| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Moosilauke, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Ravine Lodge Road, Gorge Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, March 13, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The road was plowed up to the 2nd gate which was awesome considering the decent snowfall in the area the night before. Plenty of parking when we arrived at 1:15pm - only 4 other cars. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All passable |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
no pups today |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
We planned on the 1.6 mile road walk each way and were pleasantly surprised to find the road was plowed up to the 2nd gate. Saved us about a mile round trip. We arrived at 1:15pm in the hopes people broke trail before us after all the snow the night prior. Saw one person in the lot who was wearing spikes who said he only got 3 miles up and the post-holing and drifts were up to his knees so he turned around. I was tempted to mention wearing snowshoes would alleviate that issue, but decided not to. As we walked down past the beautiful Ravine lodge to the trails on the left side by the river, we saw 3 more people - all wearing spikes. We asked how the summit was and they said they turned around because of the snow...again I opted to keep my comments to myself re: snowshoes.
We walked the road to the trails bareboot. Threw on our snowshoes at the start and kept them on the entire way up to the summit. The trail was beautiful and snowshoeing in fresh powder was wonderful. The people wearing spikes actually didn't do much damage so that was great too.
We got to where the 1st person turned around and from here we broke trail all the way to where the trail becomes more exposed. Breaking trail wasn't too bad except where the drifts were deep. Tiring for sure, but we took turns in the front which helped. Once we got to where the exposure increased, the wind was ferocious so we layered up, put on balaclavas and goggles. Kept on the shoes because there was enough drifting in between the covered sections and it was just easier and honestly too cold to bother with switching over to spikes.
Hiking to the summit in the snowshoes from here was a bit sketchy because it's all ice and rock, but again because it wasn't too far, it was just easier keeping the snowshoes on.
Summit didn't get our attention for too long today. However, it was magnificent having this entire mountain all to ourselves! I'm sure that's a rarity for the Moose! We took some pics and video and then started our descent.
Going down was so beautiful and such a breeze...in snowshoes! Hoping people keep wearing them to pack the trail down nicely. |
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 | Name: |
mountain girl |
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 | E-Mail: |
jcmg2012@comcast.net |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-03-14 |
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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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