Mt. Starr King, Mt. Waumbek - Starr King Trail - 12-14-2023

Hiking Trail Conditions Report
	Peaks	Mt. Starr King, Mt. Waumbek, NH

	Trails:	Starr King Trail

	Date of Hike:	Thursday, December 14, 2023

	Parking/Access Road Notes:	Was able to make it to the summer parking lot. The ruts at the beginning seem to get worse and worse, snow depth was very minimal.

	Surface Conditions:	Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable

	Recommended Equipment:	Snowshoes, Light Traction

	Water Crossing Notes:

	Trail Maintenance Notes:

	Dog-Related Notes:

	Bugs:

	Lost and Found:


	Comments:	Based of conditions on Moriah we opted to leave snowshoes in the car. The lower sections are also boney and have only trace amounts of snow. We opted to bareboot and see how far we could make it. After about .5 miles it became clear Waumbek had received a good amount of fresh snow, still only a dusting but closer to the 2 inch depth vs Moriah which was less than an inch. We continued on to star king barebooting the whole way, spikes may be ideal for some but the fresh dusting was just enough to cover ice and not make it a problem. From star king to Waumbek snow depth varied from 2-4 inches with occasional small drifts. This section has clearly not seen as much traffic as other trails. Snowshoes could be helpful to smooth some sections out but with hardly any snow it’s not ideal. We were able to follow a gentleman’s tracks the whole way after we ran into just below star king while he was descending. We continued barebooting to Waumbek and back to star king and back to the car.

	Name:	George and Gemma

	E-Mail:

	Date Submitted:	2023-12-14

	Link:	https://
		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.