| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Whiteface, Mt. Passaconaway, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Dicey's Mill Trail, Tom Wiggin Trail, Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, May 11, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I arrived at the parking lot at 6am and only one other vehicle was there. At the time of departure there were maybe a dozen vehicles still parked there- plenty of room still available. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow - Wet/Sticky, Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The crossing on Tom Wiggins was a little tough. It wasn't the the water was especially high or rough but it was high enough to eliminate rock hopping at the trail crossing itself. I ended up hiking about a hundred yards up stream and making my crossings there. I say crossings because in hiking upstream a hundred yards it requires two crossings- and I ended up having to take off my boots and wading across on the second crossing anyway. In retrospect I should have taken the Blueberry Ledge Trail to the summit to avoid this crossing. The crossing on the way down Dicey's was quite easy utilizing the fallen log across the water. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Can someone please come with a flamethrower and melt the white stuff? |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Only one doggo on the trails today |
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 | Bugs: |
A few flies and some non biting insects would buzz by on occasion, reminding me of the onslaught to arrive soon. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
N/A |
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 | Comments: |
Old Man Winter still lurks at altitude and he wishes to take a bit out of your pride. After this hike I have completed 33 of my 48 and these two peaks were BY FAR the most difficult hike to date. This was due entirely to the snowpack; I would imagine this hike would have been quite an enjoyable walkabout had the white stuff melted away long ago. My ascension to Whiteface really wan't all the bad. The snow appeared, if memory serves, at around 3,000ft. The monorail was both stable and unstable but enough snow had melted on the sides that, for the most part, you could decide whether to stay on the monorail or not. All snow had melted on any significantly difficult scrambles and ledges. The day was beautiful and the views gorgeous. The traverse across to Passaconway was a different story entirely. Utterly miserable. The monorail was rotten, crowned and would give way at any time. Sometimes it would crumble as soon as you applied any pressure. Sometimes it would wait until your full weight was on it and your next step was about to occur before giving way. Sometimes I could make it 20 steps before going in. Sometimes it would happen several steps in a row. Adding to the frustration was that the snow in this section was still measured in feet, not inches. I frequently found myself postholing all the way to my hip. I donned my snowshoes but they were utterly useless. I would occasionally posthole in my snowshoes which, if you can believe it, is more frustrating than postholing with bare boots ;-) When I didn't posthole with my snowshoes the would constantly catch on the monorail; the center of the snowshoe saying on top while the outside of the snowshoe would sink, twisting my ankles and taking me down. I think I made up several new swears during the traverse. Utter hell. After the traverse was complete peaking Passaconway and the descent fairly closely mirrored the ascension of Whiteface. By days end my tracking software indicated I had broken two new records for all of my hiking: 1. Calories burned was listed as 6,405 and 2. Moving time was listed as 9:03:08. While the calories burned stat can't be trusted too much with respect to actually calories burned I do assume that it's relative in relation to itself and this was over 1,000 calories more than my next closest hike. That moving time will also give you an idea of how much of a slog the traverse was. Total distance was 12 miles for the day, making my average speed about 45mins per mile. But my speed over that traverse, relatively flat, was WAY over and hour a mile. Yikes. If your a glutton for punishment head on out there and enjoy yourself. Me? I'm going to wait for a few more warm days before even considering heading into the hills again. |
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 | Name: |
Patroller 863 |
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 | E-Mail: |
patrollereightsixthree@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-05-11 |
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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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