| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Monroe, Mt. Washington, Mt. Jefferson, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, snowfields, Gulfside, Jewell Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, December 1, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Hiker parking at the Cog is $10 cash (iron ranger). USFS lot is plowed. Also noted the Garfield winter lot is plowed. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
On Ammo, snow bridged. At the end of Jewell near Cog, the footbridge is long gone, but there is a snowbridge just upstream. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Some blowdowns on Jewell. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Snowshoes the entire day. More snowpack this fall than some of the last few winters. It is extremely risky to be in the higher Presidentials right now without having snowshoes.
Lower Ammo has a lot more snowpack than two weeks ago. Good snowshoe track set by multiple groups this morning. 2-3 feet of snowpack at the start, getting deeper at elevation. Trail deviates significantly at treeline. Despite this, a few postholers were out. A little wind drifting or loss of visibility would put them in peril, as they are completely reliant on following an established packed trail and would be at least waist deep if even taking one false step. Folks without snowshoes who get in trouble in the high peaks right now should have to pay for their full rescue expenses.
Snow is just about touching the roof of the hut on the east side.
From the hut, there is a direct bee line up to Monroe, as it is a snowfield.
From the hut to Washington, the packed route this morning deviates significantly from the Crawford Path (though the dangerous side slope is there now and filling in more with each storm). Packed route veers well east of the Crawford Path on the cone, making for a more direct route. Very risky to boot this.
I beelined off the summit to the Cog-West Side junction; great snowfield coverage. From there, I hopped over to Gulfside (no one had been here since the last storm) and broke that out to Sphinx, where I crossed paths with southbound Presi traversers. Packed route deviates from the trail before Jefferson Loop, basically favoring east of the summit. Might be nice to set a route a little west of this. Nevertheless, good snowfield coverage. Some of the areas in the col have very deep drifts. Everyone out this way had snowshoes, thank gosh.
Returning southbound, I hopped off Gulfside near the spring above the col and took the snowfields in a mild descent down to the Jewell, cutting off the unnecessarily up and down of the summer route. Very good snowpack in here, walking among the treetops (managed to not end up in any spruce traps). This route often isn't an option until midwinter, so it's a real treat to be able to do this shortcut in fall.
Jewell Trail above treeline was a minefield. A few folks broke it out while I was over at Jefferson, but they found a lot of spruce traps. I ended up taking my own route down, though my spruce trap luck ran out just before treeline. Below treeline, the trail is not at all well packed, as it appeared to be two other snowshoers and one skier (and thank gosh, no barebooters). Very soft, and plenty deep. No tracks down the Jewell spur to the USFS lot.
Fantastic weather today. Undercast held all day with blue skies overhead. Slight breeze, but temperatures were above freezing in the sun by late morning. Winter conditions in the Presis don't get much better than this. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-12-01 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos |
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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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