| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Wolf, Gordon Pond, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Reel Brook Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Gordon Pond Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, February 14, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plowed pull off for Reel Brook Trail on the right just before sketchy summer TH. Room for 2-3 cars. We were picked up at Gordon Pond “trailhead” (someone’s driveway). There are a couple of not really appealing but possibly adequate pull off options on Rt. 112. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Wet/Sticky |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All easy |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few blowdowns on Kinsman Ridge and Gordon Pond Trails, a couple of big ‘uns on the latter. Lower 1-2 miles of Gordon Pond Trail not well marked, but WMG was spot on with directions; GPS helped as well. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
Saw a snow spider, a flying thingee, and a bunch of snowfleas :) |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Reel Brook Trail was recently traveled, an inch or two of new snow. Three of us started off in bareboots but switched to snowshoes, a better choice, well before hitting Kinsman Ridge.
Kinsman Ridge south to Mt. Wolf was traveled a couple of days ago (thanks R, M, & S). Near the peak one of us followed the previous track direct to Wolf while the other two broke out Kinsman Ridge Trail proper (the big switchback) and hit the east knob w/ viewpoint first. There was an old track of a lone snowshoer that, oddly, disappeared off to the west and never reappeared. Nearing Gordon Pond Trail junction there was some moose activity, with a very recent (still warm!) pile of nuggets.
Gordon Pond Trail was untraveled. Trail breaking was fine unless we stepped into an undermined drainage section. However, the clouds finally dissipated, the sun came out, and the snow starting turning towards mashed potatoes. We took the side trail to Gordon Pond which was lovely. We missed a couple of reroutes around wet areas but then backtracked to hike the proper blue-blazed routes (much to the consternation of a certain member of our trio, hahaha).
The lower part of Gordon Pond Trail is a kind of annoying mix of hiking trail, snow machine (lots of “snirt” here!) highway, and powerline walking followed by a plowed icy road section (spikes were not carried all day for nothing, yay), the plowing which sadly and abruptly ended about a quarter mile from 112. We postholed that, sorry.
Lots of blue line miles today as I mopped up Kinsman Ridge Trail and Gordon Pond Trail in winter. Thanks for the fun day, J&A!! |
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 | Name: |
Snowflea |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-02-15 |
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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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