| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Noon Peak, Sandwich Dome, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Sandwich Mountain Trail, Drakes Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, April 2, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking lot is in rough shape and not plowed very well. Some cars parked in the road that couldn't make it up. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Still ice bridged except lower crossing on Drakes Brook trail, which was only half bridged and not long for this world. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trails are fantasticly maintained. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw one dog and followed some coyote tracks down most of Drakes Brook. |
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 | Bugs: |
No bugs |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
With Motha Russia. A fine day in the woods and a spectacular view is had from sandwich dome. We even saw the lakes!
Barebooted on very solid ground up to about 2000', when it flattens out. Started to sink a little and put on the snowshoes. The extreme steep section is very solid piste, but I was happy to have the fantastic traction and televators.
The trail continually degraded as we got further and it was clear that most have been barebooting recently. Three people ahead of us were also barebooting and postholing. The trough was narrow and uneven, which made the trail more exhausting than necessary.
The broken trail diverges West, more on top of the ridge, from the actual trail for about 0.2 miles after the smarts Brook intersection. It's a nice walk through open woods, but there are some spruce traps and poky things.
Postholing continued to get worse until the summit. The final 100' is a complete mess. We met the responsible party as they were leaving the summit and they apologized. We were able to clean up a lot of the mess up high, were the snow was softer.
We decided to take Drake's Brook down and avoid the solid piste on the steeps that would have given Motha Russia an anxiety attack. Drake's Brook was in much better shape, with a snowshoer ahead of us who had submitted Jennings. There are still some sections on the flats that are rough on the ankles, but overall, it was much more pleasant. We passed her about 1 mile down and she was happy to let us take over the trail breaking.
We were quite pleased to see the road after the final river crossing. We had forgotten there was a 0.4 mile road walk (snow mobile?), so it was nice to end the trail breaking early. Saw a couple of young headed up, who asked us if they'd need their snowshoes. Lol. I hope they had them sense to put them on. |
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 | Name: |
Uncle Bob |
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 | E-Mail: |
rcorsaro@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-04-02 |
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 | Link: |
 https://strava.app.link/KeSed2UjGyb |
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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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