| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Gunstock Mountain, Belknap Mountain, North Piper Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Gunstock Mountain Trail, Brook Trail, Saddle Trail, Blue Trail, White Trail, Old Piper Trail, Piper Mountain Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, December 4, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Small lot just before the gate on Carriage Road in Gilford (which was closed) can fit only a few cars. Don't block the gate. Most of us parked on the side of the road - there was just enough room before the No Parking sign to fit all of our cars. The area just before the small lot has a deep ditch that could get a car stuck - brave souls with high-clearance vehicles could try to park there, but most of us parked in a slightly smoother roadside area just past a driveway. If you have a small car, you can park perpendicularly to the road there, which allows more cars to fit. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The one at the bottom of Piper Mountain Trail has a bridge. Nothing else. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
No blowdowns. Several wet and muddy sections on all the trails, which were icy higher up. Signage is very good in this area, and the trails were blazed well. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw a couple. They should be fine as long as they know how to look out for icy ledges. |
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 | Bugs: |
None. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing. |
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|
 | Comments: |
Fun loop hike over Gunstock, Belknap, and North Piper. The ascent of Gunstock Mountain Trail was a little wet to begin with but nothing bad. Ice started to appear on the rocks just before the lower junction with Winter Shortcut, but it was easily avoidable. Some of the steep slabs on the upper part of the trail had ice on them, but enough were dry that we could avoid the ice and didn't need any traction. As we approached the summit of Gunstock, we could hear the snowmaking machines, and the uppermost few dozen yards of the trail had a dusting of snow from the snowmaking. The snow from those machines was the only snow we saw all day - there was no snow anywhere else.
Views from the top of the ski area were beautiful. The descent into the col between Gunstock and Belknap was straightforward but did have some avoidable water, mud, and ice. The climb up to Belknap was also straightforward - only a little bit of easily avoidable ice. It was a nice day, but still cold and windy, particularly at the higher elevations.
The descent of Belknap on White Trail also had some avoidable water, mud, and ice, but there were still plenty of dry rocks. Views from the lookout points on that trail were excellent. The climb up Old Piper Trail to North Piper and the descent on Piper Mountain Trail were more of the same - many of the rock ledges were icy, but with a little thought we could always avoid the ice. And the ice never went on for too long, so none of us ever considered putting on micro-spikes (even though we all carried them).
This was a very enjoyable hike with a great group of fellow hikers. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-12-04 |
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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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