| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Zealand Mountain, Mt. Guyot, (attempt), West Bond (attempt), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, March 10, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
plenty of parking at the 302 lot |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
bridged |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
a few leaners on the Twinway |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Parked at the 302 lot on Thursday afternoon and skied in to Zealand Hut. After the start of the from the Zealand TH, there is a XC ski trail that goes off to the left. Its a bit of a bushwhack in places but it does help to avoid some awkward spot on the actual trail where some deep dips would likely require to take your skis off. We stayed overnight with three other ladies. Our plan was to leave the Hut Friday am and tag Zealand and the Bonds for our Winter 48 finish, then return to the Hut. We set off the next morning. The Twinway was broken out but covered with several inches of snow. Easy going with snowshoes. Once we reached Zeacliff, there was no evidence of a trail. We would be breaking trail from here on. It took some searching thru the open woods after leaving Zeacliff to find the trail. Multiple times on our way to Zealand we lost the trail. Sorry for any confusion. Beware, Twice hubby fell into spruce traps up to his arm pits.
It was very slow going through 1-2 ft of powder with deeper drifts. The climb up the steeps near the ladder was difficult. Take a step and slide backdown. The ladder was completely cover with snow. We finally made it to Zealand. It took us 3 hours to go 2.5 miles. We discussed whether or not we could at least make it to W. Bond before our planned turn around time. We pressed on another half mile or so. The going was slow and strenuous as we push up Mt Guyot. We were clearly running out of time and decided to call it quits. There were two gentlemen that we met on the way back that I believe pressed on. Another report for this route/date indicated that someone made it all the way through to LW. Knowing that we had to back track to the hut to collect our overnight gear and make it back to 302 was a factor in our decision making. A few hikers at the hut had plans to attempt Zealand and the Bonds on Saturday. Two other hikers hiked up Hale Brook and came down Lend-A-Hand. They said Lend-A- Hand was rough going. |
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 | Name: |
Diane Stuart |
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 | E-Mail: |
stucroftfarm@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-03-11 |
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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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