| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Israel, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Wentworth Trail, Mead Trail, Guinea Pond Spur, Guinea Pond Trail, Sandwich Notch Road, Bearcamp River Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, February 18, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Nice parking at Mead Station. One could park at the end of the plowed section of Sandwich Notch Road where the snowmobilers also park. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Hiking on Guinea Pond towards the pond spur Beebe River crossing 1 had just enough ice at one point to cross dry. Crossing 2 was open and would be wet but 60' downstream I found solid enough ice to cross. The tributary just after that was easy. On my return from the pond I used the south side bypass. There were numerous small drainages on the new Guinea bypass that were fine with a little care. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Guinea Pond Spur has no signs or markings but is an obvious corridor to start and less obvious the second half. The new Guinea Pond Bypass has paint blazes so it can be followed easily enough in winter if paying attention except there's none I saw in the power line easement section. Power line road repair means it is full of ribbons so there's a lot of ribbons to divert one all over the place. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
It would be good except for the Mead trail which was an ankle buster. I would expect most dogs could have stayed on the side like I did although a heavy dog might have found itself pawholing without snowshoes. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Wentworth hard packed but rarely icy so a nice bareboot. Mead should have been a nice snowshoe but it was an ankle buster due to a group of trassholers likely from the prior day or two. After some brief attempts to use the beaten path it was clear I wasn't fixing their trash but I almost did my ankle in three times, so I decided to only snowshoe on the side of the trail. Fortunately it was pretty open hardwoods, and with the solid crust it was a good descent. Unfortunately as I got nearer to the power line I heard the obnoxious beeping of heavy equipment moving backwards, loud crashes as two excavators moved rocks and groaning engine noise. They must be rebuilding the power line road. On a Sunday? Guinea Pond had old snowmobile packing, and a recent ski track on it heading east. Guinea Pond Spur was easy in snowshoes; there were no signs of any prior use but the corridor to start was obvious and I could still make it out in the second half which went by a nice view as it went along the pond. As I was coming back Guinea Pond on the bypass three snowmobilers were trying to go east on Guinea Pond. They took some time crossing the open Beebe River spots. I wondered if they knew about the beaver pond much further down. Heading west from the Mead Trail jct. the ski tracks used the old trail going right over the long flooded section with no problems and then easily through the oftimes flooded bridge area further down. I first followed the bypass up to the power line and across to the side of the trassholes out of curiosity but went back to do the trail over the bridge which was fine in winter. When I later came across the new bypass joining the trail I decided to follow it back east as it appeared untouched and the snowshoeing was easy. Lacking a corridor and winding around a bit, the paint blazes were necessary to stay on it. It eventually crossed the power line and continued for a short stretch on the other side before coming back to the power line, at which point there were no obvious markings and lots of ribbons of all kinds, so I just turned around to enjoy the wooded snowshoe back. The snowmobile sections from there were okay first in snowshoes and then boots for the road; there hadn't been enough use or warmth to turn them into mashed potatoes. Bearcamp had some other hikers on it from Mead or the Sandwich road; it is obviously popular from both ends. It was hard and icy enough I had to take care in bare boots; spikes would have been better but I didn't want to stop to put them on. |
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 | Name: |
Zero |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-02-18 |
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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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