| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Monadnock, NH |
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 | Trails: |
White Dot Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, January 29, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking at the Park Store parking lot for a $5 fee. Arrived early before the ranger came, so put $5 in their provided envelope and inserted it into the "Iron Ranger" in front of the park store. Nevertheless, when I returned to the car, there was a brightly colored tag on my driver window asking me for payment. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Blue, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction, Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The minor crossings are bridged and no problem to cross. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
In upper portion of trail near the cairn, had difficulty locating the route on the way down on ledges after the cairn. Initially followed some incorrect recent tracks to the left. Had to resort to GPS to get back on trail. Some of the white trail marker paint dots can be hard to spot, lacking contrast against ice and snow and resembling some natural spotting like round lichens. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Dogs are prohibited. But also today not suitable at all, far too much ice. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
My beanie cap blew away in the strong wind close to the summit. |
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|
 | Comments: |
The story of the day was Ice- "heavy ice covering trail and ice flows and bulges, very little snow" on most of the White Dot trail. A few sections were bare leaf covered trail or bare ledges. Some sections of forest were bare, other sections a few inches of snow. A regular hiker of this mountain who I met on the trail told me White Cross Trail is in even worse condition and that I might want to avoid it. Wore brand new Kahtoola Microspikes on the way up, but for descent-safety I switched to 12 point full crampons for the trip back down. Snowshoes and ice axe not needed. In addition to a lot of ice, there was a lot of exposed rock and ledge to dull traction spikes. Dealing with the ice safely added time to the hike. Above tree line it's nearly all bare rock. Temp was 10F at the parking lot at 7am and was 10F at the bronze summit marker with about 30 mph or more wind. In places, walking on ice flows could be avoided by bypassing on bare or snow covered ground beside the trail. |
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 | Name: |
SOTA |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-01-29 |
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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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