| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Hale, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Zealand Road, Hale Brook Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, January 27, 2023 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking lot had some ice and about 1 to 2" of snow - still easily accessible. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All easily done |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
There are some blowdowns, but easy step overs and duck unders |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Good for dogs |
|
 | Bugs: |
|
|
 | Lost and Found: |
Lost ego |
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|
 | Comments: |
I was expecting to bang this out in about 4 hours, but was expecting to be breaking trail and knew 4 hours was optimistic. It took almost 7 hours (with breaks). I skied Zealand out and back saving myself about 30 minutes and the bottom 7/10 mile of the trail was crusty snow with about 2" of powder on top- I was cooking. The next section right through the switchbacks was steeply side-hilled with hard crusty snow. My Flex VRTs even had trouble holding on to the crust. I ended up moving about 1 foot at a time trying to bash through the crust to make a flatter walking surface (my feet are killing me - perhaps I should have changed into my hiking boots, but my nordic boots were quite comfy with the snowshoes) and in some instances I was side-stepping. It ended up taking me about 4 hours to get to the summit where I took a long break and disappointed the flock of gray jays. On my way down, I passed 2 other snowshoers going up, so the trail should be in good shape for snowshoeing now - the surface is now frozen granular snow about 4" deep. |
|
 | Name: |
Tomats |
|
 | E-Mail: |
tomats62@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-01-27 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/mount-hale-for-january-0e9b734 |
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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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