| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Crystal Mountain - South Peak, Crystal Mountain - North Peak, Tucker Mountain - West Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Roaring Brook Road, bushwhacks, 4 Mile Brook Road, Skidder Roads, Logging Roads |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 12, 2016 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
noting last week that tracy brook road was being logged we surmised that corser brook road should be drivable in to roaring brook road. the warm temeperatures during the week didn't help road conditions, but in a higher clearance all wheel drive suv/truck we were able to drive in corser brook road to the big intersection at around 6 miles then continue another 2+ to roaring brook road (signed). the road was pretty well frozen and plenty rutted in the morning and quite soft, wet and muddy by afternoon. still some short stretches of snow/ice in shaded areas. we were surprised to see numerous trucks pulling snowmobile trailers out there as well. i have a feeling some of those trailers might end up staying there until the roads dry out....we were able to park in a winged out area near a camp just east of roaring brook road. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Mud - Significant, Snow - Spring Snow, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
we crossed a number of smaller brooks without much difficulty. larger brooks/rivers in the area are running strong. |
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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: |
we started up roaring brook road aka snomo corridor 134 finding thin and icy cover. we walked until we were a bit southwest of south crystal and had a good look at it and started up through a heavily logged area. snow cover was thin and interspersed with bare patches and mud. once into the woods beyond the cut snow cover became consistent and was fairly firm and crusty early with up to a couple feet. woods were generally good and we were quickly on the recognized summit of south crystal. from there we headed along the ridge towards north crystal finding deeper and somewhat softer snow and we were all postholing in at times with snowshoes. we hit one steep pitch headed up north crystal then good open woods up to the recognized highpoint. from there we took a rough line on roughly where we wanted to ascend west tucker and headed down in much softer and wetter snow. punching through the wet snow became pretty standard on the way down. once in the lower open woods we had a good look at the skid road we wanted to take up west tucker and headed towards it lucking onto an old snomobile track up in the logging cut that got us much of the way down. we crossed a couple brooks and were on 4 mile brook road which we followed a short distance north to the prominent skid road that runs east below the west ridge of west tucker. snow was very soft in the warm sun. the skid road faded into old roads which we followed to around 2800 then headed up the peak wrapping around to its east then turning to the recognized high point. woods were fairly good and never especially steep. back down on 4 mile brook road we followed it south until just beyond a southeast ridge coming off north crystal then took aim on the saddle between south crystal and its first small sub peak to the southeast. we followed a log cut then a road up to the saddle with continued soft, wet, unsupportive snow. we knew there was a fairly major log road in the drainage to the southwest that would take us back to roaring brook road so headed down in mostly open woods to pick it up. we eventually hit some extensive fairly recent logging with lots of mud and running water on the way, but soon we were on the road which had a mix of thin snow/slush cover and mud. we were quickly back at roaring brook road and had a fairly short walk back out to where we parked.
a big thanks to amy and zach for a great hike today. |
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 | Name: |
bryan, Nordic Gal, zporterColdRiverCampCook |
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 | E-Mail: |
bryancuddihee@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2016-03-12 |
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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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