| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Smarts Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Ranger Trail, Lambert Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, January 4, 2026 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking lot off a dirt road is plowed and holds about 5-8 cars. 3 cars when we arrived at 9:45am, one other car at 3:15pm when we returned |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Standing/Running Water on Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction, Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All have snow bridges, but they are weak, try to step only on the ice that looks thicker or looks like it's covering rocks |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Several blowdowns on both trails, some running water on Ranger trail |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Pleased to report nothing was lost or found |
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 | Comments: |
Great trail conditions today! Valley has about 4in of fluffy snow, very little is packed in. The upper slopes, particularly on Lambert trail have closer to 6-8in of mostly unpacked powder. Traveled the whole day in microspikes, but some of the last scrambles to the summit have very thick ice and microspikes provided little traction especially going down. If you want more security, crampons may be needed. Brought snowshoes with me but didn't need them. According to the guidebook, there are iron rungs on one of the scrambles near the summit - I don't where they are, we never encountered them. Ascended Ranger trail and descended Lambert, Lambert was a good descent route, much less ice than Ranger. Fire tower at summit is nice and icy. You can go inside it but be careful as the door doesn't stay open. |
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 | Name: |
Mountain Goat |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2026-01-04 |
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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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