| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Gunstock Mountain, Belknap Mountain, Piper Mountain - North Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Gunstock Mountain Trail, Brook Trail, Saddle Trail, Blue Trail, White Trail, Old Piper Trail, Piper Mountain Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, December 10, 2017 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking area is obvious - the road is gated just past it. The parking area isn't very big though, and several of us had to park on the road. Access roads were in fairly good condition despite the snow last night. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Not an issue. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
All trails were well blazed and are quite doable in the current conditions. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw one. |
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 | Bugs: |
None. (Yay winter!) |
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 | Lost and Found: |
A Yak Trak was lost, found, and returned to its owner. Gotta be careful about those things on steep trails like the Gunstock Mountain Trail. |
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 | Comments: |
Started up the Gunstock Mountain Trail at 9 AM. It's a pretty steady climb all the way - a few steep spots, but nothing unmanageable. There was 4-6 inches of snow on the ground, which wasn't quite enough for snowshoes (although two people in a group ahead of ours wore them). The micro-spikes that we wore were generally good, but they weren't too effective on the sections with ice underneath the snow (which were numerous along the ridgeline). Ice was much more of an issue going down than going up. The winter shortcut of the Gunstock Mountain Trail is unbroken - we were fine using the normal route. Beautiful views at Gunstock, Piper, and lookouts along the ridge. The only issue was that the temperature was just right for snow to ball up under our micro-spikes, and we spent long stretches of the hike almost constantly trying to knock the snow off them. Besides that, it was an amazing hike. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2017-12-10 |
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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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