| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Zealand Mountain, Mt. Guyot, West Bond, Mt. Bond, Bondcliff, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Lincoln Woods Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, January 12, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
One car at LW in the AM, two in the evening. Two cars in Zealand winter lot in the morning, 4 in the evening. Our sedan got stuck in the parking lot of the Zealand winter lot, so be careful…it only looked like a few inches of snow, but it was actually crunchy ice. We ended up having to pull it out with our other car. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The lower two on Bondcliff and the one on Wilderness were easy rock hop wearing snowshoes…some on bare rock, some on snow covered rocks. The rest were ice bridged, finally! |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Two step overs between Zeacliff and Zealand; at least three awkward duck unders on West Bond spur; bottom of Bondcliff has a few duck unders that I think might qualify for cleanup in the Spring even though it’s in the designated wilderness |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Obviously, conditions are changing as we speak, I’m mostly posting for maintenance notes and to say that the water crossings are mostly ice bridged! What a big change from a few weeks ago when the Zealand crossing was dangerous…now a simple walkover. Trail had been completely unbroken between Zeacliff and Bondcliff and it was heavenly. We floated on top of the supportive crust for the main part. At Bondcliff we encountered an overnighter heading up to Guyot who had done some serious trail breaking on Bondcliff Trail…it was not supportive enough for him. He had barebooted up a mile before donning snowshoes. We wore snowshoes all day. Zeacliff Trail had been “broken” up to Zeacliff, but mostly by berebooters who had some serious postholing. Evidence of one snowshoer on that section, but it was a mess. Hopefully this storm will dump a ton of snow to help fill in the postholes and encourage people to use their snowshoes. |
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 | Name: |
WanderingSoules |
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 | E-Mail: |
soules@writeme.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-01-13 |
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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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