| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Whitewall Mountain (attempt), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Zealand Trail, Ethan Pond Trail, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, July 17, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Excellent parking, as usual. We parked in the overflow. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
No problems, many bridges on Zealand. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Excellent, and I had the privilege of meeting the Ethan Pond Maintainer. Thank you, sir! |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Zealand and Ethan are great for dogs and we saw many. But I would never bring a dog on that slide. I shouldn't have gone myself! |
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 | Bugs: |
very few. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Lost my sandal in the thick brush. On the way home, found a yellow bag on the Zealand Trail and a black whistle near the bathrooms. We put them at the kiosk. |
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 | Comments: |
Whitewall Mountain (almost!).
SCARY! Wed afternoon, we set up camp off the Zealand trail. Then we went to the Notch. Prema has had her eye on that slide for a long time. It was late afternoon, I figured not too many people would be passing by, so if there was a little falling rock we would not endanger anyone. I suggested we keep a safe distance from one another, like you would on Owl's Head. IT WAS NO OWL'S HEAD! I had no idea it was that unstable (even though there is that huge pile at the bottom). All I could think of was dislodging a large boulder and getting crushed to death. I finally joined her at the notch, where she asked "We're not going back the same way, are we?" Of course we did not. We explored the summit and made our plans for our descent. She also asked me if there was a canister. When I got home, I went on line and discovered not only is there one, but we we not too far from it. But we had more urgent matters. We have very little experience bushwhacking, but we looked at our map and compass and figured once we were past the cliffs we could go down at an angle toward the hut and eventually end up on Ethan Pond Trail. Which we did, but not after going through bushwhack hell. Really thick evergreens, many of them dead and brittle. Lots of drop offs. I heard something drop into the bushes and did not realize til later that it was my sandal. Oh well. After about 4 hours of misery we ended up on the trail, went back to the tent, and went to sleep. I dated this hike as ending the 17th; because we reached the trail around 2 AM. It was quite the learning experience. We had two lights each, warm clothes, we would have been o.k. if we had to spend the night. But Prema was a great guide, so we were not benighted. It's a gorgeous summit. I want to hone my navigation skills, because I never want to set foot on that slide again!
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 | Name: |
Beckie and Prema |
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 | E-Mail: |
beckiejani@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-07-18 |
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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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