Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
Smarts Mountain, NH |
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| Trails: |
Lambert Ridge Trail, Ranger Trail |
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| Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 16, 2019 |
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| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
plowed parking. Room for maybe 6 cars |
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| Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Blue, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable) |
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| Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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| Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossing on Ranger trail by garage is iffy. snow bridges are melting |
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| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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| Dog-Related Notes: |
Einstein the pup was loving it. He was post-holing a bit though |
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| Bugs: |
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| Lost and Found: |
Found a pair of LL Bean trekking poles in the lot. I believe it was from one of the Random Hikers group that was out there. |
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| Comments: |
It's been a while since there's been a report for this mountain. I'm happy to report it does see winter traffic. The start of the hike up Lambert Ridge had me wondering if snowshoes were overkill. You can certainly get by without until after the first ledges. After that snowshoes are a MUST! Snow is decaying underneath and if it was warmer we would have been post-holing with snowshoes on. The trail is a little difficult to follow through some hardwood sections on Lambert ridge, other than that it's fairly straightforward. The Ranger cabin seems like it hasn't seen use in some time, save for some small furry residents that left hints of their existence. Ranger trail has much more snow than Lambert Ridge and trying to pack out the trail further after the group before us took some time. There is no stable monorail present and things are a bit choppy. What I thought would be a breeze down actually took some time. Overall this is a great hike but I would caution against going out there in warm weather and after the snow melts. Ranger trail seems like it will be a muddy mess this spring so Lambert out and back may be the way to go. |
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| Name: |
BK Noonan |
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| E-Mail: |
scrapperbk@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-03-17 |
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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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