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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Owls Cliff, Mt. Tremont, NH
Trails
Trails: Rob Brook Road, Brunel Trail, Owls Cliff Spur, bushwhack, Owls Cliff Snowmobile Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Monday, February 15, 2016
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: good plowed parking at start of rob brook road off of bear notch road. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes, Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: the couple minor brook crossings were a non-issue. the larger crossings on rob brook road are bridged. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: numerous blowdowns on brunel trail some large ones necessitate leaving the trail to get around. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: rob brook road had seen mixed use with a combo of ski, boot and bike tracks. full cover, but not especially deep. good powder on edges for snowshoes. once the snowmobile trail joins it was snowmobiled out to the brunel trail. brunel had not seen recent use and had a layer of powder over a consolidated base. the trail is pretty well blazed and was generally easy to follow. traction on the steeps was good with some exposed rock, but no notable ice. once up the steeps section the snow depth seemed to quickly increase, in a relative sense, and the spur to the cliffs had some of the deepest snowpack i have seen this winter. some ice under the snow on the ledges down to the cliff view so i did not get too adventurous, but did get a good view. i did a short bushwhack to the actual highpoint of owls cliffs then headed to tremont. nice snowshoeing with up to a few inches of powder over a crusty base down to the saddle where the trail was a bit more obscure and lacked blazing for a stretch. once on the tremont climb it was clear and had some tricky going on some of the steep slanted sections owing to the slippery top layer of powder over the hard base. again though i noted no ice and picked my way up to the summit and its great views. the trail coming up from 302 looks to have gotten a fair amount of use. descending was trickier and i did a fair amount of down climbing on the steepest sections to avoid sliding. better traction on the steep descent from owls cliff though i down climbed a couple sections there as well. when brunel trail crossed back over the owls cliff snowmobile trail i turned left and followed it back to rob brook road. descent snowshoeing, but thin coverage in spots.  
Name
Name: bryan 
E-Mail
E-Mail: bryancuddihee@yahoo.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2016-02-15 
Link
Link: https:// 
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