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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Wildcat D, Wildcat C, Wildcat B, Wildcat A, NH
Trails
Trails: Polecat Ski Trail, Wildcat Ridge Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Free Parking at Wildcat Ski Area unpaved parking lot.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: No visible or known water crossings 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Wildcat Ridge Trail needs a lot of brushing, especially for winter snow depths. Need to remove leaners & blowdowns. Could use a sign for Wildcat Ridge Trail at the top of the ski lifts. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Dogs not allowed on Ski Trails. 
Bugs
Bugs: Some snowfleas in a few post holes that got sun. 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: Lost a broken tooth of red MSR snowshoe crampon and 3 rivets that popped out. 
 
Comments
Comments: Access to Polecat Ski Trail for hikers requires purchase of a $10 hiker day pass. Take Polecat ski Trails (on the north end of Wildcat Ski Area: these are the trails approved for hikers and hikers are to uses the edge of the trails) to near the ski patrol shack. The true Wildcat D summit with lookout platform is accessed on Wildcat Ridge Trail which continues northerly behind the north side of the ski patrol shack. The ski area requires hikers to use snowshoes on the Polecat ski trails. Wildcat Ridge Trail continues north from the east side of the lookout platform, near the solar panel.

Temperatures from about 23dF on Wildcat A summit to in the 30s. Wind chills along some more exposed portions of the ridge. Snow on some portions that got direct sun softened, but mostly snow on the Ridge was fairly firm or even powder. Looked like up to about 2" of recent powder in some places on the ridge.

On this out and back we wore MSR ascent snowshoes the whole day, from bottom of ski area to bottom of ski area.
A booter, not carrying snowshoes, was "rototilling" the established track, and making some postholes, especially where the snow was soft.


Wildcat Ridge Trail between Wildcat D and Wildcat A needs brushing- face slappers, eye pokers, leaners, crawl overs, duck unders, walk arounds, squeeze betweens. Branches at all levels from lower legs to head. Some sections are fairly free of branches, others are dense with them. Biggest slow down was the branches/trees in the way. Several feet of snow on the ridge- walking in the tree canopy, but not above it. No icy spots on the ridge, but some on the Polecat Trail

Wildcat Ridge track was relatively easy to navigate, except for one spot where the track splits; one fork is a dead end. Not much of a snowshoe "trench".

Didn't see or hear any wildlife.



 
Name
Name: Ice 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2019-04-03 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share 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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