| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Madison (attempt), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Valley Way |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I say, the parking lot for Appalachia is all clear and dry. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Mud, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Spring Snow |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
I say, I say...there are several new, large blow-downs beyond (south of) the Watson Path intersection. All can be walked around or under except for the last one, just below the Valley Way tent site (this will require a chainsaw to remove and before that, a hand saw and some time to cut a "door" through the myriad branches).
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Dog-related? Not I. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
(Valley Way to about 4000 feet, just below the Valley Way Tentsite.) I went up Valley Way today to get sunset shots of the Great Gulf and northern Presidentials. On the way up, plenty of patches of blue sky -- coupled with a forecast for afternoon partial clearing of cloud cover -- gave me enough incentive to continue. Just below the Valley Way tent site (about 4000 feet), though, the clouds came in and it began to snow something fierce. That, coupled with a very large blow-down, was now incentive to head back to the car. (I'll just have to go back up in a couple of days.) The recent warm temperatures and heavy rain have done a number on the trail, thinning the snowpack to just a few inches to a foot and washing away all snow bridges over stream crossings -- and in a few cases, much of the trail's snowpack adjacent to the stream crossing, sometimes leaving a jumble of foot-thick icebergs downstream from the crossing. Pretty impressive. Nonetheless, with some care taken not to punch through the snowpack, the trail is in pretty good shape and should "heal" a bit as cold temperatures come in over the next couple of days. Trail Conditions: Hard-packed snowpack about four inches thick down low to a foot thick at 4000 feet, with some soft and bare spots. If care is taken, one can do the entire without punching through the snowpack. There's a trace of new snow down below up to about two or three inches up high. There are a few very small icy, slick spots down low, early on and then past the intersection with the Randolph Path, none. I used Microspikes the entire way -- postholed a couple of times on the way down and so switched to snowshoes and postholed even worse, so switched back to the spikes. |
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 | Name: |
Foghorn Leghorn |
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 | E-Mail: |
info(at)barkingcat(dot)net |
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| Date Submitted: |
2010-01-27 |
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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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