| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Madison (attempt), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Great Gulf Trail, Osgood Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 16, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of parking at great gulf trail head . Empty on arrival, two cars in the afternoon |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Nothing notable. Nice suspension bridge at the beginning. All minor crossing were unbridged but rockable. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
minor blowdowns on Osgood beyond tent site |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Not recommended for dogs at the moment. Or Bi-peds for that matter. Starting at the split from Great gulf trail and Osgood trail Above treelike was soft and not entirely filled in. My Chesapeake was post holing in some wooded sections and above tree line was too soft. Many pockets and too unpredictable to feel comfortable. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
I Haven't been up Osgood in the winter. Couldn't find any recent beta on the trail. Empty parking lot. It Must be good! Yeah right! I should know better. Too Warm of a day. Needs to be much colder for these shenanigans. Great gulf trail to Osgood was frozen freeze thaw footprints(1900ft). Used Micros to this point snowshoes from then on. Osgood Trail wasn't tracked. No Packed snow. No monorail. Every step was new. Showshoes breaking the crust and sinking an inch or so with every step. No shuffling today. Many low hanging snow covered branched. Which i knocked off as i was doing an out and back. Just below tree line was consistent foot depth light fluffy powder(3000'). At Tree line the trail was chose your own adventure following the cairns until we made it to the first of the false summits which started the fluffy unpacked loose snow just thick enough to hide the majority of the rockiness . Until you tried to navigate though it. The dog and i made it to the last of the false summits before turning back(5000'). Ridge line was a slow decent. Even slower below tree line. Although clearing the branches of snow helped a bit, and i could step in my previous accent tracks, It was slippery soupy sketchiness . Views of MW auto road with cloud capped Washington. Clear view of Wildcat resort and Carters, Honkers ridge. Cloudy Spotty snow flurries mixed with clear skies. |
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 | Name: |
Vanwilson |
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 | E-Mail: |
gvw1@comcast.net |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-03-17 |
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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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