| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Starr King, Mt. Waumbek, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Starr King Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, January 27, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Hoooooooo boy.
The usual winter lot is not plowed. Looks like (?) there’s maybe a lot on 115A just before the intersection with Route 2 where you can park? It says “trail parking” but not sure what it’s referencing. Definitely saw cars at the lot immediately next to the gas station.
Starr King Road is passable with caution. However, there’s a pretty good ditch on the right hand side (coming in) that is marked with cones. Unfortunately, some poor soul found himself in said ditch this morning. Luckily my hiking partners had the vehicle and straps to extricate him from the ditch. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
N/A |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Several blowdowns on the route, mostly due to the weight of the snow/ice on the trees. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
N/A |
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 | Bugs: |
Legit saw a mosquito buzzing around the parking area when we were done. It needs to get proper winter cold like yesterday. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Left a Columbia beanie on the side of the trail, about 2.25 miles up. We talked to the owner of said beanie to let him know it was there, so I imagine it’s been retrieved. |
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 | Comments: |
Trail down low is barely fully covered and pretty much mashed potatoes/slush. As you get higher up, the track is deeper and firmer, however littered with postholes from a trail runner. Said postholes continued all the way to the summit of Starr King. It appears that person did not continue on to Waumbek, as the trail between the peaks was free of postholes, and pretty solid.
We did snowshoes door to door. Only saw maybe 3 other people wearing snowshoes, but probably 10 others in spikes with snowshoes strapped to their bags.
Hopefully the incoming storm drops enough snow to (mostly) fill in the postholes, and the track can be reset this week with some snowshoe love. |
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 | Name: |
Chef |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-01-27 |
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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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