| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Millen Hill, Mt. Dartmouth, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Jewell Trail, Boundary Line Trail, Jefferson Notch Road, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, January 29, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
2 cars at ammo trailhead at 730 |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Nothing challenging, none on bushwhack |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
With Pierre and Van.
Original plan was to traverse and get Deception, but with just the three of us and some fatigue from a busy weekend playing in the snow, we decided to out and back to save some work and get out before dark.
After some initial confusion about legal parking, we finally hit the trail at about 730. The day started of warm.
Didn't see anyone aside from lots of snowmobiles on JNR. Boundary Line was unbroken but now has nice tracks. Jewell looks barebooted beyond boundary.
We started the whack from the herd path at hight of land and had a pretty nice whack through pretty open woods, avoiding patches of blowdowns and finally approaching the summit from the north east. There were lovely open views of Monroe to Jefferson in the blowdowns at around 3300. The summit was noticable cooler with a decent breeze. There was only about 6" of snow on Millen and the breaking was fine.
Blowdowns on the decent along the ridge to Dartmouth kept us South of ridgeline through somewhat steep, but open woods. We ran into some thick spruce in the col and once again withdrew to the south to circumnavigate the stand. We were able to find some decent pencil to regain the ridge and stayed on it to the summit. The pencil relented to open woods. There was noticably more snow on Dartmouth. The open patches on the plateau were thick with the stuff, but my partners maintained pretty good float. By now it was snowing and we had no views until we returned to the trailhead. I fell behind here, sometimes sinking to my knees. Again the summit was chilly and it was great to have a wardrobe change to dry off. We returned via the same route, choosing to resummit Millen rather than break new trail. Aside from a header leaving me with a large face scratch that my wife isn't happy about, the return was uneventful.
We didn't experience nearly as much crust as I had the day before helping break pine bend Brook the day prior, which I'm thankful for.
An exhausting weekend, but much fun was had by all. Thanks to both Pierre and Van for having me along, and especially Van for breaking so much trail for two tired men.
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 | Name: |
Uncle Bob |
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 | E-Mail: |
rcorsaro@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-01-29 |
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 | Link: |
 https://strava.app.link/2fwLbjs5Zwb |
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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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