| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
South Twin Mountain, North Twin Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Gale River Road, Gale River Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Twinway, North Twin Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, December 26, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the wide pull out area next to Trudeau Road. The forest road is closed and gated for the winter. It is plowed for the employees of what I think is a water reservoir. This road is also a snowmobile route. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Wet/Sticky |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The two major water crossings are frozen over at the time of this writing. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
No obstacles for doggies. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Route:
Out and back on road walk on FR 25 (Gale River North) > Gale River Trail > Twinway > North Twin Spur
Forest Road (FR): see parking notes above. After the plowed road, the road was completely snow covered requiring snowshoes.
Gale River: not blazed save the re-route that is well blazed in blue. There are some blue blazes in the steeper part. Trail was covered in a lovely snow powder which made trail breaking less arduous. I broke trail to the junction with Twinway. A second person came behind me in snowshoes. With the night’s freezing temps, this may be spikeable. But I would not leave the snowshoes at home. Snow started out at 3 inches in lower elevations increasing to 6 inches or more towards the jct. Very few and easily dealt with blowdowns.
Twinway: this is the AT and is well blazed in standard white blazes. I also broke this out. That 1100 foot elevation gain over 0.8 miles is quite steep! I was the only one on this trail today so it is not completely broken out. There was at least a foot of snow. The trench is not established. Highly encourage snowshoe use. No blowdowns!! South Twin’s summit has a very thin layer of snow over ice. No issue with snowshoes.
North Twin Spur: nicely blazed in blue to the North Twin outlook sign. I was the only one on trail so it is not completely broken out. I measured approximately a foot of snow for the entirety. Snow from the summit of South Twin remained nice and fluffy. Once in the col, the snow morphs into thick, heavy and sticky snow. Very time consuming and energy draining. The trees were being warmed in the sun lending to a “rainfall” of melting snow. Rain gear helpful to prevent soaking. My pack got soaked, though, and became completely frozen when I descended back down Gale River. Zippers and everything frozen.
If you need/want these peaks, now would be a good time to get them, in my opinion. |
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 | Name: |
Remington34 |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-12-27 |
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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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