| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Little Sugarloaf, Goose Pond, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Elwell Trail, Goose Pond Loop, Orange Trail, snowmobile trail, bushwack (old Elwell Trail) |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, December 16, 2013 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Trailhead parking lot for the Elwell Trail is not plowed in winter. We parked nearby (across the road) at Wellington State Park, the entrance road and parking areas for which are plowed. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossings were not an issue. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trails are in fine shape. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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|
 | Comments: |
The weekend's snowstorm dropped a blanket of excellent, foot-deep, snowshoe-able powder in the area around Newfound Lake and Mt. Cardigan. Today we encountered a foot or a bit more on most sections of trail, and an occasional thin section (ledges), easily snowshoed around.
We parked at Wellington State Park and walked directly across West Shore Road to the snowmobile trail -- the old Elwell Trail, prior to the construction of the current parking area and the trail's re-routing in the early 1970s (the 40-plus-year-old blazes have faded but are still quite visible).
From there, we followed the snowmobile trail -- where it departs from the old trail corridor -- to the current parking area (unmaintained in winter), up the Orange Trail, to the Goose Pond Loop, along the Orange Trail on the other side to where it intersects the Elwell Trail, up the back of Little Sugarloaf, and down the Elwell Trail almost back to the parking area.
Near the parking area (about 0.1 miles from it), we departed the current Elwell Trail and followed the old Elwell trail corridor back to West Shore Road and our car, bypassing the parking area and a section of snowmobile trail.
We encountered one other set of snowshoe tracks -- from the parking area to Little Sugarloaf -- but otherwise had great, unbroken powder the entire way. Our route is now broken, but not consolidated.
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|
 | Name: |
Pancks and Tesco Heaney |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2013-12-17 |
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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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