| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Monroe, Mt. Washington, Mt. Jefferson, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop, Jewell Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, February 7, 2023 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at lower Cog hiking lot, groomed snowmobile trail behind the parking lot leads right up to trailheads. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossings were ice bridged…for now. None of the ice seems very substantial, and some of the higher ones on Ammo have been broken through recently. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Nothing of note |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
|
|
 | Bugs: |
|
|
 | Lost and Found: |
*LOST* pair of Julbo sunglasses in white Good’r pouch. Pretty sure they fell out of the back of my car in the parking lot before my hike, but may have dropped on Ammo trail. Please email me if you have them. |
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
Overall, decent trail conditions on a perfect morning with low wind and lots of sunshine. I wore Tubbs Flex ALP snowshoes for the duration. Considered switching to full 10-point crampons above tree line, but the only part of this hike I would have done in microspikes was lower Ammo.. One thing of note - cairns are sometimes hard to distinguish from regular rocks because the amount of rime ice on everything; keep this in mind if you’re heading up on a low visibility day.
Ammo was hard-packed, a mess of postholes and kicked steps…but overall pretty fast and easy with televators. At the top things get real weird. There are a number of “tracks” to choose from; I wanted to stay away from the actual mouth of the ravine so went right and still ended up coming out on the wrong side of the hut. The trail up Monroe was more of the same. On the way up I followed some weird trail and on the way down I just beelined it for the bottom after losing the cairns. Right now there’s enough of a crust to protect the alpine flora from meandering paths, but once things soften up more care could be taken to track out the proper trail.
Crawford Path and Gulfside have varying amounts of snow/ice coverage, mountaineering snowshoes were doing a good job digging in but as mentioned, could have used crampons. There are a few spots that are downright scary even with proper traction (ie, above Great Gulf). Bulletproof wind-scoured snow abounds. Up Washington and over to Jefferson was relatively easy going other than those couple exposed spots.
Down Jewell was a breeze once through the annoying rocky section above treeline. Snowshoes were best in the trees, the snow is still pretty soft. Many thanks to Andrea and crew for breaking it out!!
See above note on lost item. ???? |
|
 | Name: |
woodsyjess |
|
 | E-Mail: |
woodsyjess@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2023-02-07 |
|
 | Link: |
 https:// |
|
|
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. |
|
