NewEnglandTrailConditions.com
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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks None, NH
Trails
Trails: Austin Brook Trail, Mahoosuc Trail (AT), Peabody Brook Trail, Dryad Falls Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Sunday, January 10, 2021
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Park at the lower trailhead on North Road unless you have AWD. Mill Brook Road is packed down and so it’s easily passable, even by a car, but it’s wicked icy on the big hill just before the upper parking lot and 2WD won’t cut it. Trust me on this one. We brought the wrong vehicle today (the Subaru has a slow leak in one tire). Lower parking lot across from the turnstile is plowed and has space for three cars. We were the only car there when we started and the only one there when we finished. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Ice - Black, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow/Ice - Postholes 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Just a few rock hops. The biggest one, near the upper parking lot in Austin Brook, has a nice ice bridge, but could be rock hopped too. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Austin Brook is in great condition up to Gentian Pond. No blowdowns of note. Mahoosuc, on the other hand, could use a lot of work. There were a LOT of blowdowns, many of them pretty major. More than one fell right down the middle of the trail rather than across it. Sometimes tough to get around and be sure you’re still in the trail. Peabody Brook (section along Dream Lake) and Dryad Falls are fine. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Would be fine for a puppo. 
Bugs
Bugs: Buzz buzz nope. 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Austin Brook: Snow is still granular, though, and could use a little more packing down, but it’s also only 2-3 inches deep in most spots. Mahoosuc: Very little traffic up there so you will definitely need snowshoes since the snow is much deeper (expect some postholing if you don’t). However, also expect them to take a beating on the rocks and roots since this is a very narrow trail.

See my above notes about the Mahoosuc Trail conditions and the parking situation. Otherwise it was a stellar day to be out. Clear, blue skies and not a soul on the trail. Views from the Gentian Pond Shelter and the end of Dream Lake were fantastic. Dryad Falls is frozen solid, though, so not much to look at. Not many folks up this way. Tracks on Mahoosuc were old.  
Name
Name: IanD 
E-Mail
E-Mail: iantdurham@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2021-01-10 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share 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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