| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Eisenhower, Mt. Pierce, Mt. Jackson, Mt. Webster, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Crawford Path, Eisenhower Loop, Crawford Path, Webster Cliff Trail, Webster-Jackson Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, May 6, 2017 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Empty lot up Clinton Rd on this rainy day |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossing Silver Cascade coming down Webster-Jackson Trail was extremely challenging - We had to wade through nearly waste deep.
We crossed Flume Cascade further down by traversing parallel fallen trees that spanned the river. |
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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: |
This was a challenging hike. We knew we were in for cold and rainy conditions all day based on the forecast and that was certainly the case. Ascending the summit cone of Mt Eisenhower we encountered extremely strong persistent winds (50mph) with likely 70mph gusts that nearly knocked us off our feet throughout the entire period we were exposed on the Eisenhower Loop Trail. As for the trail conditions:
- Crawford Path ascending Pierce is the best of the bunch with a mostly stable monorail appearing around 3000 feet and we benefited from using microspikes for an extended stretch.
- As we approached Pierce, the conditions become patchier with mix of monorail, unstable snow, and bare ground. We battled through it to the Eisenhower Loop Trail which was free of snow, but where we encountered extremely strong winds
- We planned to descend Mt Eisenhower Trail, but we quickly encountered numerous blowdowns and unstable snow conditions. We abandoned the venture and backtracked to Crawford Path and headed for Mizpah
- The rest of the hike over Pierce, Mizpah Hut, Jackson, and Webster was a mixed bag of stable monorail, deep snow with a hidden monorail, bare ground, and wet throughout. Postholing was a problem in many spots.
Overall, light traction is useful in some areas but it is an on-again-off-again type of deal.
We saw one through hiker coming up Crawford Path as we were backtracking from our Mt Eisenhower Trail attempt. We saw no other hikers all day in our 13.5 mile route. Tough day to hit this part of the AT! |
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 | Name: |
Owen |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2017-05-06 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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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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