| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Starr King, Mt. Waumbek, South Weeks, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Starr King Road, Starr King Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, February 4, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The parking area across Route 2 was plowed. Summer lot is inaccessible. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
All clear from the trailhead to Waumbek. Continuing along Kilkenny Ridge to South Weeks was a maze of huge blowdowns all over the trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Baxter stayed home today to recover from the day before, and it’s a good thing. The deep snow and many spruce traps along the ridge to South Weeks would have been treacherous for her. |
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 | Bugs: |
Nope |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
After attempting the Weekses from the north the day before, we set out from the south this time, knowing it would be packed out to Waumbek. The Starr King Trail was a highway; most people were in microspikes, but we opted for snowshoes on the ascent. There was some drifting near the summits and along the ridge between Starr King and Waumbek. Beyond the Waumbek lookout there was no sign of travel. We broke trail the 2.4 miles to South Weeks, through a maze of huge blowdowns and a minefield of spruce traps. There were about 8 inches of fresh powder, but the drifts were much deeper, and many times we sunk in to our knees or more. This section alone took 4.5 hours to navigate. Blazes were hard to follow and we relied heavily on my previous GPS track to stay on the “trail,†which might as well have been a bushwhack. It was a long day. We finally made the summit after dark, following a very fresh moose track. Surprisingly, it looked like someone had come in from the north just hours earlier. They must have taken advantage of our track yesterday to North Weeks. I’d be interested to hear how the section from North Weeks to South Weeks went. We carefully followed our track all the way back to the car as it started snowing. Much of it was already blown in, and I imagine that with the wind and fresh snow it will quickly be obliterated. This was #89/100 for my winter hundred highest, and well-earned. |
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 | Name: |
Liz Wyman |
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 | E-Mail: |
lizwyman at yahoo |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-02-05 |
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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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