| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Flat Mountain South, Flat Mountain Pond, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Flat Mountain Pond Trail, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, October 31, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Spotted a car at Bennet Street area (only car at 8 am, a dozen when we returned) and began our counter clockwise loop from Whiteface Intervale Road parking area (1 pickup truck there and 5 later in afternoon). |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Rock hop-able--high difficulty range, early in morning a few of the rocks had slight slippery ice coating that was gone by mid-morning. Water running well due to recent rain. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few stepover blowdowns on railroad grade that snowmobilers won't like to hit this winter. Amazing waterbars that are keeping the trail wonderful are numerous all the way down railroad grade from Shelter back Bennet Street. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
sure |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Counter Clockwise loop of Flat Mountain Pond Trail, new snowmobile bridge at beaver pond outlet, trail has good signage and arrows to keep you on the trail. We crossed Whiteface River and followed it quite closely after passing intersection with the McCrillis Trail--lovely. Not the low water coniditons I have gotten used to this summer but we found a way to keep our feet dry making a few risky jumps. Fabulous views from the edge of Flat Mountain Pond. We used Shelter as a jumping off point for bushwhack to Flat Mountain South. We were able to easily cross the pond's outlet just below the dam. Using map and compass we picked our line that led us through open birch glades and wide spaced spruce until we reached the summit covered with long dead blowdowns. Super panoramic views that we didn't expect from the summit bumps. We walked right up to the Jelly jar on tree at N bump (last visitor was the previous day) and a few minutes away we worked our way across blowdowns down and up to S bump where found an old cairn and a metal handle attached to a tipping tree. Difficult to determine which bump is actually higher. We nearly traced our route back down to the shelter landing right back at the dam. This pleasantly ended up being a quick and simple bushwhack. The railroad grade back to the Guinea Pond Trail intersection is wonderful easy grade trail (well except for River and Beaver Pond crossings). What a tight hairpin curve for a train made necessary to keep the grade of incline at a minimum! Stood on Jose's Bridge and yes the water was roaring below. This is a gem of a hike and we picked a perfect sunny day! |
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 | Name: |
Nordic Gal, Becca Munroe |
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 | E-Mail: |
amybike@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-11-01 |
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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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