| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Starr King, Mt. Waumbek, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Starr King Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, December 31, 2011 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Small pile of snow at last driveway plowing easily avoided. No snow on access drive or the lot. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Ice - Blue, Snow - Spring Snow |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Small drainage step overs. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trail free and clear. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Pretty easy day for Pepper. I took his winter sweater off 5 minutes into the hike, and he did get a bit wet, but he happy going anywhere he wanted. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Started in the afternoon to avoid freezing rain, but saw no signs of it on the roads or trail. Can it really be New Years Eve?
The parking lot is snowfree and down low the trail is a mix of icy patches and open mostly frozen ground.
Longer stretches of ice flow increase in the hardwood section, but at its highest sections there's finally a dense (though not deep) snow that is easy to hike on, interspersed with some ice flow sections until nearing the top. The ridge is especially fast and fun. Microspikes were perfect for these varied conditions, except I had another one almost fail. I'll be switching to full use of my Hillsounds for awhile. We met one group of 3 in microspikes, and one in Yaktraks and it looks like he turned around well before the summits and walked down on the side of the trail.
Waumbek & Starr King was a great choice for this day, with the upper ridge so perfect for foggy conditions with moss hanging from the mix of dead and living trees with a light coating of snow in the dark understory. I imagine a nice day tomorrow will push most everybody to the view peaks but come Monday the snow should make this hike a gem again. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
windriversjohn at gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2011-12-31 |
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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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