| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Carrigain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 16, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Sawyer River Rd. parking lot, just off Rt. 302, is plowed. It was half full at 8:45am this Saturday. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The stream crossings on the "winter route" section near the junction with Carrigan Notch Trail require stepping on rocks 3 inches underwater - OK with waterproof boots. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Between the main stream crossings (about 1.8 miles up Signal Ridge Trail, on the "winter route") is a blowdown causing a herd path. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Fine for dogs. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Found a black North Face glove on a tree in the upper half of Signal Ridge Trail - carried it out and left it on the kiosk at the parking lot. At that kiosk there was also a hiking pole. Snowline microspikes lost at the Sawyer River Rd. parking area, probably on the right side of the lot near the far end. Email me if you find them! |
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 | Comments: |
Sawyer River Rd. was packed snow with a few inches of loose snow on top - microspikes worked a little better than bare boots, others used skis, not enough snow to make snowshoes helpful. Signal Ridge Trail has a mostly well-packed snowshoe track from start to finish, with a few inches of loose snow on top that was softening during the day at lower elevations. The first 1.7 miles of Signal Ridge Trail has many postholes, but also frequent 10-20 ft. patches of bare rock or leaves, so we used microspikes instead of snowshoes and tried to stick to the mostly packed center of the trail to avoid creating new postholes. At 1.7 miles up Signal Ridge Trail, the official trail (veering to the right) was not broken out - everyone was following the snowshoe track straight ahead along the old, more direct route (sometimes called the "winter route"), with its three stream crossings. After the last crossing, when the official trail rejoins, the trail is almost entirely snow-covered so snowshoes can more easily be used (and the long sidehill ascent has a wide enough track for snowshoes) - in fact, snowshoes with televators would be a good choice since it is a steady ascent. But the trail is packed enough that microspikes worked fine too. Along this sidehill, we got quite wet from the sun melting the snow in the trees above us. No problems on Signal Ridge. At the summit, the steps up the observation tower have only a little bit of snow and some steps have none - didn't seem icy, but we held on to the guardrails just in case. The platform itself was snow-free. Views were excellent - we could see all the way to Mt. Mondanock. Only Washington and the northern Presidentials were in the clouds. |
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 | Name: |
mathbp |
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 | E-Mail: |
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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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