| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
North Hancock, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, Hancock Loop Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, December 12, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking lot is plowed and only slightly icy; couple cars at noon |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Water flowing fast but not high, all crossings managed fairly easily on slightly ice covered rocks. Snowbridges (or what's left) are not reliable, even on the little runoff crossings |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Couple stepover blowdowns that aren't real issues and a couple new very small branchy ones that'll be covered up in a snowstorm or two. Cleared out a few loose and protruding branches from these, still a little awkward for now though |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Trail is in fairly decent condition after the rain. A couple inches of light powder atop the packed icy trail. Spikes the whole way. Brought snowshoes but had no use for them, and the only other two hikers I passed had gone on to S. Hancock and said the snowshoes wouldn't even be needed for the ridge walk. The new snow didn't accumulate much at all towards the summit. Pretty great footing really. These trails are inherently wet however, and there was quite serious collapsing of the trail over the spots where water was running underneath. The portion of Hancock Loop Trail (after Cedar Brook and before the North/South loop split) is unfortunately riddled with this collapsing wet trail. Most of the water underneath isn't too deep but there are sections that are boot sinkers, and it isn't always obvious how stable it is. The parts that us 3 hikers went through will be obvious now but there was cracking and shifting in areas that didn't totally give in, yet. Then one steep section close to the summit on North had slight cracking and I could see holes through spaces between rocks - a bit sketchy as I thought the whole thing was gonna shift and send me down the trail or end up with a boot in an icy hole. All in all a great hike in good conditions; just those few areas of weak trail to watch out for! |
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 | Name: |
Samantha J |
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 | E-Mail: |
sjbrook603@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-12-13 |
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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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