| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Middle Carter, South Carter, Carter Dome, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Route 16, Camp Dodge Cutoff, Imp Trail, North Carter Trail, Carter Moriah Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Nineteen Mile Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 14, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Nineteen Mile Brook lot was very icy with huge frozen ruts from tires, my AWD car had no issues but saw a smaller FWD car having some trouble this morning. Open spaces both when leaving and returning today |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Bigger crossings on lower Imp and Carter Dome trails still bridged, some seeps open lower down but overall no major issues |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Few large duck unders and walk arounds throughout but nothing crazy for this time of year, all trails easy enough to follow |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Maddie had a great day and handled the windy sections like a champ - no specific problems for winter hardy canines on this route |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Did the loop CW today - put spikes on at the bottom of the road to Camp Dodge, switched to snowshoes just past the Imp/North Carter junction, kept them on until about a mile from the parking lot when we switched back to spikes. Firm trail in the morning, up to one inch of crusty snow/granular but no sinking in spikes - depth increased a bit right before we switched to snowshoes and we appreciated our televators approaching the ridge. Some small areas of drifting on the ridge but fortunately everyone in front of us also had snowshoes so they got packed out well, mostly firm crust/granular until heading from South summit towards Zeta where the snow softened from the sun. Super windy on the ridge but great views and decreasing clouds over the Presi's throughout the day. Sidehill track up to Carter Dome was as annoying as ever, would be really sketchy in spikes but snowshoes provided decent stability - still tons of snow in the usual spots approaching Carter Dome. Easy cruise down Carter Dome trail, track became firmer after turning on to 19 MB, probably could have switched to spikes a bit earlier but snowshoes were fine for a while. Few sets of tracks on the northern branch of Imp, one set north on CM trail towards North Carter, and no recent tracks towards Hight, Black Angel or Rainbow trails. Even though the higher elevations haven't gotten much snow recently snowshoes are necessary on the ridge and strongly recommended above 2500-3000' as the sun will soften it and stepping to the side in spikes will cause deep dangerous post holes with all the snow up there. Decent end of winter conditions and didn't see too many people out, overall a great day - thanks Ali and Maddie for another great day in the mountains. |
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 | Name: |
Hikes with Maddie |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-03-14 |
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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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