| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Monroe, Mt. Washington, Mt. Jefferson, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop, Cog Rail Trail, Westside, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop, Jewell Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, January 12, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at Cog in hiker lot (very clearly marked after you go under the welcome sign), which was plowed. $10/person. Lots of skiers/boarders. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
No issues. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Ammo and Jewell are in great shape w/regards to blowdowns. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
A couple of pooches with some skiers on Wash. One was a husky and was not impressed with the "worst weather on earth", but they seemed to be enjoying themselves. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Seemed like 4" of fresh snow overnight. Snowshoes door to door, as did nearly all of the hikers I saw today. Ammo remains un-icy, but with the additional overnight snow, snowshoes were a good choice, I don't think micros would have had enough bite on the steeper sections of Ammo. There is a ~100' stretch heading up Monroe about half way up that is steep and featureless. An ice axe would not have been crazy...I got by with jamming my poles in and holding them 1' from the bottom, and on the way down I went down backwards (facing the hill) which let me get solid toe holds.
There was a hiker about an hour ahead of me heading up Wash, and her tracks were already gone in some places but where they weren't they were very helpful and a good route. Met two hikers coming up Lions Head who had used full crampons. Heading down from Wash towards clay, it is mostly ice with snow on top varying from 0" to several feet. You definitely need some kind of traction for this section. Skiers were hiking/skinning up along the tracks, but I can't imagine the ski down was much fun until you got down out of the wind a bit as not a ton of snow. I started getting close to the Great Gulf and thought better of it and followed the train tracks until splitting off towards the Gulfside trail, which was nicely snowshoe packed except not quite enough snow, so the snowshoes took a beating on the exposed rocks but at no time was I tempted to switch to micros because the snow was not at all consolidated.
I cut the corner down towards Jewell on the way back from Jeff far earlier than yesterday's gang had, and it worked out well. The top of Jewell is picking through rocks, but once you get in the trees it is perfect for snowshoeing (video in link below). 2 other hikers doing the same route today, the other two I think had less than 10 hikes to go on their Grid, so today was a good get for them! |
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 | Name: |
Borealis |
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 | E-Mail: |
kdwelch1@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-01-12 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.strava.com/activities/13339335985/overview |
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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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