| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Zealand Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, February 13, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
As of this writing, the parking area 1/4 mile down 302 is clean down to the pavement. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Bridges are in fine shape. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
One blow-down, easily passed. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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|
 | Comments: |
Holy Toledo, what a difference a week and some warm weather makes. The trail was basically frozen concrete. It was an 18 mile long epic journey, but quick time was made; I averaged (over the whole trip) about 2 MPH. The only bear was the really steep bits, but those are fairly short. At the time of this writing, things are frozen solid and hard, to the point where snowshoes are possibly optional. I found no problem staying on the very top of the snowpack throughout the day, with quite unusual and fairly shallow exceptions. The only post-holing I did was when I stepped off trail, but as long as I stayed to the tramped down bits, I sank millimeters, not inches. As long as it stays good and cold, this should hold up well -- it felt remarkably solid.
I had no issues getting to Zealand's summit. It was clean and clear all the way. Fellow hikers (including Cone Demon!) told me it was a tad soft heading out to Guyot, but not appreciably worse than what I experienced as far as Zealand. These were truly classic conditions.
If Zealand is on your list, it's about as good as it's going to get.
Trip report is on my blog as always. Wordpress is being weird at the moment, so there might be minor edits over the next day or three as I can find the time. Share and enjoy! |
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 | Name: |
Protean Wanderer |
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 | E-Mail: |
hiker@proteanwanderer.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-02-13 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.proteanwanderer.com/2022/02/13/trip-report-zealand-is-a-go-go/ |
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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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