| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Hale, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Zealand Road, Hale Brook Trail, Lend-A-Hand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, February 15, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lower Ammo Falls parking lot on Rte 302 is plowed & has plenty of room. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Two crossings on Land-a-hand had running water but solid snowbridges .
Same with the one crossing on Zealand Trail. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Lend-a-hand has a fair amount of duck/crawl-unders, climb-overs, & walk arounds.
Plenty of blue blazes though - thankfully! |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Didn’t see any today. |
|
 | Bugs: |
Hahahahahaha!!!!
No, none. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Found lots of trash on my way down Zealand Trail & Zealand Rd.
I picked it all up & packed it out past all the NO LITTERING signs.
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|
 | Comments: |
Well today was an adventure.
Planned to do the Hale/Zealand Hut loop so I started before sunrise, but was going to see what Lend-a-hand looked like when I got to the summit. Zealand Rd & Hale Brook Trail had been broken out - huge thanks to the hikers from Friday!
At the summit I saw day or two-old tracks heading down Lend-a-hand so I figured I’d go for it. The tracks stopped after about 100 yards or so indicating someone had changed their mind & turned around. I figured I had plenty of time & the weather looked good so I’d give it a shot. Wow!!! It took me about four hours to get to Zealand Hut…
Average snow depth was about 1-2 feet, with drifts & spruce traps waist to armpit high. No consistency in the snow at all. I’m totally glad I did it, but I’m probably not going to do something like that again this winter. It was a good experience & there were lots of lessons learned. Beautiful views though, and totally quiet :-)
Anyway, Lend-a-hand is broken out as of about 1:00 PM yesterday…
Zealand Hut was a welcome reprieve. Two croo members were there to work the busy weekend. They had the stove going & hot coffee was ready - you guys are awesome!!! One other couple of skiers was there when I arrived. We all talked a little, the skiers left, then the crowds started arriving which signaled it was time for me to move on.
Passed several groups heading up to the Hut as I went down Zealand Trail, apparently the Hut is going to be full this weekend. Ethan Pond Trail and A-Z Trail were NOT broken out. Zealand Trail & Zealand Rd were well packed all the way back to Rte 302. All this has probably changed now with the storm, but maybe it at least can give some pre-storm background. |
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 | Name: |
DadOutThere |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-02-16 |
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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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