| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
South Moat Mountain, Middle Moat Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Moat Mountain Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, December 4, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lots of open space at the southern trailhead for the Moat Mountain Trail (Passaconaway Rd). |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction, Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Two major crossings: one was easily rock hopped, whereas the other had a footbridge across it. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
One blowdown on the lower portion of the Moat Mountain Trail- easy walk-around. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Aside from some scant patches of wet ground and rock, the trail was hard packed like a sidewalk from the trailhead to just before the summit of South Moat. Wore microspikes for that whole stretch.
The trail from just below the summit of South Moat to the summit area of Middle Moat was a different story. Whoever hiked that section before me postholed the living crap out of it. (The trail from Middle Moat to North Moat may have been postholed as well, since I saw frozen footprints heading north along the uppermost ledges on Middle Moat.) That mess was most likely done yesterday when it was more mild, then when the temperature dropped to below freezing, all those postholes froze. There were snow squalls passing through when I was up there, so there was some drifting going on, and it's a given that at least some of the postholes are now concealed by snow drifts. That's a common way that people end up injuring themselves while hiking in winter conditions- someone will be walking along through fresh snow drifts, not realizing that there is a sea of frozen postholes ranging from one to three feet deep underneath them, and they get caught in and/or trip over one of them and injure one or more body parts.
Snowshoes are kind of useless right now, but if the temperature rises well above freezing and/or the mountain gets another dumping of snow, please do the hiking community a favor and bring them (and wear them if conditions call for it). |
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 | Name: |
Spencer |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-12-04 |
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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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