| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Monadnock, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Parker Trail, Old Toll Road, White Arrow Trail, White Dot Trails |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, February 1, 2010 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Dublin and Poole Roads to the Park Headquarters are quite the roller coaster with frost heaves. Lot at the headquarters is completely plowed/sanded/clear. Old Toll Road is clear/plowed all the way to the private residence. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Black, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction, Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossings are frozen over or not an issue. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
None of concern |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
A great day on this mountain -- wonderful weather, blue skies and all of four other people on the trails all day. We did a loop from the Park Headquarters of Parker Trail to Old Toll Road to White Arrow Trail to the summit, and then White Dot Trail down from the summit back to the Park Headquarters. The Parker Trail is packed nicely except for a few large patches that have thawed and re-frozen; light traction is helpful here. The Old Toll Road is completely clear and bare-bootable. The White Arrow Trail is nicely packed down low but as the trail climbs, its middle becomes one large, several-inch-thick ice floe that continues until the trail levels prior to the final push to the summit. One can walk with light traction on the edges of the trail, around the ice, except at the "chimney" (about thirty feet of trail), where the floe fills the gap completely. At this point, one can go up the chimney with crampons, or do what we did: use Microspikes to ascend to the left of the chimney on what's become a packed alternate route. After that, the trail is a mix of packed snow, patches of ice, and bare rock to the summit -- light traction worked fine. Heading down the White Dot Trail was pretty easy with light traction, as this trail is nicely packed (some avoidable ice floes) with only two very minor icy steep spots, all of which can be worked around with a bit of care. We made the right choice on route -- up White Arrow (versus down), and down White Dot. |
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 | Name: |
Timmeh? Timmeh! |
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 | E-Mail: |
info(at)barkingcat(dot)net |
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| Date Submitted: |
2010-02-01 |
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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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