| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Bald Cap, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Bean Brook Road, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, March 6, 2014 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
success pond road was in excellent shape. well and wide plowed. i drove a bit past mile marker 2 and turned right onto bean brook road (sign for bean brook just beyond turn). this road was also well plowed and in about .1 i came to a big and newly refurbished (actually still in process) log landing. here i parked well off to the side. a quick chat with the gentleman clearing and prepping the landing assured that it was ok to park there today. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
beyond the landing i walked on more plowed road to the intersection with the "dump rd" (the map i checked still called it bean brook road) at a plowed berm just inside the landfill boundary. i turned left/east and went around the fence preventing cars from heading west towards the landfill and continued on plowed road for a few minutes until i started my bushwhack up through a maze of old skid roads towards the peak. down low the snow was pretty firm and i thought i might get lucky and find that on the ascent, but as i continued up to pick up a lightly defined northwest ridge the snow was less consolidated and the breaking began. i was going in anywhere from 1-3 feet with occasional stretches of firmly consolidated snow. woods were open for about 2/3 then some scrappier fir with sections of buried regrowth with trap potential to watch out for. the ascent was steady with a few steep pitches, some with small icy cliffs and ledges to navigate. shortly below the summit was one larger cliff that required some slabbing to find a line up through. after that the woods were scrappy, but never thick with moderate grades and firmer snow to the summit.
i booted the plowed roads then used snowshoes to the summit.
i had planned to hike this peak last weekend via peabody brook trail on north road in gorham, but found that the shoulder that is the only legal parking at the trailhead had not been cleared this winter. it also looked like the trail had not been travelled in a long time. with that i hiked elsewhere and tried again today from success pond road. this turned out to be a good call as there was great access on the roads and i was able to find mostly decent woods for the ascent. some great filtered views to the kilkenny and nash stream areas as well as farther to the north. a cold start and ascent, but it had warmed up by nearly 30 degrees by the time i was back to the car. a beautiful day to be out.
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 | Name: |
bryan |
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 | E-Mail: |
bryancuddihee@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2014-03-06 |
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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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