| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Crawford Cliff (attempt), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Crawford Connector, Crawford Path, Mizpah Cutoff, Crawford Cliff Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, March 3, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Crawford Connector trailhead is plowed and has room for at least two dozen cars. Just take it slow and you'll be good. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Everything was either snowbridged or had an actual bridge. However, at the places where I would assume there are water crossings in the summer, there was an occasional posthole that went down at least 4-5 feet to what appeared to be water underneath the snow. Watch out for those. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few minor blowdowns. Nothing major.
However, I should note that Mizpah Cutoff takes care to follow. There are several places along the way where the trail seems to split in two, and it's not obvious which is the correct path since both are somewhat packed out. Look for blazes carefully. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw a few on Crawford Path; didn't see any on the other trails. One dog (which might have been a husky) tried twice to take a bite out of my sandwich while I was eating it. If your dog likes to do that, then it's probably a good idea to keep them on a leash around other people. |
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 | Bugs: |
None. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None. |
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 | Comments: |
Decided to do some solo redlining today, with my major target being the Mizpah Cutoff and also aiming to do a couple other short trail sections that I needed. Crawford Connector and Path were broken out, with about half of the hikers in snowshoes and the other half in spikes. Either would work, however snowshoes would probably provide better traction on Crawford Path's steep pitches. Mizpah Cutoff was somewhat broken out, but with a lot of fairly deep postholes that were difficult to both see and avoid. In addition, as noted above, there are several places on Mizpah Cutoff where the trail seems to split in two. At the first split, go right; at the second split, go left (you should see a blue blaze pretty quickly after turning left here); and at the third split, which is in a fairly open area less than 100 yards from the Webster Cliffs junction, go right. The sign at the junction with Webster Cliffs was just over the snow - a foot more of snow and it would be buried. As I was retracing my steps toward Crawford Path on Mizpah Cutoff, I passed two groups of three people each heading toward the hut. The first group was in spikes, but the second group had snowshoes, so hopefully they will get the trail somewhat smoother.
I also decided to take the short side trip to Crawford Cliff since it seemed to be packed out. I started on that trail in spikes but switched to snowshoes because I found myself consistently sinking a few inches, and occasionally postholing much more. The broken-out trail doesn't actually lead all the way to the cliff - it gets close, but it stops just before a section of steep sidehill that both I and the person who had previously reached that point decided was unsafe. I'd say that at this point, the Crawford Cliff spur should only be done in snowshoes.
All in all a great day to be outside - not too cold and little wind. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-03-03 |
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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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