| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Nelson Crag, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Blanchard Ski Loop, Link Ski, Old Jackson Rd, Auto Rd, Chandler Brook, Great Gulf, Wamsutta, Alpine Garden, Nelson Crag |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at far end of Pinkham Notch parking, by the Blanchard Ski Loop sign. The lot had more cars in it than I expected on my return, but still plenty of room where I was for more. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Rock hops |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
All signs in place. Blanchard Loop Ski trail okay; just a few damp spots. Link Ski trail very good. Old Jackson a mix of good and rocky; during the day a trail crew cleared out/restored water bars in the western section. Chandler Brook had a few short sections of ice; I debated putting on my old Hillsounds but using my poles I backed down the one or two short tricky spots. Great Gulf had a handful of step over blowdowns between Chandler and Wamsutta. Wamsutta had one significant blocking blowdown which I cut out; there's another broken stem to be removed. There's a few small bits of ice down low; but several longish stretches of ice/hard snow in the upper sections melting quickly in places. Once again I debated putting the Hillsounds on but didn't; these ice stretches are for the most part very modest slopes, mixed in with snow and debris and my poles bit well. The upper ice/snow stretch is in a brushy section. Nelson Crag is a boulder field in its upper section, but easy to follow with the cairns. Below tree line it is fine for awhile, then there is a stretch where it has heavily eroded, stranding/undercutting some waterbars, with water seeping down it in places. I scraped a few of the other waterbars clear enough to capture the seepage using my poles but the stretch needs attention. There are a lot of open ledge; when dry they are easy but when wet they are slippery. Below it the waterbars are working and the trail is back to normal, and then further down there was a lot of nice work which is keeping the trail nice despite the slope. There is hardly any ice/snow on Nelson Crag. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Pepper had fun. The Auto Rd walk was early enough in the day that the sun from above and infrared from the road wasn't bad, there was some shade, and there is water to sip n dip along the way from Old Jackson to Chandler. Chandler is steep but he had no issues going down. Wamsutta had a few challenging scrambles but he found a way up them. In this case being a small dog made things harder. It is normally dry but today there was some meltwater or snow to drink/eat. Nelson Crag was the longest dry stretch, and it was exposed to the warmer midday sun, so he happily used a couple of very shallow seeps for sip n dips when we got down to them. In this case being small was an advantage. The boulder field has some sharp crystalline rock; there are a few scrambles but these are easier than Wamsutta's. There is water on Old Jackson Rd to sip n dip in all along it. |
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 | Bugs: |
A few black flies flew into my ears and eyes on the return leg of Old Jackson Rd. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
I waited for a trail report on Chandler Brook & Wamsutta, and seeing none figured it was late enough in the season to try them before the Auto Rd got busy and the sun/heat oppressive to a little black dog on such an exposed hike. It worked. For some reason my car took a turn off 3 to 302 and we had to drive the Cherry Mtn Rd to get back on track losing some time in the process. I had hoped to beat the Auto Rd opening but we got to it around 9:15 am. Fortunately fewer than 10 cars went by us, all going up, the noise of their engines giving us early warning, so it was actually kind of interesting to walk the road. I had my old Hillsounds in case we ran into ice on Chandler Brook or Wamsutta, and I almost used them a couple of times, but got by on a warm day without them. Wamsutta actually a fair amount of rotting monorail in its upper section between the open area. These two trails and Great Gulf were in pretty good shape. We saw no one on these or on the Alpine Garden & Nelson Crag trails; just two guys without packs on Old Jackson on our return leg. There were lots of nice vistas of course although today there was a bit of haze, raft clouds and a few sprinkles later in the hike. It was warm but there was a good breeze above treeline to keep things pretty comfortable for us both. We had a nice leisurely stop at Nelson Crag using the large cairn to block the wind. A few alpine flowers were out on Nelson Crag, but much more after we descended quite a bit but were still above treeline. It was more of a summery day but not too warm. Whenever Pepper sip n dipped, I dipped my bandanna and wrapped it around my wrist to keep me cooler. Thanks Pepper for another good place to go to on a vacation day. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2016-05-25 |
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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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