| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Sunday Mountain, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Road walk, Cross-Rivendell Trail, Sunday Mountain Summit Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, April 2, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Small parking area on Dame Hill Road just off Route 25A is accessible. The main parking area is covered by 2-3 inches of soft snow, but the sides of the access road are bare and usable. Considering the weather forecast for the coming week, I wouldn't be surprised if that snow is all gone by next weekend. No parking available at the eastern trailhead on Indian Pond Road (use the parking area on Dame Hill Road). Very limited (and muddy) roadside parking available at the western trailhead on Norris Rd. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Snow - Spring Snow, Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None on this trail. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Several blowdowns at various points along the trail - it doesn't seem to have received any maintenance during the winter. No major drainage issues, and signs are all in place. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Shouldn't have any issues. |
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 | Bugs: |
None. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing. |
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|
 | Comments: |
Road walk, Cross-Rivendell Trail Sunday Mountain section, Sunday Mountain summit spur
I chose this sunny and windy day to do my second-to-last redlining hike for Chapter 6 of the WMG. Finding the trailhead on Indian Pond Road was easy - it's marked with blue-painted signs. The first (flatter) section has a mix of conditions - starting out as mostly bare ground with some patchy snow, while in some sections the snow cover was complete but shallow (less than 6 inches). Some areas were also icy. I barebooted this section since there was plenty of bare ground, but spikes would've been useful in a few areas. The old logging road heading north around the base of the mountain had some areas of ice and shallow snow but also plenty of bare ground as well - I barebooted that as well. Where the trail curves sharply to the left for the first of its switchbacks, I put on spikes. None of the options would've been perfect for the conditions - I did occasionally sink in up to 6" in spikes, but they gave me better traction on the more solid, icier sections. Snowshoes would've occasionally helped but would also have gotten banged up by the exposed rocks in a lot of places. These conditions, with almost complete snow cover but some bare rocks, continued until the viewpoint to Mt. Cube that's mentioned in the WMG. To my amazement, above that point the trail was mostly bare ground, with only small, easily barebootable patches of snow remaining. The spur to the summit is about half-and-half bare ground and 6" of soft snow, but it's barebootable. The summit has a sign and, this time of year, views through the trees.
The upper part of the descent (going toward Norris Road) is similar to the switchback portion of the ascent - mostly complete snow cover with some exposed rocks. There is a packed trail here, but since there's no elevated monorail yet, it is difficult to discern exactly where the packed trail is, and thus easy to accidentally step off it and posthole 6 inches. Spikes came in handy on this section. Once the trail reached the flat section at the top of the shoulder, it became half-and-half snow and bare ground. That section could probably have been barebooted, but I kept my spikes on assuming that the long sidehill descent off the shoulder down to Norris Road might be icy and require spikes. I was right - spikes definitely helped with traction on several parts of that descent. The road walk back to my car was long but straightforward.
Overall, there was less snow than I expected, considering how much snow there was on my hike in Epsom (much further south) just last weekend. Despite the bluebird day, I didn't see anyone else on the trail. Spring is definitely coming! |
|
 | Name: |
GN |
|
 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-04-02 |
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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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