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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Pemigewasset, NH
Trails
Trails: Mt. Pemigewasset Trail, Indian Head Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Sunday, March 24, 2019
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Indian Head Trail parking area is not accessible - we parked at the Indian Head Resort and had no issues. Flume Visitor Center parking area is semi-plowed, but we found a spot. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: A bunch of small streams were open, requiring sizable leaps to get across. In several instances, there was a foot of unpacked powder on top of a few feet of air on top of water and rocks. One of us fell into one of these (more on that below). 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Both trails were mostly well-blazed, but there were a few sections without noticeable blazes. No major blowdowns; just a few minor ones. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Saw a few. They didn't seem to mind the unpacked powder on either side of the trail. Make sure to keep them away from the cliffs at the summit though. 
Bugs
Bugs: Nada. 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: Nada. 
 
Comments
Comments: What a fun day! Mt. Pemigewasset Trail has a solid snowshoe track - it's possible to spike it or bareboot it, but snowshoes are recommended for the extra traction on the sticky spring snow (some of the spikes that we used balled up very quickly). Of course, if you step off the monorail, you will posthole up to your knees at least (and we saw a fair number of those). The big open ledge at the summit was very windy, but the actual summit is more sheltered, yet still has a great view of the Franconias, and the six of us ate lunch there.

Then, those of us who hadn't worn snowshoes up to the summit put them on for the descent on the Indian Head Trail. When we started down that trail, it was completely unbroken, but relatively easy to follow until the bottom of the steeper section near the top. Breaking out that steeper section wasn't too bad - there was enough powder that I could get a fairly good grip on it with my snowshoes, and I never felt like I was going to slide straight down the hill (this part of the trail is a sidehill). In the col at the bottom of that section, the trail wasn't always obvious but we never strayed too far from it, and always re-found it pretty quickly. Just past that, two other snowshoers caught up to us, and passed us, and (presumably) broke out the remainder of the trail.

This section involved following several linear indentations, and we couldn't tell if those indentations were the trail or a brook beneath us. One of them turned out to be a brook, and the hiker who was leading broke through a foot of powder and fell into a hole that was 5-6 feet deep. One of his snowshoes got stuck between two rocks (that were completely buried before he broke through), and it took a considerable amount of time and effort to get his feet and snowshoes out. I mention this so that people are aware of the danger, since there were lots of places on the trail where situations like this could happen.

Indian Head Trail is now broken out from top to bottom, but it is certainly not consolidated yet - snowshoes are mandatory for it.

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day - perfect for a hike!  
Name
Name: GN 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2019-03-24 
Link
Link: https:// 
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