| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Washington, Monroe, Eisenhower, Pierce, Jackson, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Cog, Crawford Path, Mount Eisenshower Loop, Webster Cliff Trail, Webster Jackson Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, April 4, 2026 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
First and last car in Crawford that day |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow - Wet/Sticky, Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Things are melting quickly, but still crossable |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
One very happy pup |
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 | Bugs: |
Starting to emerge at Lakes of the Clouds :-( |
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 | Lost and Found: |
One MSR snowshoe tail found about .1 mile above Lakes and left at the hut |
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 | Comments: |
After climbing up the Cog in snowshoes, it is boney or fully open enough from 5,500’ on up to bareboot all the way across the summit of Washington.
Between Washington and Monroe, crampons were definitely good to have on. I went with full crampons (Grivel G10s) this time of year given the hardness of the ice. You can get by with micros, but the actual purchase of crampons helps a lot. There are many fully open sections on southfacing trails, but plenty of ice and still a significant snowfield. The northeast side on Monroe is still very snowy and steep, but bare on top.
We took off crampons after the summit of Monroe and barebooted all the way to the northeast side of Eisenhower. There are a few sections of deep snow amongst the trees, but it’s not that bad and has a firm monrail. The summit cone of Eisenhower is totally bare.
Once back in the trees on the south side of Eisenhower there is still plenty of deep sections of snow. Snowshoes are still very helpful here and make moving a lot easier. Except for the summit of Pierce, it was snowshoes all the way to Jackson. For the most part the summit of Jackson is completely free of snow and ice, but as soon as you are back in the trees on Webster-Jackson, crampons are very necessary and we kept them on until we could see the road in Crawford Notch.
It was definitely good to get these done while there is a decent amount of snow and monorail left, but things are going to get very messy soon! |
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 | Name: |
ges |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2026-04-05 |
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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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