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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Moosilauke (attempt) , NH
Trails
Trails: Asquam Ridge Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, December 8, 2018
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Ravine Lodge Road is still plowed as of yesterday afternoon!! I suggest you park where lodge guests are supposed to park NOT where it says to park shortly before on the road. I don’t think anyone cares this time of year and all but one person did this. The one person that didn’t, evidently did not pull of the road enough (not a lot of room given snowbanks) and a truck went off the road trying to get around it. Between these two cars there was not enough room for a long line of cars to get down. Eventually people pushed the car blocking the road far enough off the road to get by. I opted to park at the base as my car struggled to get up the road (I began backing up almost Immediately) and got a ride both up and down. Lucky me! Only one or two cars parked in the turnaround for lodge guests when I arrived at ~8:15. Not too many more when I left ~3:00pm.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Unpacked Powder 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: It felt a bit sketchy going over the crossings on the one-railed bridges with snowshoes. No other significant crossings.  
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: There were lots of blowdowns but not quite as many as I suspected given the trail reports I’ve read the last week or so. They were mostly crawl or duck unders. Most were either duck unders or crawl unders. None that forced you to bushwhack around although that would have been preferable on a few of the more awkward ones if the woods weren’t so dense. I don’t have a saw so I didn’t clear any, but I did break off some limbs here and there. The first big blowdown less than a mile in on the Asquam Ridge Trail obscures the trail, so if you’re wondering “Where does the trail go?”, just head in the direction for the large blowdown and peek underneath it :) I only saw one blaze on the entire trail. It was faded and on the upper section of trail.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs: None 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: None 
 
Comments
Comments: A new there’d be a light dusting in the ground but there was more snow from the start than I anticipated so I put snowshoes on almost immediately, originally thinking I’d be able to barebooted for a way. Part of the issue was that underneath the new snow there was a breakable crust that you’d sometimes break while barebooting. Also, I thought this trail would have at least been broken out my skiers but this was not the case so I broke trail the entire way. Although there was more new snow than I thought there would be at the trailhead, snow depth didn’t seem to increase much.

Massive (moose?) posthokes on one section of the lower part of the trail and one section of the upper part. Although I only saw one blaze on the entire trail, the trail was not too difficult to follow. The most difficult section was the reroute at 1.1mi. I didn’t follow the reroute the entire time, but in any csse it would be difficult to get lost there unless you didn’t know what you were doing since the river is right there and you travel just to the left of the washout. It was easier to follow going down but I still went back onto the washed out part too soon.

Only made it as far as the Beaver Brook jct given that I was breaking trail the entire way, I had a late start, and I had to get down early due to a commitment I had that night. I had also hoped to redline the Al Merrill Loop but not enough time. Very cold day, but beautiful.  
Name
Name: Liam Cooney 
E-Mail
E-Mail: liamcooney96@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2018-12-08 
Link
Link: https:// 
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