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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Wildcat A, Wildcat B, Wildcat C, Wildcat D, NH
Trails
Trails: Nineteen Mile Brook Trail, Wildcat Ridge Trail, ski trails
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Sunday, February 23, 2020
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Still space at Wildcat Ski Area past 9am on Sunday. All the regular spots were taken at the 19MB trailhead at 9:30am but people have been parking perpendicular to the “normally” parked cars and closer to the road and there were still a couple spots to do that so we did. Hard to describe but you’ll know it when you see it. So long as people are smart about it and don’t overdo it, it allows probably a dozen more cars to park there without blocking any others. Parking areas won’t be a problem for any car.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow/Ice - Postholes 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: The only significant ones on 19MBT have bridges. The smaller brook crossings are snow bridged and not noticeable.  
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: 19MBT is blazed in blue. Don’t recall how frequent they were but very visible and the trail gets broken out very quickly so unless you’re the first one breaking the trail after a storm, you shouldn’t have trouble finding it. I think there was one well trimmed step over on it. Trail signs are still above the snow and likely will remain above it even with all the snow we’re getting Thursday morning. Wildcat Ridge Trail had some more blowdowns obviously but wasn’t bad. It had white blazes occasionally to mark that you were on the AT. Would probably take some trail finding if breaking trail along it. There is a spot not too long after the landslide where there are some diverging tracks. First, there will be one dead ahead continuing along “the edge” with views, and another one turning left. Take the one to tour left. Immediately after you take that left, there’s another track that leads more straight and another that turns even further left. Again, take the left. You can see this turn on a map. All three tracks are well packed and there wasn’t any blaze in this area so you could easily go up the wrong way and have to turn back (both wrong tracks dead end I believe). If descending this way, you won’t have an issue. From the summit platform on D Peak there is a shortcut to the ski lift. From there, Polecat is well signed all the way down (take the trip furthest to the right from the ski lift is facing down the slope towards the Presidentials).  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: We saw three on 19MBT that were unleashed but well behaved, and seemed to be doing fine. 19MBT is a good trail for any fit dog as it’s not too steep and has lots of water (when it isn’t all frozen or under snow in winter!). Only issue might be when the trail is very narrow and there’s a sharp drop off to the brook right next to you. We didn’t see any on Wildcat Ridge. I wouldn’t recommend Wildcat Ridge for most dogs. It is long and very steep in some sections with very little water in winter.  
Bugs
Bugs: No snow fleas today but I saw one spider while headed up A Peak from the hut.  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: Some trash unfortunately but that’s it.  
 
Comments
Comments: Well I did the impossible and took a break from redlining to help a friend work towards their W48 (okay, okay, admittedly I also needed the Wildcats for my W48). It was a great day. Warm with lots of sunshine and minimal wind :) 26F when at the 19MB trailhead around 9:30-10am and 32F at Wildcat Ski Area when we returned at 5:45pm. Guessing it was in the low 30s on the summits when we were there with minimal wind. Still needed a few layers if stopping for awhile and/or if you were in the shade which made a significant difference both when hiking and taking breaks.

Other than taking them off to go into the hut, my snowshoes were on my feet the entire time and it felt like the right decision. My friend wore them from the jct of 19MBT with Carter Dome Trail onwards. Of the 38 people we saw we were the only ones in snowshoes. All but four of those were on 19MBT though and didn’t seem to be postholing or anything. The four on Wildcat Ridge we saw made divots in the soft snow at times, but again didn’t seem to be postholing. There were, however, many postholes just to the side of the trail a few of which were probably 3ft deep. Given the warm temps I imagine we would have been postholing along the ridge. Also, the ski area would probably be pissed if they saw you on their slopes without snowshoes even if it’s packed. So all that said, I would definitely bring snowshoes, and personally, I think it’s easier to wear them. Might as well leave the spikes at home.

There was hardly any blue ice. Only one steep descent were there was some showing on Wildcat Ridge. Other than that, the only ice was on Polecat where we had to pay a little attention to it. Good snowshoe crampons should allow you to speed right over it without slowing down though. Everything had seen significant snowshoe traffic so things were packed down which made snowshoeing easy. The snow was a little soft/sticky at times but I didn’t have much of a problem with balling. Occasionally the snow was more crunchy and of the frozen granular type. The trails were a bit choppy from bareboots especially the upper portion of 19MBT although never too bad.

Nothing that felt too sketchy on this hike. 19MBT comes awfully close to the brook and is very narrow with a sharp drop off down to the brook which you wouldn’t want to fall over. I’d watch kids and pets in this area. The landslide which WRT goes across had no ice visible. At the moment, if you fell and slid down it I don’t think you’d really go anyway; just flop into the powder. Even if it were wind packed snow or ice there is some brush not more than a few dozen yards down at most which would break a fall. If you’re cautious, bring an ice axe to self arrest.

Haven’t seen 38 hikers, 3 dogs, and a caretaker in god knows how long. While I don’t mind the solitude of redlining, it was nice to see so many others out having fun. It seemed like almost all of the 38 had stayed at the hut Th e night before and were coming down. I stopped at the hut to fill up on water. Everyone had walked across the lake but I broke out (most) of the true trail to the hut. The caretaker said there’s still 12-18in of ice over the lakes so I just walked across on my way back ;) He had lots of fun doing laps around the lakes. 44F at the hut when I was there between 12:30-1pm and great views as always :)

A tiring day (after significant trail breaking the day before) that clocked in just under 9mi (with a car spot and including Polecat) with around 3300ft of elevation gain.  
Name
Name: Liam Cooney 
E-Mail
E-Mail: liamcooney96@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2020-02-24 
Link
Link: https:// 
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