| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Baldpate Mountain - West Peak, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Appalachian Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, December 10, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The designated parking area off ME 26 in Grafton Notch is plowed. Can hold 20+ cars. Two outhouses are still open but not stocked (no TP for the bunghole). They are clean. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable) |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All are hoppable. Increased water levels from melting snow and rain made one crossing force the snowshoes into the water, but the level did not come over the top of the boots. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Several blow downs (3-4). Two obstructed the path. The remainder are step overs. The first sign encountered after the bog bridges is very faded and hard to read. The remainder of signage is excellent. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
No issues to dogs on this trail. |
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 | Bugs: |
Nope |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nope |
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 | Comments: |
This was an unseasonably warm day with temps near 50 degrees. The trail was broken out to the summit, including an inadvertent bushwhack. Nice temps, but made for very wet, very heavy snow and full on rivers running down short sections of exposed trail. Rainfall and wind speeds around 30 mph made this trek near hypothermic. But we had the “good†gear and stayed warm. Snowshoes were a must to keep from postholing.
This is the AT and is blazed in standard 2x6 white blazes. Excellent blazes up to the higher elevation past the shelter. Once in the dense, smaller trees near the summit, blazes become more sparse.
For some reason I keep getting off trail in THE SAME SPOT about half way between the shelter and the summit. Each winter hike on this mountain I keep missing the sharp left turn that heads up some switchbacks on the side of this steep slope. I inadvertently bushwhack a 0.25 mile section until I cross the blazed trail higher up. This key turn is not blazed in the standard double white blazing. The tracks of the person before us did the same thing. So, if following our tracks, you can follow the “wrong†path but get back onto the trail anyway after some near vertical ascents, or you can see our trail through some very deep snow but stays on the “right†trail. Your choice, just keep going up until there is no more up then look for the trail. |
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 | Name: |
Remington34 |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-12-10 |
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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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