| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Middle Carter, South Carter, Carter Dome, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Camp Dodge Cutoff, Imp Trail, North Carter Trail, Carter Moriah Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Nineteen Mile Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, April 25, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the large 19 mile brook trailhead and was the third car to arrive, no problem! Walked down to Camp Dodge road to begin the hike. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
No problems with the two crossings on Carter Dome trail. The second one is a bit interesting because the stream and the trail have become one in several places! |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Several step overs and duck unders all over the place, but nothing too serious. The rather difficult one on the 19 mile brook trail has been mentioned in several reports already. Lots of failed or failing water bars on the upper switchbacks on Carter Dome, hopefully this trail will be getting some good attention this summer - it seems to have been taking a beating this winter and spring! (Although it has been some time since I was up there! |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Did not see any dogs today, but the would likely be fine! |
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 | Bugs: |
Did see some bugs in the afternoon, will have to get that head net into my pack soon! |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing lost, nothing found |
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|
 | Comments: |
Well, I was blessed to have a very cold night and a pretty cold day up on the ridge! The snowpack was very firm and nice to walk on most of the day. Lower sections of imp trail has small patches of snow and some ice this morning, due to the cold temps overnight, but no problem. I put spikes (hillsounds) on at about 2800’, but saw several others bare booting without much difficulty. I prefer the traction! Snowpack was steady and supportive on the upper section of Imp and on North Carter - in surprisingly good shape! The ridge had many more postholes, but other than playing “dodge the posthole” all day, it was easy walking in spikes the whole way. By afternoon, the sun had softened up the surface of the snow and it was getting pretty mushy and slippery. The Carter Dome trail from Zeta pass down to 19 mile brook junction was a mess! Lots of running water under the snow pack and the snow was getting very soft in places and difficult to navigate. Everything but the kitchen sink in that two miles (and there may have been a kitchen sink up there!). After the first crossing, and sort of mid way across the mess that was the second crossing, I finally gave up on the spikes - I don’t think they were helping much! This section is just a mess of melting and collapsing snowpack. I don’t think snowshoes would have helped at all, the snow was just too intermittent and messy. Good luck if you are heading out this weekend, my guess is those trails will really fall apart with the warm weather. Lots of snow pack up on the ridge - several feet in most places! Great day to get these for April and to grid out M and S Carter (need dome in May to finish it off!) |
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 | Name: |
Barbara Crane |
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 | E-Mail: |
Bcrane67@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-04-25 |
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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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