| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Hale, Zealand Mountain, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Zealand Road, Hale Brook Trail, Lend-A-Hand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Zealand Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, January 13, 2024 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of parking in 302 Snowmobile Lot |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
No Issues |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few blowdowns on Twinway |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
My dog (75lbs golden) really struggled with Lend-A-Hand since it was entirely unbroken with plently of large drifts. The 2.8 miles took us almost 2 hours with constant breaks because of exhaustion. He was constantly falling through as the snow was up to his chest. He did perfectly fine with the rest of the trails other than a bit of slipping on the sidehills on Hale Brook and the less packed steep parts leading up to the peak of Zealand. |
|
 | Bugs: |
None |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
None |
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
Zealand Road: Easy to bare boot on the packed down area of the road.
Hale Brook: Put on snowshoes at the start of Hale Brook and kept them on for the rest of the hike (16 inches of fresh powder). Only one person with snowshoes had broken out Hale Brook. Snow shoes were 100% necessary.
Lend-A-Hand: Completely unbroken. It was pretty manageable for me in snowshoes, but my dog really struggled, see dog notes for more details.
Twinway: Decently packed up until the first Zealand viewpoint, after the viewpoint it was much less packed. Snowshoes were absolutely necessary up to Zealand. The way down was a bit rough in snowshoes as the pack was pretty narrow. I wish I swapped them out for spikes after hitting the Zealand viewpoint.
Zealand Trail: This is well broken out and easy, microspikes were perfect. |
|
 | Name: |
Alex |
|
 | E-Mail: |
ajwitkin@wpi.edu |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2024-01-14 |
|
 | 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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