| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Isolation, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Rocky Branch Trail, bushwhack, Isolation Trail, Davis Path, Isolation Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, March 6, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of parking, plowed very well, mostly pavement now.
Nobody there at 6:45 when I began hike, 4 cars there at 4pm. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable) |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The main single crossing is still bridged pretty strongly.
Be aware there's a pointless earlier crossing you can avoid. It's one of those deals where someone went the wrong way, crossed the river and a million snowshoers followed, making it look like the right way. But it goes nowhere, and recrosses further up to rejoin the trail. This comes shortly after the the Engine Hill bushwhack ends and joins the Isolation Trail. Instead of taking the left towards the river, continue on the track to the right, and the 'real' single crossing will be further on up. I threw some small branches on the bad fork to the left. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
The thing to watch the night before this hike is the wind, since wind blown snow refilling the track is the big story on this trail. The trail alternates between looking like a perfect trench, and then the next minute you're tramping down two to six inches of blown in unconsolidated specklike snow. Keeps alternating.
On my return, as I came out of the Engine Hill bushwhack, I noted some other hikers had not taken the bushwhack and instead continued to break out the rest of the Rocky Branch trail. Which explained why there were four cars in the parking lot on my return, yet I had seen no one all day.
So you'll have to watch for the track splitting to get the bushwhack. The bushwhack is about five minutes or so past a 1'X 2' sign for the Presidential Range Wilderness on the right. The bushwhack is a 90 degree right hand turn. There is a 'T' carved on a tree on the turn, it's carved about knee height.
I stuck with the heaviest main track during the Engine Hill bushwhack. I believe it took me on what prior reports describe as the upper path thru the birch glades. Cool area.
Also, on my way up, after the single river crossing, I kept looking for a left hand turn for the Iso Express bushwhack, but never saw anything except the single track I was on; Gaia seemed to indicate I stayed on trails during this period.
That last ten feet of the spur trail took some effort, real steep. Totally do-able, you just have to think it through.
There is a summit cairn, then a few feet higher, and out of sight at first, is the 'real' summit cairn. Make sure you get the 'real' one!!
#32 for the old man! Yeehaw.
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 | Name: |
Steve Marion |
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 | E-Mail: |
swampfoxsteve@gmail |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-03-06 |
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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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