| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Echo, Mt. Stickney, Mt. Rosebrook, Mt. Oscar, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Snowmobile trail, forest road, bushwhack, snowshoe trail, West Peak hiking trail, rock climbers path |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, November 5, 2016 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We parked at the Sugarloaf trailhead, accessing the snomo / forest road on the north side of the road, across from this parking lot. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
We had hoped to cross the Zealand River up near the Zealand trailhead to save a few miles... but the water was up and there was black ice on some rocks... so after scouting other options... we determined the river was not rock-hoppable today. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Trip reports by other exploring hikers and trampers got a group of us curious about this hike. We followed the forest road / snomo trail for quite a few miles, passing: a rock cairn for a rock climbers path to "West Wall" on Mt. Oscar; views of Sugarloafs and Hale; large beaver dam;... all in all, a very pleasant walk and gradual climb. At 2700' or so, as the road continued SW, it was time to break off and bushwhack up to the easterly col of Mt. Echo. We encountered a really sweet small mountain tarn or wetland... clocked in soft traces of snow. The bushwhack was not hard... and we touched all the high points to be "safe."
We then headed over to Mt. Stickey... no problem.
On the descent from Sticky to Rosebrook (3K, NH300, Firetower list) we picked up a snowshoe trail, well marked and maintained, taking us to Rosebrook. The col was a bit spongy... but again, looking fine clocked in a cloud of winter mist and trace snow. The trail dumped us onto a ski trail for the last short couple of hundred feet of gain.
From Rosebrook, we descended towards Oscar (West Peak) via a ski trail. Just before another set of ski lifts, there was signage directing us left, back into the woods, on a hiking / snowshoe trail to west peak / Oscar. We laughed a bit as the signage and blazes were a bit overkill!
There were no views from Oscar today... as we were in wet and heavy clouds. On the way out, we descended via the "West Wall / Rock Climbing" path (signed). A part of us was curious to take this trail all the way around to west wall... and to see if we followed this path down, if it would connect to the small rock cairn we saw earlier this morning. But Barb had read that the descent was rocky and slippery... and with the wet conditions and slippery leaves, we decided to not tempt fate... and after a bit of descent, we turned off back into the woods... where we connected with the forest road after about a 1/2 mile bushwhack descent off of the rockclimbers trail.
This was the kind of hike that leads to more questions... and more ideas for exploration.
Nice day out with Steve, Karen & Ken, Barb, Theresa, Fritz & Dirgny. |
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 | Name: |
Beth Z. |
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 | E-Mail: |
btzimr at gmail dot com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2016-11-06 |
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 | Link: |
 https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOqy5f4SprE2wWMDPh8kP53eT_9QKS2U-E4_Zepdhy69nk5pEql8IltbK7N69nj1Q?key=VkZRN191MjJaWE1uZE9jYk4zOHVpX0xkazQ2dnB3 |
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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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