| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Eisenhower, Mt. Pierce, Mt. Jackson, Mt. Webster, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Crawford Path, Eisenhower Loop, Webster Cliff Trail, Webster-Jackson Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 2, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked on side of route 302. No issues. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All easy hop overs. Crystal Cascade is still bridged, but won't be for much longer. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Couple blowdowns on the Crawford path and Webster Jackson. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Hillsounds the the whole way to Eisenhower. The steep section of the Eisenhower ascent could have warranted full crampons, but we got by with Hillsounds. Clouds and 40+ mph winds blew in just as we summited, nearly knocking us off balance a couple times. We actually opted to descend the north side of Eisenhower and circle back on the AT/Crawford Path rather than descend the steep, tricky section in the heavy wind. This add a little mileage, but I'm surprised more people don't do this - the northern descent from the summit cone is much easier, but we saw no tracks this way. Snowshoes went on one we reached the junction with the AT/Crawford Path, as this section was not broken out and there was some drifting. Surface was still fairly firm though, and breaking trail was easy. Back to Hillsounds once we got back to the Eisenhower Loop junction.
Once we got to Pierce the warming temps were quickly turning he snow into softer mashed potatoes. Not as much traffic between Pierce and Webster, we only saw a few folks and counted a few tracks, and the trail was much softer in spots. Snow was clumping my Hillsounds pretty badly on the steep descent to the hut - snowshoes or full crampons with anti-balling would be a better choice. I switched back to snowshoes at the hut, and they were definitely the preferred choice from Pierce to Webster. One steep, sketchy, icy section descending Jackson. I attempted it and quickly went into a safe butt slide, but my friend found a bypass to the right others had used. No views on Webster by the time we got there, light snow had begun falling. Will have to come back for the view for this 52wav peak. The Webster Branch down to Webster Jackson was a hard packed, post holed mess. Hillsounds or microspikes may have been better in the snow which was much more granular here, but at this point I didn't feel like switching my traction again. Snow transitioned to rain on the way down, and it was raining pretty steadily in the notch upon returning to the car and rained consistntely the whole way home. The rain + warm temps will make for some tricky conditions this week. |
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 | Name: |
JCB |
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 | E-Mail: |
jcburtt@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-03-03 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.instagram.com/p/C4Dso-NA2eJ/?igsh=eDFsam01ZmFsajIz |
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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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