| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Bear Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Welton Falls Trail (North), Elwell Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, March 9, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking for several vehicles near the trailhead on Valley View Road -- the roadside plow berm is now small enough that vehicles can park completely OFF the road. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, of course. |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Still frozen |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Two blowdowns on WFT North -- one (e-saw) about 100 feet north of the conservation easement boundary, and about 0.15 miles further, a scraggly tiger maple leaner that a handsaw could take out. Buckets of small bits of deadfall everywhere. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Headed up at dawn this morning to get in a quick snowshoe before the warm-up later today and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of good snow left on these trails, in spite of last week's rain and warm temps.
These two trails have not seen much action recently, so there's no frozen track to follow -- snowshoes are a must right now. There are a few frozen bareboot postholes on WFT, and some frozen snowshoe postholes (oh, dear!) on Elwell. In addition, at least one moose likes the Elwell Trail, of course. All of the postholes can be easily avoided by walking alongside, on the powdery crust.
Checked out the new, flagged relos on Elwell heading toward Bear, and they are a delight for avoiding a few scrambles that, with snowshoes and deep snow (or, with icy conditions), can be a bit annoying. Relos don't really change mileage, but the do avoid one PUD (the crux/ramp nearest the summit) by going around it -- very helpful.
Keep in mind that nearby snowmo trails are still in decent shape, so expect some traffic on these at least until later this week, when the temps are forecast to be sunny and in 50s/60s. Yikes! |
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 | Name: |
Pancks and Tesco Heaney |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-03-09 |
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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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