| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Hale, Zealand Mountain, Mt. Guyot, West Bond, Mt. Bond, Bondcliff, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Zealand Road, Hale Brook Trail, Lend-A-Hand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Lincoln Woods Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, May 1, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lots of open spots at LW. The bathrooms are closed right now getting repairs, there are porta potties though. Zealand Rd. is still closed, just an FYI parking is across the street in the large lot on Rt. 302 and not in front of the gate with all those pesky no parking signs. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All crossings were easily managed today. The crossings on Bondcliff Trail were all running good in the afternoon but we found the right rocks to keep feet dry. This can quickly change with more melting and rain. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
I am not able to precisely describe all of the blowdowns encountered but there were many. HBT had a couple saw worthy, a large one not too far in. L-A-H had a few easy to go over. Twinway I recall being clear as well as WBS. Boncliff has many throughout the wilderness area, some old, some more recent. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw none all day. |
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 | Bugs: |
Lots of gnats on LW trail to inhale and some mosquitoes as well. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
A lot of surface condition checkboxes checked off. Zealand Rd. is free of any ice or snow and in good shape. HBT starts off bare and transitions to snow packed well from recent traffic. We bare booted to the summit, cold temps this morning kept the snow stable and summit cairn snakes subterranean. Lend-A-Hand had recent tracks from one set of snoweshoes with a bare booter following. There were some deep postholes, some older. We used snowshoes the entire way to Twinway. Heading up to Zealand there were lots of tracks mostly bare boots. The base was stable although it was getting warm fast which made the surface mashed potato. The steep spots had soft ice flows, spikes helped a little. Heading to Guyot the trails was less stable, more postholes, we managed to bare boot much of it while staying on track. Snowshoes went back on for a brief (very brief) section, then exposed rock to Bondcliff junction and back down into the trees and back on to the snow. There has been a good amount of traffic here and along WBS, and up and over Bond so snow pack was stable. Bondcliff is all exposed rock until after the step, then back to snow base which is slanted and narrow at times.
A great first day of May for a north-south HZBonds with one of my hiking buddies. Only crossed paths with maybe 10 other hikers. Nice seeing / talking Rocking Rhonda and her crew (George and Gemma).
Today's trip grids out Zealand, West Bond, Bond, and Bondcliff for me! |
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 | Name: |
Kyle L |
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 | E-Mail: |
kjlanctot at g mail |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-05-01 |
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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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