| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Gunstock Mountain, Belknap Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Brook Trail, Saddle Trail, Blue Trail, Overlook Trail, Round Pond Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, December 13, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of parking at the main Gunstock ski area parking lot. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
They were all small, easy rock hops. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few blowdowns here and there. Trails were all well blazed, and all signs were in place. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
I guess, but they should be experienced in various snow and slush conditions. |
|
 | Bugs: |
Lots of snow fleas. |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
One hiker in our group lost a black micro-spike along the Overlook Trail, somewhere above the viewpoint. If someone finds it, please e-mail me so that I can return it to its owner. |
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 | Comments: |
This was a fun hike with a wide range of snow conditions. The lower half of Brook Trail ranged from patchy snow/ice to 3-6 inches of snow. No footwear type would be perfect - snowshoes would hit a lot of rocks in some places, but would help prevent slipping and sliding in others (and would be best for the ski trail crossings, since we don't want to posthole the ski trails). Micro-spikes or even bare boots would be OK options until about half-way up the trail, right where the trail enters a steep ski glade. The snow deepened at the point to well over a foot in places. The people who had climbed the trail previously did not use snowshoes, resulting in the trail being a postholed mess. I tried to smooth it out with my snowshoes, but the rest of my group was wearing spikes, so I don't know how smooth it actually got. Luckily, due to the warmer temperatures, the snow was very soft, which both made it easier to posthole and easier for me to smooth out. Once the trail gets a hard freeze, though, it might be tougher (though snowshoes would still help since they'd allow you to stay at the surface of the snow, above the postholes).
The Belknap Range Trail between Gunstock and Belknap (which also goes by Brook Trail, Saddle Trail, and Blue Trail in various sections) is smoother, but extremely slushy and wet, with lots of large, deep puddles in the snow. It also has running water flowing down it in sections. I'd recommend snowshoes for it, if only to lessen the chance of accidentally postholing into water.
When we got to the summit of Gunstock, the sun was trying to poke out through the clouds, but there were no views. To our surprise, the ski lift that services the summit was not running today, and therefore we had the summit to ourselves. The summit of Belknap was in heavy fog the entire time (we could barely see the communication tower that's right there).
Overlook Trail had only been used by a few people before us, none of whom wore snowshoes, so it was very postholed and bumpy. Snowshoes helped smooth it out a bit, but since the snow was so soft, you'd probably still posthole there. The members of my group who hadn't brought snowshoes were wishing they had them. The 5-foot waterfall was a pleasant surprise - I had forgotten about that after seeing it mentioned in the Southern New Hampshire Guide. As mentioned above, a member of my group lost a micro-spike somewhere along this trail, so if anyone finds it, please let me know.
By the time we got to the viewpoint, the fog had cleared enough to give us a nice view from there. The trail below the viewpoint had 3-6 inches of snow but was quite bony - again, no type of footwear would have worked perfectly.
This was a very fun hike and it was great to see everyone! |
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 | Name: |
GN |
|
 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-12-13 |
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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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