| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Surprise, Mt. Moriah, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Carter-Moriah Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, April 13, 2019 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the end of Bangor St. The snow bank is receding along the edge of the road so there is limited space for 3-4 cars. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
|
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
|
|
 | Bugs: |
|
|
 | Lost and Found: |
|
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
Started the Carter-Moriah trail at 7:00am, the first ones in the lot! Temp at 37, cloudy skies - lightly rained nearly the entire drive up Rt. 16. Began trail in snowshoes and kept them on the entire hike. You can probably use microspikes up to the summit of Surprise, but we found snowshoes to be preferable as the temperatures rose to the mid-60s throughout the day and the snowpack on the trails became slushy and loose. This trail is strenuous pretty much at the start, and the melting snow adds to the difficulty. We struggled through the first 1.5 miles without putting the Elevators up on our snowshoes - stupid - things got a whole lot better once we started using them. After that we paused frequently to put them up or down because it made such a difference when climbing the very steep, snow-covered trail. We could see evidence of a once stable monorail most of the way up the trail, but the warm temps and use throughout the week have made it a little treacherous. Our trekking poles routinely sunk in the loose snow on either side of the trail. Views were decent as we reached Mt. Surprise, but by the time we got to the summit of Moriah, at about 10:45am, the fog rolled in. The bald rock at summit was clear and provide a nice place to rest after the difficult climb. We didn't meet anyone on the trail until the descent, including our first encounter with a White Mountain blogger! - Protean Wanderer - whose blog we discovered just this week. Passed 6 other hikers on their way up. Terrific views when we got back to Surprise. Finished at 2:30pm. Pics and report to follow. |
|
 | Name: |
New England Librarian |
|
 | E-Mail: |
|
|
| Date Submitted: |
2019-04-14 |
|
 | Link: |
 https://newenglandlibrarian.com/blog/category/new-england/ |
|
|
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. |
|
