| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Cave Mountain, Rice Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Flume Brook Road, bushwhack, Rice Mountain Road, snowmobile trail, Route 26 roadwalk |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, March 9, 2014 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
i parked just south of the entrance to dixville notch state park on rt 26 where parking for a wildlife observation area is kept semi plowed. flume brook road leaves on the right side of 26 just up the road. there is a sign, but snow banks are obscuring it a bit. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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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: |
flume brook road is a snowmobile trail in winter and was well travelled. this corridor is not shown on the snowmobile map i have so i can't give a number. i followed flume brook road to its height of land then bushwhacked towards cave intitially following old skid roads before entering mostly coniferous woods. snow was semi consolidated and i rarely went in over a foot except when i neglected to tip toe over the many patches of buried spruce along the way. going was otherwise quite good all the way to the summit. i back tracked to flume brook road then headed south along the ridge towards rice. to start i followed a snowmobiled road up to a wind gauging station (hopefully not a sign of things to come). beyond that was the toughest stretch of the day with some steeper climbing and deeper snow, with plentiful buried spruce, up onto a long flat plateau on the ridge. lots of moose sign in this area and soon i spooked one as i moved along the ridge. the going got progressively nicer with more consolidated snow and open woods. i crossed over the upper part of an old logging cut with nice views then started the long, but mild ascent up towards rice. woods were fantastic and after a couple false bumps i was at the summit. descending i back tracked to the sag north of the summit bump then turned west and droppped off the side of the mountain through open woods. the going was great and soon i was walking various skid roads in a large logging cut eventually funneling down to rice mountain road which had been travelled by snowmobiles. i followed rice mountain road down to rt 26, walked the snowmobile trail that runs parallel to 26 for a bit, then walked 26 the rest of the way back to the car.
i wore snowshoes for all but the walk on 26.
stunningly beautiful day on cave and rice. todays hike completed my new hampshire 3000 footers and new hampshire 200 highest and i couldn't have asked for a better day. great snow conditions, good woods, blue skies, nice views and a moose sighting to top it off. there was a lot of moose sign along the ridge including a number of fresh beds right at the summit of rice. the views on the roads and in points along the ridge were real nice especially to dixville notch and dixville peak. some glimpses into the nash stream area and down to the northern presidentials as well. for the most part hiking these peak lists was a solitary pursuit, but big thanks to the friends that came along for some of them, you know who you are and likely have the scratches and ripped clothing to prove it. i'm pretty sure i saw more wildlife (moose, bears, deer, grouse) in the woods over the last year of hiking than all previous years combined. great to be out.
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 | Name: |
bryan |
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 | E-Mail: |
bryancuddihee@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2014-03-09 |
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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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