| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Doublehead Mountain, Mt. Squam, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Doublehead Trail, Crawford Ridgepole Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, December 13, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the Thompson road/Doublehead parking lot; only cars we saw. We thought we would be doing a long road walk, and were surprised it was open, and tire tracks were visible in snow. Looks like this is not plowed in winter. It is a dirt road, with a few potholes, but had no issues with my low clearance car, just drove slowly and maneuvered around largest rocks / holes. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All rock hopable, but some icy rocks were slippery. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trails in great shape. All marked with yellow blazes and yellow markers. One 'double trunk' blowdown on CRT required climbing over. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Cooper and Piper had a great time. There were numerous open & flowing water spots to quench their thirst both on DHT and SRT. One pretty steep rock face on CRT may be difficult for some doggos; may need a boost or assistance on descent. Other than that, the trail was great for pups. |
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 | Bugs: |
N/A |
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 | Lost and Found: |
N/A |
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 | Comments: |
Searched for less popular trails with great views, multiple peak opportunities and these fit the bill. In addition to great blazing / markers, one set of prints in the dusting of snow on DHT made trail easy to follow up to the view point. Once on the CRT, the snow varied up to an inch. But, this made the trail slippery both on the leaves and on the rock ledges; travel was slow. Once these trails have a few feet of snow, they will be much easier to traverse. Plus the section with open water along the ridge will likely freeze over completely. As noted above, there is one steeper rock ledge on the CRT, that required careful maneuvering to get down w/o slipping on snow covered leaves/rocks. There are multiple view points along the trail, most south to the lakes regions, but one to the north with interesting perspectives on many peaks around Waterville and beyond.
We bushwhacked to the summit of Squam leaving the trail shortly before the HOL, and traveling northwest for about 0.1 mi, at most. No jar / canister, just fun in the forest. We returned the same route we ascended; made a quick stop on Doublehead and by remnants of the old homestead for more views. |
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 | Name: |
CookiesOnTop & Goldrush |
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 | E-Mail: |
schwarzmc at yahoo dot com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-12-14 |
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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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