| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Madison, Mt. Adams, Mt. Jefferson, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Valley Way, Osgood Trail, Gulfside, Jewell Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, April 3, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
None of the lots were close to being full |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow - Spring Snow |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The one water crossing on Valley Way was not worth mentioning. Low water. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Things were in pretty good shape from top to bottom, although there was a trail sign that had been blown down (I think past Jefferson). |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Put on microspikes pretty quickly heading up Valley Way, and kept them on until the Ammo parking lot. On the ridge, I saw some footprints of folks barebooting, and my hiking partner occasionally put on crampons, but I never thought there were really needed. The one ice bulge on Valley way was quite soft and I walked right up without any difficulty.
Trails are in a transition. Down low, there are bare spots intermingled with packed monorail and thin patches of ice. (Please do not hike around them, it only widens the trail!) A bit higher, there is good packed snow, but not very deep. On the ridge itself, it's about half bare rock and half snow with a thin layer of ice under it.
The signs often had thick layers of rime ice on them, and yet hikers were frequently without hats or gloves, and I wore a short sleeved shirt until reaching Madison Springs Hut. (We saw a guy wearing shorts!) Absolutely no need for snowshoes anywhere on this route.
The one exception to the thin snow are the Jefferson snow fields. They were still fully developed and I would recommend having an ice axe for crossing them. There was no thumping, none at all, but do cross them with caution, one at a time, spacing yourselves out, as the slabs could still avalanche. |
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 | Name: |
B the Hiker |
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 | E-Mail: |
bsecret@hotmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-04-04 |
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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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