NewEnglandTrailConditions.com
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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Madison, Mt. Adams, Mt. Jefferson, NH
Trails
Trails: Valley Way, Osgood Trail, Gulfside, Jewell Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Sunday, April 3, 2022
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: None of the lots were close to being full 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow - Spring Snow 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes, Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: The one water crossing on Valley Way was not worth mentioning. Low water. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Things were in pretty good shape from top to bottom, although there was a trail sign that had been blown down (I think past Jefferson). 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Put on microspikes pretty quickly heading up Valley Way, and kept them on until the Ammo parking lot. On the ridge, I saw some footprints of folks barebooting, and my hiking partner occasionally put on crampons, but I never thought there were really needed. The one ice bulge on Valley way was quite soft and I walked right up without any difficulty.

Trails are in a transition. Down low, there are bare spots intermingled with packed monorail and thin patches of ice. (Please do not hike around them, it only widens the trail!) A bit higher, there is good packed snow, but not very deep. On the ridge itself, it's about half bare rock and half snow with a thin layer of ice under it.

The signs often had thick layers of rime ice on them, and yet hikers were frequently without hats or gloves, and I wore a short sleeved shirt until reaching Madison Springs Hut. (We saw a guy wearing shorts!) Absolutely no need for snowshoes anywhere on this route.

The one exception to the thin snow are the Jefferson snow fields. They were still fully developed and I would recommend having an ice axe for crossing them. There was no thumping, none at all, but do cross them with caution, one at a time, spacing yourselves out, as the slabs could still avalanche.  
Name
Name: B the Hiker 
E-Mail
E-Mail: bsecret@hotmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2022-04-04 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share 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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