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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Carter Ledge, Middle Sister, NH
Trails
Trails: Carter Ledge Trail, Middle Sister Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Thursday, April 14, 2016
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: I parked to the side of the entrance to the White Ledge campground thus avoiding blocking the gate. A couple of cars could do that on each side. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Ice - Blue, Standing/Running Water on Trail 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Nothing significant 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Carter Ledge has some blowdowns scattered along its length, and a few spots that are eroding badly. Middle Sister had but one minor blowdown that couldn't be tossed out of the way. It might be a bit brushy but I had no problems following it. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Pepper had fun. He thoroughly enjoyed lots of sip n dips on both trails. There is some serious ice on the Middle Sister trail's upper sections, but he did his usual controlled slide down them. Dogs that don't like ice won't want to descend this trail. The ledges were dry and easy, and the views grand of course.  
Bugs
Bugs: None 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: I had new boots and decided to just do the Carter Ledge & Middle Sister loop with a side trip to Middle Sister. We went up Carter Ledge and found it almost all snow/ice/water free except for a large ponded ice section before Middle Sister, and a couple of solid ice bulges near the top. I put my older Hillsounds on for these. Middle Sister, in contrast, had a lot of hard ice in its upper section, no doubt due to the aspect and crown closure, so even with the Hillsounds I took my time. It would have been better to have ascended Middle Sister and descended Carter Ledge. The other advantage of ascending Middle Sister is we could have done the bigger loop including Chocorua and then over to Weetamo and down to Piper, then hiked back up to Nickerson and down to the car. We had a nice visit with the one hiker we saw all day; he who was doing the loop from the Piper parking area.

What a nice day to take off from work. Thanks Pepper for the excuse. We stopped at Ferncroft on the drive back and did a quick loop of Gordon Path. No ice but plenty of "reading" for Pepper on this popular dog walk trail.  
Name
Name: Pepper and Me 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2016-04-14 
Link
Link: https:// 
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