| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Lafayette (attempt), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Skookumchuck Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 9, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Second car at 8 AM - Plenty of space |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Snow bridges mostly intact but folks without shoes were breaking through in the afternoon warmth |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
None - except for being in the trees up top |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Found a pair of cheesy coil wire type traction - one about .5 miles in, the other at .75 miles in. |
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 | Comments: |
Not much use over the past few days, but no new snow either. A couple skiers were smoothing things out a little ways in front of us. Snow shoes were best even though the monorail was firm. At about three miles the snow got deeper and the trees lowered so lots of ducking and snow bombs. At four miles the blazes were mostly under snowline and trail was very difficult to follow. Completely lost trail at 4.2 miles and bushwhacked to above treeline. Snow was wind packed and very slick. Made it a couple hundred feet below the Garfield Ridge trail and decided that was going to be good enough for today. Had a sandwich, enjoyed a great view to the north and west, then headed down. A couple girls (no poles, little gear) jogged past us at about 3.5 miles saying they had come over from Garfield, couldn't find the Skook and found our tracks below the ridge trail and followed them. Yikes. A fivesome were heading up without shoes and really made quite a mess of the track we and the skiers had laid down earlier. I wish I had the time to wait and watch them come back down the steeps into the ravine - that would have been entertaining. Hopefully it was inspiring and a lesson learned. With new snow tomorrow the trail we blazed up high might be obliterated so if you plan to go up Skook be prepared to bushwhack the last half mile to the ridge. |
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 | Name: |
Notch48 |
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 | E-Mail: |
bowmore17@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-03-09 |
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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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