| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Moosilauke, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Glencliff Trail, Carriage Road |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, January 21, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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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: |
After a failed attempt to summit Mt. Washington and Monroe, we set out again to try to summit a much less exposed (and much closer to home) 4000 footer -- Mt. Moosilauke (4,802 ft). This was the first mountain I had ever winter hiked (one of our first dates, in fact), and I was excited to revisit it.
We set out around 1:30pm and agreed to ramp up the pace to make it back to the car before dark, though we had our headlamps just in case. On tired legs, we started up Glencliff trail. The first little bit (0.3mi) is basically flat through fields where most of the snow is melted. At the trail split where Hurricane Mountain Trail goes off to the right, we shed most of our layers and proceeded up the steeper part, sweating on the low 30 degree late afternoon wind-sheltered trail.
The last mile on Carriage Road to the summit of Moosilauke is what makes Moosilauke such a great "bang-for-your-buck" (Cody's phrase) hike because there's this gorgeous "hallway" of trees which looks extra beautiful in the winter, and then there's a bit of Alpine zone leading up to the summit that makes a pretty short hike feel very epic, especially on days like today when it's shrouded in clouds, rocks covered in ice feathers. Out of the trees the temperature felt like it dropped over 10 degrees with the still-brutal winds. We all agreed we preferred this type of day to a "boring" blue bird day anyway. We took some summit photos and then ran down the trail the whole way down.
We made it back to the trailhead before dark and parted ways to finally get some food after two pretty solid hikes in one day. |
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 | Name: |
Amanda Kievet |
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 | E-Mail: |
akievet@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-01-25 |
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 | Link: |
 https://amandakievet.com/outdooring/2018/01/21/moosilauke-in-january.html |
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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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