| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Madison, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Valley Way, Osgood Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, December 14, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Appalachia is well plowed |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Blue, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Water is running on all crossings, but easy step overs on rocks |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A couple of blowdowns, but nothing like what others have reported since the storm. All are easy to walk around. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Cold but beautiful day today! We got to the summit around 1 and estimated the wind chill at -12 (air temp around 5, winds 15mph). Winds were falling fast though; tomorrow should be great!
It’s a bit of a mixed bag out there trail conditions wise. Down low, there is a mix of bare trail, rock interspersed with ice, and a few sections of trail with more significant ice flows. The ice was pretty hard this morning but had softened up a lot by the afternoon. Above about 4,000’, Valley Way quite suddenly becomes much softer with less ice and more semi-loose snow. You could maybe make a case that snowshoes are most appropriate for this section , but you’d probably do a lot of ankle rolling and not really help the trail at all. Above tree line, there is a lot of exposed rock with hard, crunchy snow in between it. No ice at all, which surprised us. We had our crampons and expected to need them, but they’d be absolutely no use. There’s way too much rock sticking up, and it’s too crunchy and soft for them.
We used spikes door to door. Leave the snowshoes at home if you’re heading up any of the commonly hiked trails on the northern Presis tomorrow; they’re definitely no use. I can’t speak for Adams, Jefferson, or Washington, but you for sure don’t need crampons for Madison anytime soon, either. Just bring sharp spikes that you’re okay seeing become rock spikes. |
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 | Name: |
GoBlue |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-12-14 |
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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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