Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
Mt. Nancy, Duck Pond Mountain, NH |
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| Trails: |
Nancy Pond Trail, herd path, bushwhack |
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| Date of Hike: |
Sunday, January 25, 2015 |
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| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Roadside lot plowed. |
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| Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts |
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| Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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| Water Crossing Notes: |
Hoppable or frozen. First Nancy Brook crossing takes a little maneuvering. |
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| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Some blowdowns on Nancy Pond Trail above the reroute, but generally frozen into the snowpack. |
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| Dog-Related Notes: |
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| Bugs: |
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| Lost and Found: |
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| Comments: |
Nancy Pond Trail was generally well packed out up to the reroute, thanks in part to us having been on it three weekends in a row. A dusting to an inch of new snow on top, drifting in places. Figured out why we missed the reroute last weekend - the blaze faces the wrong way and the old corridor is not obstructed with current snowpack. Reroute, though switchbacky and adding a little vertical, is much easier than trying to get around the washout.
We walked across Nancy Pond and Norcross Pond, then hopped onto the herd path, which hadn't been used recently. We were fortunately able to keep it all the way up. Some tips include not going onto the slide (trail stays just east of it, then cuts sharp right onto a switchback), and when approaching a small cliffband, the trail cuts left, then crosses over the top.
Back at Nancy Pond, we held the southwestern shore and used it as an azimuth for a bushwhack to Duck Pond. We ended up with relatively decent woods (stick forest) with a short stretch of spruce just before the highpoint.
Overall, the snowpack is probably 6 inches down low, increasing to a foot near the Nancy Brook crossing, then two to three feet in the vicinity of the ponds, with a breakable frozen granular crust under a trace to a few inches of new powder.
If you need Mt. Nancy in winter, this is probably as good a time as any to get it. |
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| Name: |
rocket21 |
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| E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-01-25 |
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| Link: |
https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos |
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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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