| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Mansfield (The Chin), VT |
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 | Trails: |
Access road, Eagles Cut Trail, Laura Cowles Trail, Long Trail, Sunset Ridge Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, January 10, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Winter parking was full at 8AM, all skiers. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
bridges |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
a couple blow downs/ weighted trees with ice build up. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
no dogs today |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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|
 | Comments: |
Laura Cowles was generally packed having had some hiker traffic yesterday, but stopped short of the top. The trail had a couple inches of new powdery snow, however the trail was in good shape, packed underneath and easy to discern. Getting to the chin was easy as all the snow drifts going up were hard packed and you could walk almost anywhere without falling in. The toughest parts were going down Sunset Ridge trail from the Laura Cowles sign/junction to the west Chin area. The trail was obscured by deep drifts. Going down was fun at times, however Flo and I fell into deep tree wells and spruce traps numerous times and it took a lot to crawl out of these. Once on the main Sunset Ridge the exposed rock had a crunchy ice covering, and the drifts were deep, sometimes hard packed and other times soft and we'd fall into spruce traps. Once off the ridge line we passed a few groups going up; most had snowshoes, one group were barebooting.
Beautiful day with mild temps, the wind was very strong and it was a really hard hike considering all the times I had to pull my legs out of waist deep holes. |
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 | Name: |
Joe and Flo |
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 | E-Mail: |
aloe@myfairpoint.net |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-01-10 |
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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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