| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
West Hitchcock, Middle Hitchcock, South Hitchcock, NH |
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 | Trails: |
bushwack, woods road, Discovery Trail, road walk |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 30, 2013 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
crossed a couple small streams and a number of feeder streams along the route that were not an issue today. the only one of real note was in the drainage coming off south hitchcock which could be interesting to get across in spots if running high. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
parked at lincoln woods and headed straight into the woods towards the southwest ridge of west hitchcock. snow had a breakable crust down low and was a bit tiring though it softened up with elevation. some bare patches in sunny areas here and on the lower portion of the ridge. i shortly hit a woods road that i followed for a bit until it left my bearing then continued through ridiculously open woods to the ridge line. open woods continued along the ridge all the way to the recognized summit. a really nice off trail walk. i knew it wouldn't last and by the time i reached the col with middle hitchcock i had blowdown deeper snow and thicker spruce and fir. had to be conscious of the spruce trap possibilities as the snow was softening. i jogged to the north to avoid the worst of it and started the steep, thick grind up middle hitchcock. i couldn't seem to catch a break on a line and only in the last push to the top did i get out into more open woods. some good views into the pemi in a couple spots along the way. making good time i decided to continue to south hitchcock and began following the ridgeline down towards the col accidentally dropping off fortuitously in one spot as i hit a wide open view point to osceola. the woods opened up nicely down to the col and continued to be quite open all the way to the recognized highpoint on south hitchcock. the snow was getting quite sticky at this point. from south i slabbed down sw into the drainage leading towards the highway. woods were thick for the first few hundred vertical and i skirted some extra thick spruce on a couple of occasions, but it slowly opened down into the drainage. i crossed to the south side of the brook and began looking for the old woods road i knew would lead to the discovery trail. i could feel traces for a bit and eventually came to a clearing and from there it was a nice walk following the road (often quite overgrown) to the discovery trail. the snow was wet and sticky with numerous sections that had melted down to bare ground. one more short bushwack to the lower part of the trail and then a road walk along the kanc back to lincoln woods.
a pretty perfect spring day for this bushwack. numerous filtered views along the way to the surrounding peaks and some great sections of woods. some thrashing in sections too as was to be expected. the walk up west hitchcock was just plain beautiful through the open woods early this morning. i look forward to checking out the other couple hitchcock summits one of these days. great to be out.
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 | Name: |
bryan |
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 | E-Mail: |
bryancuddihee@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2013-03-30 |
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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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