| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Madison, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Old Jackson Road, Madison Gulf Trail, Low's Bald Spot Spur, Parapet Trail, Star Lake Trail, Osgood Trail, Great Gulf Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, August 12, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
No issues. At 8:30am, we parked one car at the Great Gulf Trailhead lot, which had plenty of spaces, while the main Pinkham Notch lot was full so there we parked our other car in the overflow lot just to the south (and that one was nearly full too). |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Suspension bridges across Peabody River (on Madison Gulf Trail, and on the bottom of Great Gulf Trail) seemed to be in good condition. Other than that, easy rock hopping across streams. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
At the summit of Mt. Madison, it might be nice to have a sign showing the direction to start for descending Osgood to the east (there is a sign for Watson Path and there are cairns, however, so we could figure it out).
Plenty of blowdowns in the wilderness area, as to be expected. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Madison Gulf Trail has too many difficult scrambles - not good for dogs. Most of Osgood Trail has no water sources. |
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 | Bugs: |
Got a few mosquito bites, probably at the trailheads. Not too bad. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
We started at Pinkham Notch, ascended via Madison Gulf Trail, and hiked the entire length of the Osgood Trail (from the hut to the summit and down on the east side), ending at the Great Gulf Trailhead. Lots of people at Madison Spring Hut.
The top 1/2 mile of Madison Gulf Trail was difficult not only because of the very steep scrambling, but also because there was quite a bit of water flowing down in places. We saw one unhappy group trying to descend this, and when we got close to the top of Madison Gulf Trail we successfully managed to persuade two other descending groups to turn around and descend a different way.
Rocks were mostly dry above treeline, and mostly wet below it, perhaps from rain in recent days. There were many muddy sections below treeline, but one could mostly avoid the mud by rock hopping. Descending the steep part of Osgood Trail below treeline was a little slow-going because of all the wet rocks. |
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 | Name: |
mathbp |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-08-13 |
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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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