| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Ellen, Lincoln Peak, Mt. Abraham, VT |
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 | Trails: |
Jerusalem Trail, Long Trail, ski trails |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, January 17, 2016 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Shoulder on Jim Dwire Road was plowed extra wide directly after trailhead. We were one of three cars there and more could have easily fit. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None - any crossings can be done in a single step |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Needed to duck under a few blowdowns. Need to duck under sap lines at two spots on Jeruselem trail. Long Trail is hard to follow when it intersects ski trails. Trails are in very good shape overall, but blazes were limited. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw some frozen paw prints, but no pups. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
We did a loop, leaving from Jeruselem Trail and ending at the Sugarbush parking lot (Lincoln base area). Since Sugarbush has a no hiking policy (I cannot find this posted anywhere, but this is what I have heard) this might not be a great option when the mountain is fully open. Then again, there was a post from last March that mentions getting permission from ski patrol to use the trails to descend.
We left the trailhead at 10 AM. Bareboots were fine for first couple of miles, but spikes were needed a little ways before hitting the Long Trail due to some ice under the snow. At the junction, long trail route to AP gap looked untraveled for quite some time. There were a few inches of new snow along the ridge (probably more now), but gators and microspikes were sufficient.
There are three ski trails that need to be crossed while traveling across Sugarbush and due to skier traffic in the woods and poor signage it is not immediately clear where to go. However, by attempting to gain altitude at all crossings we were able to relocate the hiking trail. The section between castle rock summit and Lincoln summit is a sanctioned ski route for accessing castle rock and we were dodging skiers frequently on narrow trail. At Lincoln summit, we hiked up the ski trail for 300 meters or so to the observation deck after being unable to find the Long Trail after it joined the Paradise ski trail. From there we traversed to Abraham. Only the the summit itself is above treeline. The Battel Trail had fresh tracks on it.
Coming down we opted to snowshoe down the castle rock ski lift area. The lift was not running and the long trail skier access entrance was closed at 2pm. The trails were empty until the very bottom and we did not talk to any personnel from Sugarbush. The ski trail down was quite steep and snowshoes were necessary to keep from breaking through. Lots of glissading. We finished at 4pm. |
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 | Name: |
Jon and Tom |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2016-01-18 |
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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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