| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
The Twins - North Peak, Mt. Shaw, The Twins - South Peak, Rickers Knoll, NH |
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 | Trails: |
FR234, bushwhack, herd paths |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, April 16, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I parked at the gate at Town Hall Rd in Intervale. There’s a lot here that could hold about a dozen cars. Two other cars when I arrived just past 6am and one other car there when I returned around 1:15pm. The road in turns to dirt and has some potholes but is in solid shape for any car. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossed a few small drainages no problem. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
I found a music player that I’m guessing some campers were using fairly high up on FR234. |
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 | Comments: |
FR234, becomes overgrown before it’s end on Gaia. For a more followable endpoint, trust CalTopo.
Day 167, Peaks 154, 155, and 156. Early 6:15am start to try and (mostly) finish before the rain came. Lucky me, even though the hike took almost 2hrs longer than I’d planned, not a drop of rain fell on me!
I walked up FR234 to about 1650ft, where I seemed to follow a Skidder road rather than the main one and got pulled off course on Gaia. The road is really only followable to 1550ft or so as shown on CalTopo. Now I’d planned on heading to Rickers Knoll first but since I got pulled north of where the road was shown on Gaia (inaccurate) I decided to bag North Twin and Shaw first. I took a bearing to North Twin and followed it, immediately crossing a small drainage, then crossing the main one that can be seen on Gaia not too long after. I continued on my NE bearing until I hit the western ridge at about 2300ft which I followed to the summit. Woods were hardwoods down low, then transitioned to more scratchy woods but not thick. The summit was a cool, ledgy area which explained the transition in woods. Easy to find register. Only trivial snow to this point.
I then headed due north into the Shaw-Twin col. I soon encountered snow and a good deal of small boulders. Snow still has a bit of depth to it but the postholing wasn’t terrible. From the col, I continued north to ascend the SW ridge of Shaw as it looked less steep than a direct approach. Again, you hit ledge and scrappy but not too tight woods, but the actual highpoint is just beyond the ledges in the hardwoods. On my way back, I took a more direct line down to the col. Indeed, it was steeper and more bouldery. Without snow it wouldn’t be an issue though. Back on North Twin, I took a bearing to South Twin. A short hike over more ledge between the two. South Twin is worth checking out as it’s got a great view from a spot very close to the highpoint. Unfortunately, the view is due to a ledge, which I had to detour around as I aimed for the Rickers Knoll-Twins col. A long, mostly flat, walk between here the the 2250ft bump to the north of Rickers Knoll. Some beautiful woods in here but not exactly open. Either scratchy or furry. Off and on snow to posthole through too. This part was a PITA. From this bump to Rickers Knoll, I headed north and hit some more snow and fir but this went by quicker than the long flat section before. Woods turned to some ledges as you approached Rickers Knoll. Some herd paths forming in a few different directions. Not hard to find the canister.
On my way back down, I followed roughly the same track for 1/4mi, then just west of north to intersect FR234 at about 1650ft. After some more postholing, I was soon done with the snow. Mixed woods continued for a bit before giving way to hardwoods. I slabbed down crossing a drainage or two, then followed FR234 out. The hike was about 9mi with roughly 2500ft of gain, taking me just under 7hrs to complete.
198 more days and 209 more peaks to go… |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-04-16 |
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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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