NewEnglandTrailConditions.com
NewEnglandTrailConditions.com:
MA
|
ME
|
NH
|
RI/CT
|
VT
|
Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Success, NH
Trails
Trails: Success Trail, Mahoosuc Trail, herd path, Outlook Loop
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Friday, December 27, 2013
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Success Pond Road from Berlin was plowed (though snow covered). 2WD without snow tires would have an issue. 4WD was fine. We also ventured up the side road to the junction before the trailhead - unplowed with ice ruts and 6" of snowpack. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Ice - Blue, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Minor and frozen over. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: A few blowdowns...we pulled a few minor ones out by hand, but a few remain. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: This one actually felt like a winter hike.
Snowpack was 6" starting at the parking lot - most of that a frozen granular with an inch or two of powder on top. We put on snowshoes from the get-go.
Success Trail was very good snowshoeing - the crust generally supported a snowshoe (and when it didn't, you only sank an inch or so...barebooting would have been much slower). There were some ice bulges in the vicinity of the Outlook Loop junctions, as well as near the boundary swath. Some were still soft enough to get purchase. Others we avoided via careful stepping. Never felt the need for crampons in this section.
Snowpack increased to perhaps 8" in places on the Mahoosuc Trail. Snowshoes were ideal, except in the scrambles. One scramble in particular (descending southbound into the col just before Success) would certainly cause many to hesitate, as it was filled in with blue ice. We carefully descended via some treeholds. Had we remembered to bring rope, we would have tied off a 30 or so foot length for descent and grabbed it on the way out. The other scramble areas could either be avoided or carefully travelled.
The summit was in the clouds with blowing snow, so we headed south to the DC3 plane wreck to try to run out the clock a bit. While there were some bare ledges, as well as some areas of ice, snowshoes were generally good for the Mahoosuc stretch. The herdpath was fine with snowshoes (though the initial chute from the ledges to it was icy).
The overhead skies cleared briefly on our return trip to the summit, but the clouds generally still remained (winds were still enough to blow over our tracks in the open areas). We opted to go to the Outlook Loop during the descent to get some views. We were forced to bushwhack around the cliff portion of the loop, as the cliff was coated in ice with an inch of powder hiding it.  
Name
Name: rocket21 
E-Mail
E-Mail: rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2013-12-27 
Link
Link: https:// 
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.

Copyright 2009-2024, All Rights Reserved