| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Hale, Zealand Mountain (attempt), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Zealand Road, Hale Brook Trail, Lend-A-Hand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, December 9, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the snow-mobile lot about .25 mile east of Zealand Road. ~5 cars there at 7am. Didn't see any snowmobiles - I'm guessing there isn't enough snow yet for them. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The main crossing by the hut was no problem - water is very low right now. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Zealand Road: 4-6 inches of snow, easy to bare boot. Doesn't look like snowmobiles are out yet.
Hale Brook: Put on snowshoes at the start of Hale Brook and kept them on for the rest of the hike. Hale Brook was fairly well broken out but the snow is still soft so snowshoes are recommended. I think they're also important for keeping the narrow ledges at ~3000 feet in good shape.
Lend-A-Hand: This was broken out but looked like only 1-2 people had been down it. A lot of fairly deep drifts. The swampy areas toward Twinway were not fun. Lots of tricky footing for snowshoes with all the rocks. And it was very easy to break through and wind up sticking your foot in the water. Hopefully things will improve once we get some more snow.
Twinway: I started up Twinway but got completely soaked by water falling from the trees. Wound up thinking about hypothermia and decided to turn around to avoid 2-3 hours of soaked hiking in the dark. Not sure yet if I regret this.
Zealand Trail: This is well broken out and easy, seems to be used by most people visiting the hut.
Other notes:
Bathrooms at Beaver Brook XC Ski area are open! Hopefully they remain so throughout the winter.
I spoke to another hiker who said that Twinway out to Zealand is in rough shape and very slow going. She also said that another group of hikers had planned to do the Bonds but turned around due to how slow things were past Zealand. Apparently Zealand->Bonds had not been broken out at all.
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 | Name: |
Joanna |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-12-10 |
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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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