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Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Washington, Mt. Monroe (attempt), NH
Trails
Trails: Ammonusuc Ravine Trail, Crawford Path
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, May 12, 2012
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Plentiful parking - $3 per person day use fee in effect. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Snow - Drifts, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Standing/Running Water on Trail, Slush, Snow - Spring Snow 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: No issues, save for the occasional wet foot. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: The upper fragile area warning sign where the trail last breaks right away was down. I didn't see it on the way up and lost the trail, going left where the trail goes right. A cairn with an arrow would be a great idea at this location - it's just below the part of the trail marked by cairns. On descent I saw the sign and propped it up in a prominent place. I ended up on a short bushwhack, ascending through some posthole snow and deep, soft moss. This was no fun in the very high winds which prevailed from 3:40 to 4 pm. Also, the Ammo simply is not very well marked. The blue blazes are very sporadic. Most of the steep upper mile the trail's course is obvious, but not always. This is also true at the first brook crossing - it took me a couple of minutes to find where the trail goes, and I hike all the time - two other hikers near me had the same problem. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Didn't see too many dogs, except one owned by a nice couple I met starting out at trailhead. 
Bugs
Bugs: No issues - maybe it was too windy?!? 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: What a beautiful trail is the Ammo. The upper mile is very steep, though well constructed. Even so, it was treacherous on descent in places - I had to butt-slide about 5-10 times above the Gorge side trail. In dry conditions, none of the scrambles would be especially difficult, but wet and snowy made for more of a challenge.

Traction was very helpful - glad I didn't leave the spikes home. I bare-shoed it about half-way from the Gorge to the top, then, at one of the bigger brook crossings, donned the spikes and was much the better for it. In places, the monorail was so unstable or the snow so slushy that the spikes could not grab and hold, but for the most part they helped a lot. I had no problem with snow balling up the spikes.

There was fresh snow from about 3700' to the top in mid-afternoon - it had melted to about 4200' by early evening. There were avoidable patches of old monorail as low as 3000'.

I passed numerous hikers coming down as I went up, and almost all parties, save three (maybe 10 hikers), had bailed on Mt. Washington - the ones which had done it had gone from north to south, aided by the very high winds - one twosome had bailed on a full Presidential N-S traverse due to the high winds.

Everyone who ascended via the Ammo, that I saw, either turned around at the hut or opted for Mt. Monroe. I got to the hut at 4 pm, the time of highest winds, per Mt. W Observatory's records from yesterday - was blown over a couple of times in the last stretch of climb. I hid behind the hut for a while, put on a jacket and rain pants for warmth, and was rendered a flag or balloon by the very high winds. I'd say it was a good 70 mph up there, matching conditions reported at the summit at the time.

Rather than struggle with the winds up Monroe, I opted to head down. Took a short trip up Crawford Path to take some pics - it was nice to be shielded somewhat by Monroe - then headed home. By 4000', not only was it no longer windy, it was in fact calm, though the Obs says it stayed very windy up at the W summit well into the night. Never know what you'll get with these mountains!  
Name
Name: Driver 8 
E-Mail
E-Mail: christratton@hotmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2012-05-13 
Link
Link: https://facebook.com/arkie.in.ct 
Bookmark and Share 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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