| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Moosilauke, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Beaver Brook Trail, Benton Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, March 27, 2014 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All crossings are frozen but the cascades are starting to melt |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Few blowdowns |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Epic day for a challenging climb to Moosilauke via the ultra steep Beaver Brook Trail. Had to turn around within 45 minutes of the peak last week so I was dying to complete my journey. Brought a different friend today who was better equipped so there wasn't nearly as much stopping as last week. We both wore MSR lightning ascent snowshoes the entire time. Total hike time was 6.5 hours with roughly an hour of breaks including the summit. The trail is in absolutely fantastic condition for snow shoes all the way to the peak. There is a very defined chute for 98-99% of the hike which made for some AWESOME glissading (sliding on your butt/back) on the way back down the steep part by the Cascades (we both left our snowshoes on while sliding). There was one run where I was flying down the side of the cascades for about 20 seconds straight.... extremely fun and much faster than snowshoeing down!
Now for the bad news: when we were at the marker on the peak we spotted 2 snowmobilers roughly 200 yards away from us coming up from the direction of the carriage trail. I know snowmobiling is allowed on the carriage trail but they're only "allowed up to the turnaround located roughly 1000' below the AT crossing"... and based on my interpretation of the map these 2 were WAY past the "turnaround/barrier"... they were literally snowmobiling at 4700'. I acknowledge I could be mistaken and they could be allowed where they were but it looked like they were riding over vegetation and rocks... also when they spotted my friend and I at the peak they immediately did 180's and disappeared over the ridge. I'm going to do some more reading and figure out what is allowed and what isn't and alert the rangers if they were indeed way past the boundary and likely destroying fragile vegetation.
Overall a fantastic day! |
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 | Name: |
Scott L |
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 | E-Mail: |
sluvington@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2014-03-27 |
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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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