| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Madison, Mt. Adams, Mt. Jefferson, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Valley Way, Osgood Trail, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop, Jewell Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at Appalachia, USFS lot on Base Rd and Highland Center. Plenty of room at all. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Bridged |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
No blowdowns, one sign tilted but working, and generally no maintenance issues. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Pepper was the mighty tough little dog today, as he had to fight through some deep snow, sometimes powder and sometimes sticky and snowball forming and only occasionally stiff enough to support his weight. Longer legged dogs would have had a much easier time. Rocks have a coarse crystalline structure and there's a lot of wet, so the foot pads need to be tough. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Found one black knit hat on Gulfside between Sphinx and Jewell. Contact georg3@comcast.net if it is yours. |
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 | Comments: |
This was supposed to be a Presi traverse but the unconsolidated snow had filled up the trails, hid holes in the rocks, or drifted so that our pace slowed considerably. In many places snowshoes would have been nice, but they would have been on and off a lot or nicked up by rocks too. We didn't see anyone on the trails, but we saw footprints on Jefferson that probably came up from the notch, after Sphinx a couple of sets of bootprints from Jewell and more going down Jewell.
Valley Way up was pretty easy, Jewell down was as well with its lower parts slushy but somewhat well packed. We did not produce a well packed trail on the ridge; it will remain slower going than one might expect; it could use some thaw/freeze cycles. We brought microspikes but didn't use them.
It was such a nice day out, and quite scenic. We had such wonderful companions, Erica and Georg, who are so experienced in hiking this traverse and great fun to be with. It was more work for less gain than planned, but it was a great day on the trails. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
windriversjohn at gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2011-11-02 |
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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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