| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Passaconaway, Mt. Whiteface, South Tripyramid, Middle Tripyramid, North Tripyramid, East Sleeper, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Oliverian Brook Trail, Passaconaway Cutoff, Walden Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail, Rollins Trail, Kate Sleeper Trail, Mt. Tripyramid Trail, Downes Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, January 7, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Oliverian and Downes Brook trailheads both plowed |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossings on Oliverian Brook trail no issues. Crossings on Downes Brook trail are partially open but enough ice to negotiate safely. Water levels are currently fairly low |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
I cleared a few small annoying blowdowns on Passaconaway Cutoff |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Solo backpack to spend some time in the woods and tag some peaks for my SSW and get some redlining miles. Oliverian Brook trail was well broken to the Wilderness boundary and then I followed a lone snowshoe track all the way to Passaconaway. Diceys mill is solid and Rollins much the same besides some drifting. Kate Sleeper had the same single snowshoe track down to the Downes Brook junction. It was here the postholes appeared. I ventured off trail and found some open softwoods to set up in and had a long 10 hour slumber. Up in the morning and continued on Kate Sleeper to the Tripyramids. Kudos to the "talented" individual who post holed all the way from the Tris and down Downes Brook trail. I opted to follow Kate Sleeper on to South slide which proved to be sketchy but not terrible. Would not suggest this route if inexperienced. Upon reaching Middle Tripyramid over to North I was on firm trail with some minor drifting. Reversed course to go back to camp and opted to bushwhack down from South Tri rather than descend the slide. I hit East Sleeper on the way. The herd path has fresh blowdowns to work around but I found the sign without issue. Had a quick cup of coffee before I broke camp down and set on my way to descend. Snow depths on upper section of Downes Brook trail are deep leading to massive post holes from said "talented" individual. They definitely met their punishment here! It made for a rough descent on already tired legs. Crossings were a non issue as there is enough ice and snow bridges just requires a few strategically placed hops. I met a pair of snowshoe tracks halfway down which helped me break a better track. I would not suggest taking Downes solo and bring your trail breaking legs. Snowshoes only came off when I reached Downes Brook trailhead to make the short road walk back to my car. I didn't see a single person in the 36 hours I was rambling among the Sandwich Range. |
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 | Name: |
BK Noonan |
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 | E-Mail: |
scrapperbk@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-01-08 |
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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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