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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Dartmouth, Millen Hill, NH
Trails
Trails: Jefferson Notch Road, bushwhack
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, January 10, 2015
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Parked near the end of Mt. Clinton Road, on the side of the cog access road. Room for about 4 vehicles without blocking traffic. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: None 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes:  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Probably a good idea to leash dogs on the Jefferson Notch Road walk due to lots of snowmobile traffic. 
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Jefferson Notch Road was not gated and recently groomed for snowmobile traffic. Good snowshoeing to the height of land. One SUV drove up to the height of land (the only sign is that the road is not maintained for winter use). It looks like a vehicle went off the road a few days ago (by the looks of tracks, from nearly hitting a snowmobile) and had a heck of a time getting unstuck. Google suggests the road walk was 3.1 miles. Not nearly as long/monotonous as some others.
For Dartmouth, we slabbed along the northern shoulder, staying clear of the ridge until just about the highpoint. While the ridge has blowdown, the northern slope had nice open woods the whole way. I suspect the line we used could be done on skis due to the open woods and never overly steep grades.
We then retraced our steps until we were north of Millen, then headed directly up the fall line, just west of the summit, to avoid more blowdown. Again, good woods. We also found a good viewpoint just south of the highpoint (perhaps enhanced by snowdrifts), ranging from the Presidentials to Bretton Woods.
Overall, there was maybe half a foot to a foot of snow down low and perhaps 8-20" in the upper elevations. The couple of times we ventured just over the south side of the ridge, the snowpack was much less in open areas. Overall today, the snowpack was pretty firm under an inch or two of powder, making for ideal snowshoe bushwhack conditions.  
Name
Name: rocket21 
E-Mail
E-Mail: rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2015-01-10 
Link
Link: https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos 
Bookmark and Share 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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