| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Whiteface, Mt. Passaconaway, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, April 24, 2019 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
|
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow - Spring Snow, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Water crossing on Dicey Mills was a bit sketchy. The log does indeed remain but the water level is high and it's moving very fast. The trail itself that is now a brook in many parts is unavoidable unless you don't care about hiking off-trail (and potentially damaging fragile vegetation, extending erosion, etc.) |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
No serious blowdowns. Signs are showing normal wear and tear in many places.
Hillsounds and Microspikes were OK in the lower elevations, but once in the steeper bits, snowshoes become essential. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Cannon the Wonder Dog adeptly managed all the ledges with reckless abandon. |
|
 | Bugs: |
|
|
 | Lost and Found: |
A grey Mountain Hardware windstopper Gore-Tex hat, and a single Microspike were left in the box at the trailhead sign in the parking area. |
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
It was a very long and arduous outing. The trail has some monorail left, but it's deteriorating fast. Its diminutive width coupled with unstable mashed-potato snow made for some very slow going. Up on the col, a large animal (likely a moose, by its track) had postholed the trail to smithereens. And everywhere, postholing, slipping, tripping, and falling made the way going very slow. Not so long ago, this would have been a much quicker trip, but the trail conditions have begun to majorly fall to pieces. We bagged both peaks, but it was a very hard fought day.
If these two aren't on your grid list or something similar, I'd give it a pass for at least a couple weeks, until things firm back up.
On account of having gotten home late, pictures and a more detailed description of the day will be on my blog in the morning. Stay tuned, and thanks for bearing with me. |
|
 | Name: |
Protean Wanderer |
|
 | E-Mail: |
hiker@proteanwanderer.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2019-04-24 |
|
 | Link: |
 https://www.proteanwanderer.com |
|
|
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. |
|
