| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Galehead Mountain, South Twin Mountain, North Twin Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Beaver Brook XC ski trails, Gale River Road, Gale River Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Frost Trail, Twinway, North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, snowmobile corridor, FR910, Little River Road |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, January 15, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Standard 10 bucks at Seven Dwarves, no issues at Beaver Brook |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
August testing turned into a January success! We had heard from a very experienced group they took 45 minutes to cross Little River in the morning. It was up around 287 last I looked before I left - WELL over getting your feet wet in the summer. We donned trash bags, then spikes, then went full send across the river. Easy mode, activated. I tested this method out on the same crossing in August when wet feet wouldn't matter and had great results. Took me about 2 minutes to get everything on and then less than 10 seconds to cross the river. All three of us where dry. We crossed just downstream of the summer crossing, its a natural sandbar and shallower. A group infront of us went over the ice log of doom, with success. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Beaver Brook XC Trails are (I forget the marmots name the trail is called) littered with blowdowns. Since its not wilderness, bring the chainsaw bub and have at it. Atleast ten. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
One very happy black lab out today. They had their own trek pole - they carried a special stick all day. In my personal opinion, as a dog dad, bringing that dog over Little River twice was incredibly irresponsible. |
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 | Bugs: |
Two groups of three without snowshoes. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
WORST ZERO DAY EVER.
I wanted to just take a day and hang and chill. Nope. With a staggering twenty minutes notice, I was abducted from my house and on the way North. The worst part was I quite literally got in someones car with them offering me candy. I feel like we have heard this before.
It was an awesome day. In the few minutes we where booting up, the three people that we saw knew about yesterday and congratulated me! A great way to start the day. We opted to bare boot from Beaver Brook to the main crossing down low of the North Branch of the Gale River. We put spikes on here. It should be noted at this crossing, excellent passage was found for short legs about 200 feet up stream. Spikes helped on the ice covered rocks. I didn't even have to gazelle leap, just boss walked over it.This is a huge win for us short people (5'4). Spikes and speedway conditions persisted until the final approach to Garfield Ridge Trail. Just about 3000 feet for reference. From here, we donned snowshoes as it was the vastly superior method of moving. We wore snowshoes from this point until the "last" "third" or "only" crossing of Little River, depending on who you talk to. I was elated to see Frost Trail to Galehead was not its usual post holed delight and actually a proper snowshoe track. We went to the actual highest point of the mountian, not where the cairn is. The hut was warm and welcoming in the fleeting January sun. The trip up South Twin is always a delight, more so in winter thanks to the AMC trail crew that removes all the rocks for us. I am not sure if this sidewalk is to code, but I'll take it. Superb conditions persisted to the summit of South Twin - which affords some of the grandest views of the entire Whites. The winds where singing and it was a no nonsense up and over. If you are looking for big snow, just north of the summit cone of South Twin will get you a fix. Car wash conditions. This always gets some good snow. Great conditions persisted across over to North Twin, a great surprise. We went over to the North Twin view spur, of which the true summit is. Noted some snowshoe prints of the purists infront of us as well who did the same. If you heard a loud boom, that was us hitting Mach One coming down North Twin, unreal conditions. As noted in the water crossing notes above, we donned trashbags and just went full send across Little River. It's like a scorned lover, I am so done with it, this is what I knew would get me over it with the least possible issues. So ya, Little River, you are like a horrible ex. No issues on the way out to the car. HOW ABOUT THAT SUNSET TONIGHT?
If you like to do things the absolutely hardest way possible, wear spikes for this hike. Both approaches are soft and unconsolidated. If you like do do things efficiently, wear snowshoes.
A great day running into several familiar faces, including five grid finishers. I ran into a person on Galehead who offered such kind words and happiness for my own goals while working on their own goals. Happy to say I could atleast help pack down a mile or so for you. #attemptitall.
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 | Name: |
The Teal Goat, CaptChris, Lil Squirt |
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 | E-Mail: |
sea2thebiscuit@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-01-15 |
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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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