| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
North Twin Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Little River Road, private drive, snowmobile trail, Haystack Road, North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, February 22, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking lot at Seven Dwarfs was plowed, and folks parked properly (nose in *not* parallel). $10 under the windshield gets you tickets to the show. We saw multiple snowshoe prints across the bridge both at the start and end of the day. Folks need to do better so we don’t lose access to our Hale and Twins winter shortcut |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The first person breaking trail today chose the old route, which means there are 3 water crossings over the Little River. With a total of 9 pairs of snowshoes, the crossings are solid, except the first one, which has a HUGE hole to the left. Like, you can lose a St Bernard down it, and the river is flowing fast under it, so be aware. All other crossings are bridged, except the stream about 2400 feet up. Thank goodness I had a change of socks |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Blowdowns…SO MANY. We took care of several, but there are at least 4 above 3500 feet that need a bigger hand saw than what we had. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
None seen, too chilly for them |
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 | Bugs: |
Zilch |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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|
 | Comments: |
Finally found a trailbreaking experience to top Roger’s Ledges from last April! We were the 4th set of snowshoes to hit the unbroken, beach-sand, blowdown and spruce trap-ridden North Twin Trail this morning, but by mile 2 the first 2 pairs had to bail for injury, and the 3rd pair lost steam before the steeps and waved the white flag. Fortunately, the bluebird weather was a siren call to three gridders (Hi Capt Chris!!), 2 young men doing an overnight Pemi Loop, and another couple who were doing the Galehead Loop. Even with 9 sets of snowshoes, the trail is still a disaster above 2500 feet, and refuses to consolidate (unless you count the spruce traps consolidating around our legs lol).
There was crawling, side stepping, some splooshing (yeahhh, yours truly found the weak spot in the stream crossing), and maybe a smidge of crying lol. But those views from North Twin more than made up for the mayhem! With the arduous conditions and dropping temps we didn’t have time for South Twin (another orphan). Five folks went on to South Twin, and of those 5 another 2 did the traverse to Galehead. Taking with Capt Chris after, he said the 1.3 mile section to South is pretty beastly, and BOTH his snowshoes were broken (thank goodness he has gear ties!). The trail has the formation of a trench at most points, but you’re still postholing in snowshoes, so don’t bother with microspikes. We need a good freeze thaw. But at the end of the day this puts us at #35/W48, and #152/576! |
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 | Name: |
islandgirl |
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 | E-Mail: |
joannhall4@aol.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-02-22 |
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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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