| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Hale, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Zealand Road, Hale Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, January 12, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the winter lot for Zealand Rd off US 302. This very large lot is plowed after storms. Today some pavement was showing through. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Only small hopover streams on this trail. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
This is a good trail for dogs. No obstacles for them to negotiate. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
One Leki glove on Zealand Rd near the campground. Left on “No Parking” sign so that the owner could see it. |
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 | Comments: |
Route:
Out and back on Zealand Rd and Hale Brook Trail.
Zealand Rd: wear whatever you want for footwear. I chose snowshoes as there was not a good trench set up and the snow was firm enough to keep me floating along the surface.
Hale Brook Trail: this trail is nicely blazed in yellow for the entirety. Snowshoes worn. I was first on trail and thus had the “joy” of breaking trail. No tracks or trench established at all. Snow was frozen enough this morning that I was generally able to float on top of the crust. This was fine until I hit some serious side hilling just prior to the switchbacks. Some parts I had to turn into the hill and side step to make sure I didn’t go sliding down the hillside. I would have loved to build a better trench on this part but I had a hard time breaking the crust.
The waterfall above this side hill section is completely snow covered and simple to walk over. The remainder of the trail was covered in deeper snow that I punched through in uneven and random parts. Minor drifts near the summit. The rock pile on the summit is nearly covered by snow. Exploring the summit I noted that Lend-A-Hand was untouched (though one fellow that came behind me planned on going that way). The old Fire Warden’s trail, surprisingly was broken out for the portion I explored.
Coming down I punched though a bit deeper into the snow (maybe 2-3 inches). Partly velocity + force, partly due to the snowshoers coming up behind me going deeper through the snow’s top layers.
Four people came up the trail behind me. Three in snowshoes. The poor fourth fella I will vouch for. He said he had an equipment malfunction on Moosilauke and was borrowing his wife’s shoes. He couldn’t get those to work and had to come up the trail bare booting. His snowshoes and skis were, in fact, next to the trail not far in from the trailhead. So, he will have likely postholed the trail but at least he tried to use snowshoes!
Nice to have met some super friendly hikers! |
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 | Name: |
Remington34 |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-01-12 |
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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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