| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Whiteface, Mt. Passaconaway, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Downes Brook Trail, Kate Sleeper Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey Mills Trail, Walden Trail, Passaconaway Cutoff Trail, Square Ledge Trail, Oliverian Brook Trail, Oliverian Brook XC Ski Trails |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, March 14, 2021 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Four cars at Downes at the start, two at the finish |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The ten or so on Downes are all hoppable or bridged, with snowshoes |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The top half mile or so of Downes could greatly benefit from an overzealous team of ax weilders. The winter has not been kind. Aside from that, along all trails listed hand saw spring cleanup will take care of what's left |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
No doggoes seen today, but did get word that Patches (and their human Tictac Man) finished their W48! Welcome to the club! Who's a good boy?! |
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 | Bugs: |
Noted more snowfleas, and not the two legged version |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing lost, a good time found |
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 | Comments: |
A FINE day in the forest for sure! A truly no nonsense day. I got to wear my favorite mascara - frozen lashes. The four of us had the idea of looping this trip with the abandoned Downes Brook Slide Trail, but the weather firmly said 'NOT TODAY.' We rode Hockeypuck's tracks for a while until he had turned back. We offered him to ride our tail and see if we couldn't find the trail. Trail was lost about 1/4 mile from the slides, we were very low in the drainage for a while. I ended up going up the right side and found the trailbed about 150 feet from us following a loose game path. From this point, the trail proper is broke. Happy to see you got Eastie for winter 100! We broke out Kate Sleeper to Rollins, which as mentioned in prior reports was solid. Dicey was like concrete. Waldens, oh walden's, was a post holed disaster. Lots of rolled ankles. We broke out Pass cutoff to the area of square ledge, not saying much as the wind and snow where whiteout multiple times (sub 50ft views, even down low). Pass Cutoff from Square Ledge to O Brook is also a post holed disaster. There is a razor thin, barely single track, firm bed. Oliverian Brook looked like there where a few MMA fights in snowshoes with the snowshoe tracks off trail, more or less the same as the cutoff. Took the ski trails back over to Downes and those were mostly decent. |
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 | Name: |
The Teal Goat, Skittles, Sidehill, Poptart |
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 | E-Mail: |
sea2thebiscuit@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2021-03-14 |
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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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