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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mowglis Mountain, NH
Trails
Trails: Manning Trail, Back 80 Trail, Elwell Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, November 18, 2017
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: The lot at the AMC Cardigan Lodge was about half full. Last month's washouts on Mt. Cardigan Road and Shem Valley Road have been repaired and repaved; roads are in good shape. Shem Valley Road was frozen hard-packed snow/ice, with some sand on top for traction -- 2WD was fine for this. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Not an issue. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Trails are in decent shape, in particular, given last month's heavy rain and wind. (See notes, below.) 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: We took a quick trip out to Mowglis Mountain, our first since the rain/wind damage from last month. We were pleasantly surprised at how well the trails have held up, but there was some damage.

On the lower section of the Back 80 Trail, some significant erosion in places were drainage had been an issue before. However, where new water bars and drainage channels had been installed last summer, these did their job and those sections of trail are in good shape.

On the upper section of the Back 80 Trail (past the cellar hole), trail is in good shape -- we cleared a few small blowdowns and quite a bit of windfall detritus.

Elwell Trail from Back 80 Trail to Mowglis Mountain is in decent shape, too. We cleared some small blowdowns and deadfall, but had to leave three large new ones -- the first, a stepover, is not an issue; another 5-6-inch diameter step-over on an incline can be taken out with a bow saw; and the third, a medium-sized softwood (which had a new blaze on it, sadly...but that's how blaze trees work, right?) can be stepped over for now or walked around, and rather than clearing, is probably easier to route the the trail around for now.

New blazing on this section of Elwell Trail looks good, as does the corridor clean-up from last summer.

The 1-3 inches of crusty snow on the Back 80 and Elwell Trails and some of the ice on the ledges made it clear that winter has come to the Cardigan area.

We brought light traction as a precaution but did not need it.  
Name
Name: Pancks and Tesco Heaney 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2017-11-19 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share 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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