| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Unknown Pond Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Unknown Pond Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail, bushwhack, herd path |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, February 1, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
York Pond Fish Hatchery gate is plowed open. Unknown Pond Trail parking lot was plowed, but not fully so. 4 vehicles fit today. Roads loading up to it were well plowed, but aren't sanded. |
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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: |
Both crossings were open. A little tricky with the steep snow embankments. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trails are extremely hard to follow due to minimal blazing and open glades. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Unknown Pond Trail was unbroken with knee deep powder (not sure what the total snowpack is under it). Hard to follow in the numerous glades, but we generally held the trail up to the Kilkenny Ridge Trail (no recent tracks anywhere on the ridge).
Heading toward Unknown Pond Peak, we took a wrong turn (leaning branches blocking the corridor) and ended up on one of the camp site spurs, from where we bushwhacked to the peak (for White Mountain standards, it was a reasonable bushwhack, but it's much more sprucy than if you follow the ridge from just past the height of land). Canister is missing.
We then followed the ridge down and found the Kilkenny Ridge Trail, which we took toward the pond for a bit, then bushwhacked north to head to the northern peak. We quickly ended up on a bootleg trail that led us to the fantastic ledges that overlook Unknown Pond and the Presidentials.
We then retraced our steps to the Kilkenny Ridge Trail and took it back to the Unknown Pond Trail, with a brief side trip across the pond to the other shore to look back at the cliffs.
Our team of four broke/packed out the trail decently, but it remains to be seen how much will be noticeable after tomorrow's storm. Based upon cars on the road, it appears Cabot saw activity today via Bunnell Notch. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-02-01 |
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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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