| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Scar Ridge - West Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Access road, herd paths |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, September 8, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at mountain bike lot and walked to ski access road (Brookway and Bear Claw ski trails) which go behind Mountain Club hotel. On descent, To avoid climbing back up to the gondola ,we took bear claw extension trail, Then cut over on bear pause to save a little time. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Herd path was very well defined |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
none- cooler and pretty windy |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
“You can do hard things.” It was my mantra for the day. My brother just completed a 29029 Everest challenge yesterday, and the promo videos repeated that tag line as the take away. It fit for a place like this that I dreaded. As it turns out, Scar Ridge wasn’t as impossible or as difficult as I thought. Just a pain at times, with uncertainty and challenge, but also rainbows.
The good: luscious views from Loon ski slopes, lots of them considering we walked 3 1/2 miles of access Road before the herd path. The Summit Café restrooms had flush toilets were open and provided access to water refills. Very well defined herd path around the bend from the north loon quad chair and that “trail ends here” sign - for 2/3 of the approx. 2 mi to Scar. Lots of Intel online about turns to take and avoiding the summit blowdowns. I’m grateful for the AllTrails track from a Chris MacDonald, which for the most part was spot on. Thank you Chris wherever you are. Long stretches of quiet, mossy greenness that soothed the soul.
The bad: that blowdown field. The pink flags that Mostly guided you up the summit EXCEPT where you needed the most which was in the blowdown field. Numerous posts said to stay to the left of the blow downs but because of the pink flags
we followed them. DON’T. Stay left at all costs. We ended up in a morass of crawling on the ground for what seemed like forever though . In reality that section was only maybe 0.2,mi but man. Fortunately, on descent we corrected our path, which was much better and avoided the blow downs entirely.
Also the canister is in such heavy brush that, esp with today’s 20-30 mph winds, we skipped signing it and opted for a few quick pics.
The best: The rainbows - truly - through light rain showers as we descended the ski trails, dog tired but warmed by knowing we were soon to cross off #90 of NEHH. Their brilliance painted the sky in behind Liberty and Flume, and guided us home. Changed. Bettered. Ready for more.
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 | Name: |
TwinMom+1 |
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 | E-Mail: |
mk@mkmarinac.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-09-08 |
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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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