| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Square Ledge, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Oliverian Brook Trail, Square Ledge Branch Trail, Passaconaway Cutoff, Square Ledge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, December 7, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Road isn't plowed all the way to the gate, but there's space for 3-5 cars at the plow turnaround spot |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The river crossings are still very rivery, no ice bridges at all. It was a bit treacherous trying to rock hop in snowshoes. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Minimal blow downs |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Broke trail up square ledges then made an attempt on Passaconaway. Gave up and came back down the Passaconnaway cutoff trail.
Snow started out mild, 4-8 inches up to the ledges, there was an old bootpack beneath the fresh snow to follow. Ledges were a slip slidey faff, too deep to comfortably bare boot, too shallow for the roots and rocks to be fully passable by snowshoes, Lots of awkward hands and knees. No ice anywhere, just fluff. For now I recommend snowshoes or barebooting, give it a couple freeze thaw cycles and it might turn into a fun iceaxey scramble.
Lost the old bootpack at the top of the ledges and started properly breaking trail. Snow got progressively deeper and more drifty. I broke trail to about .1 or .2 up Walden trail. Turned around as I was struggling through steep waist deep drifts and making very poor time. Great buttsledding down. The cutoff from Walden to Dicey's Mill was not broken out but I recommend trying for Dicey's Mill up if you come this way, much more likely to be broken out.
Met up with a freshly broken snowshoe trail on the Passaconaway cutoff on my way down (Thank you whoever you are, made my decent so much nicer). By the time I hit the ski trails on the way back down, the first 1-1.5 miles of trail way very hard packed and beginning to crust. |
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 | Name: |
Salamander |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-12-07 |
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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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