| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Cardigan, Orange Mountain, Crane Mountain, Grafton Knob, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Manning Trail, Holt Trail, Holt-Clark Cutoff, Clark Trail, West Ridge Trail, Skyland Trail, Woodland Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, March 26, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
plenty of parking at AMC lodge |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow - Drifts, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow, Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
all are rock-hoppable |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
a few stopovers and duck unders here and there, nothing major |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
no doggies on the trail |
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 | Bugs: |
none that bothered |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Wonderful first trip up Mt. Cardigan today, picked a big loop on all trails to view Gilman, Crane, Grafton Knob and Church Mountain as well. Bare-booted up to grand junction then snowshoes the whole hike except for the ledges leading up to Cardigan summit, saw a solo x-c skier that had turned around at grand junction and then not a soul for the rest of the hike, was thankful for the recent snow covering the softening monorail and giving a smoother walk today. After reaching Elizabeth Falls via Holt, I re-routed to Cathedral Forest Trail to avoid the steep scramble on Holt, will save that for a dry day, summit was chilly and windy but the views were fantastic, peeking over the Holt trail scramble side i was glad to have made the right choice. Saw some new-ish crampon tracks descending west ridge toward Skyland trail, some decent drifting in pockets there, Skyland Trail was really fun hiking thru, views of Cardigan from Gilman were fantastic, saw lots of animal tracks today, I thought I saw a bobcat cross my path earlier on in the hike, it was moving pretty fast so I couldn't get a positive id, but I did see bobcat tracks throughout the day as there were no human tracks so surely not a dog, had the typical narrow zig zag pattern. Many piles of Moose dung on Grafton Knob, descending from the wooded summit of Church Mountain was very pleasant, just as the Sun was setting over the ridge, the snow was soft and the hike out was easy, was a bit startled when I came upon the abandoned trailer around the clark trail/woodland trail junction, and equally so when I saw the cabin just further down the clark trail, going past the walking bridge and checking my gps again I realized I had missed the junction and had to double back and hiked the remainder under headlamp, altogether it was a great hike, soft new snow making conditions comfortable, glad I wore snowshoes, their days are surely numbered as spring gears up. Happy Hiking to all! |
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 | Name: |
Sundew |
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 | E-Mail: |
alexandru.corneliu.sabau@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-03-27 |
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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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