| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Surprise, Mt. Moriah, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Carter Moriah Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, December 6, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
As noted in Thursday’s report in this hike, the power line parking area, which is now the official trailhead, is not plowed but is packed down. There were maybe 8 total groups hiking or trail running this today so there was ample space. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
In addition to the blowdowns left over from the spring, there are two new awkward ones above “tinker toy” location (ie about 0.3 miles below the summit). There are re-routes to locations where you can clamber over these, and they are delimbed. There are 2 new stepovers below Mt Surprise: one is large enough that someone made steps to get over it! |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
My pupper likes this route. She gave a doe quite the run for her money, schooled a lot of squirrels, and met two grey jays. It’s a great route for dogs. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
So the new access to the trailhead feels initially like you are headed in the right direction and might save some steps because it heads sharply left out of the power line parking area … but then it switches back to the right and overall seems to be a bit longer, but with no further gain. I think that the re-route joins the trail above the rusty old car because I didn’t see it today - bummer because I liked to visit it! There is not enough snow for snowshoes, and my super sharp Hillsounds are now a little less super-sharp because of the thin cover on the scrambly ledges. I would definitely use sharp spikes on this right now, as you can see where multiple people have wiped out on some of the tricky spots. Even though I cringe at the sound of my spikes grinding on rock, I managed to keep my feet today. It was not, however, fast or efficient. Yay for running into lots of really happy hikers including Steve who is now at 573/576 with just the Owl, Carter Dome and Carrigiain left this month to finish it out. Congrats in advance! We had the summit to ourselves and were visited by two grey jays - I don’t feed them so they soon lost interest. As of 11am Saturday there were no tracks coming up to the summit from the Stony Brook side. Great day on Moriah with cool lenticular clouds visible over the Prezis! |
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 | Name: |
Bikecamphikegirl and Echo |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-12-07 |
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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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