| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Ice Gulch, Lookout Ledge, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Ice Gulch Path, Peboamauk Loop, Cook Path, Sargent Path, Vyron D. Lowe Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, December 26, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Randolph Community Forest parking was closed today for road work. I parked at Ice Gulch Trailhead, on the south side of, and off of, Randolph Hill Road, since there was no danger of a snowplow coming through. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction, Ice Axe |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All easy peasy |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Well, there are a just a TON of branches down everywhere, plus a few trees to climb over, under or around. The only big 'un was a spruce towards the northern end of Cook Path. I flicked what I could, but you'd hardly notice. Also, evidence of the deluge a week ago is evident on most of these trails. It almost looks as if someone took a leaf blower to sections of Cook Path. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Except for the late, great Pepper, this trail is definitively not dog friendly, especially in winter. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Ice Gulch is an un-boring trail. It is also one I would emphatically recommend not doing given the current conditions.
The first two miles were an easy descent to "the marked birch," which I think may have died and keeled over as I seem to remember a sign here on said birch tree, and it's no longer there. I continued up Ice Gulch Trail to Peboamauk Loop, took a right and descended (because bluelining). There was much evidence of last Monday's deluge. Peboamauk waterfall was quite beautiful!
I reclimbed the 1/2 mile of Ice Gulch Trail that I just did and proceeded through the Gulch. I have been through Ice Gulch twice before (in summer) and Mahoosuc Notch many times, once in winter. Ice Gulch is way harder. The first thing I noticed was "hey, there's snow in here!" (Peboamauk Fall is, after all, "Winter's Home.") A blaze peeked out here and there, but with approximately 42,972 deep, gaping, hidden holes to negotiate, I spent much time on the sides, a bit higher, lurching from rock (sure footing) to rock (flashbacks of crevasses on Denali and Rainier years ago.) It was slow, tedious work that took about 90 minutes to get through. Because temps were in the 40s and the sun was hitting them, ice chunks kept falling off the cliffs to my right, thankfully never near me, but made for great acoustics. At long last, I was a happy camper to reach Cook Trail.
I should mention that I saw other human footprints (yay, more idiots!) at the start and the end of the Gulch but not in the middle, so I'm unsure of their exact route. ??? Also some small bear prints near Peboamauk Falls.
Cook Path is littered with thousands of branches and washouts. The Mt. Crescent Glades are looking sad due to very little snow. Towards the bottom of Cook Path there were signs saying that both it and Boothman Spring Cutoff were "closed due to logging." Well, I had to get back to my car, so I continued on Cook Path, and it was easy to follow. There is a new house going up and a bunch (like, a lot) of trees have been cut.
I made it back to my car and decided to tackle a couple more easy trails: Sargent and Vyron D. Lowe. I like Sargent Path because it gets to the point: 950 feet of climb in 0.8 miles, ending at a spectacular view of the Northern Presies and King Ravine. Hmm... not much snow left in there. After Ice Gulch, VDL was was not an un-boring trail, and I was glad to reach the bottom and road walk the mile back to my car.
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 | Name: |
Snowflea |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-12-26 |
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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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