| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Starr King, Mt. Waumbek, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Starr King Road, Starr King Trail, old logging road |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, December 31, 2012 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Summer lot unplowed and NO PARKING on Starr King Road allowed. 3-4 cars inconsiderately parked around the upper driveways despite clear signs forbidding it. Not sure if the upper owners would even be able to get by one car... Hopefully their lack of consideration does not lead to the summer lot being closed for good...
I parked in the plowed pull off lot 1/10 mile East on Rt 2. Plenty of room. Not sure if this is the normal winter spot but it looked like it and there were no signs prohibiting it. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Only a few small ones low on trail, all unbridged but easy stepovers. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Some recent large blowdowns between the peaks have been cleared out, so nothing to report there. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Should be a nice dog hike. Plenty of snow to munch, no real steep spots and no ice. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Got a late start for me (9:00) and made my way up steadily. No views to be had from the old cabin site on Starr King, and ditto for the blowdown spot just past the Waumbek summit. Broken trail ends at the blowdown patch. The old logging road from the trailhead to the trail a little ways up was broken as was the main trail there. Took the trail up, logging road down. Doubt it really saves much but the logging road is a little shorter.
Snowshoe track was in great shape this morning, and the 9 people I saw before my return to Starr King were all in snowshoes too. Considerable drifting between the peaks especially on the Waumbek side of the col but the trail is still fairly obvious. Unfortunately, about 1 mile from the road I ran into a ton of people (several groups) who by and large were barebooting. A few had skis or sleds for descent, but enough didn't that I'm not sure what the trail will look like come tomorrow. The damage wasn't terrible, but the track was pockmarked with 4-5" holes; they should smooth out fine as long as we dont get a freeze/thaw cycle first.
Definitely a trailhead to trailhead snowshoe trek. Nice shorter day out on a windy day. |
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 | Name: |
madmattd |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2012-12-31 |
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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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