.
I wore snowshoes roundtrip for the traction (Microspikes didn't appear to be gripping the powder too well). Pretty standard winter conditions with most rocks/roots/etc. covered up to the ridge. Not a tremendous amount of base down low, but plenty once parallel to the ski trails.
The summit loop has drastically different conditions. Left (Sosman) has narrow monorail on the final switchback. Right (Mt. Tecumseh Trail proper) is not at all consolidated and was beat up by barebooters and buttsliders. As a result, there are plenty of postholes, and the scrambles are down to ice. In fact, some barebooters/Microspikers are trampling around and crushing vegetation, which is only going to make the trail creep and erosion worse. Please stop doing this. Please wear snowshoes if you do this side. The final stretch has deep drifting, including a portion where the snowpack is up to the blazes (~6 feet deep).
For the descent, I briefly hopped onto the side of the ski slope (wearing snowshoes, avoiding grooming activity), then took the abandoned trail for a bit.
Nice afternoon weather with sunny skies. Waterville Valley ski area looks to be in pretty good shape still. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-03-14 |
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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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