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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Whiteface, Mt. Passaconaway, NH
Trails
Trails: Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Monday, February 27, 2017
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Ferncroft lot plowed but icy in places and soft in others. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable) 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes, Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes:  
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes:  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Little snow for the first mile on Blueberry Ledge Trail - quite surprising. Snow depth was less than a foot, and there were patches of snow-free trail..

Once past that first mile or so, depth increases. We left early in the morning and the trail was firm enough to make snowshoe-wearing overkill and inappropriate. Light traction was the way to go. Some poor person had left postholes over the weekend, which were shallow in the beginning of the hike but got progressively deeper with snow depth. On Rollins they were quite impressive - looked crotch deep. All were frozen and the trail was firm, so it was easy to step over or around the postholes like they were rocks/roots - no big deal and they didn't slow us down one iota. Someone wearing snowshoes would have had a hard time walking on the frozen postholes...but snowshoes this day were, again, uneccesary and, I'd argue, inappropriate - no floatation whatsoever was needed and there was no chance of flattening out the postholes since they were frozen in place (that being said, HYOH). Though the postholes did not affect our hike at all, we felt bad for the person who had made them - he/she was one determined person to go the whole hike like that. Must have hurt. Could not have been enjoyable for him/her.

We brought our 'shoes figuring we'd need them as the day warmed and the trail softened. The day did warm, but we were down early and the trail therefore never softened (we started close to sunrise and were down before 1). 'Shoes therefore got a free ride. You should always bring them though, just in case. Had the trail softened and we hadn't had them, then we too would have sunk on the way down, and that would not have been fun.

Trip report will be on Alex's blog March 4.  
Name
Name: TrishAlexSage 
E-Mail
E-Mail: patriciaellisherr@post.harvard.edu 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2017-03-03 
Link
Link: https://www.alexinthewhitemountains.com 
Bookmark and Share 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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