| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Little Rock Pond, Baker Peak, Griffith Lake, Peru Peak, Styles Peak, VT |
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 | Trails: |
Long Trail, Baker Peak Trail, VAST Trail, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, January 13, 2021 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
There is some plowed parking at Wallingford Pond Trailhead. The USFS road leading to it is narrow and minimally sanded. There is a sign warning of active logging. Somewhat surprisingly, Fancypants was able to drive all the way to the summer parking for Mad Tom Notch, but I would recommend only for those with AWD and snow tires. The winter lot is about a mile east of the LT/AT crossing. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
There are a lot of bridges in this section. Yippee |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Usual number of downed trees for this time of year: maybe 20-25 strewn throughout the ~18 miles. A few of them around Baker Peak are on the larger side. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Found a pair of liner gloves at Peru Peak Shelter. I think they’re mine now. |
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 | Comments: |
Wally Pond to Mad Tom Notch on the Long Trail.
Started off in spikes for the 0.4 mile snowmobile trail and 0.4 mile easy bushwhack to the LT, coming out at the exact point as 3 days prior. Stayed in spikes until Big Branch, where the snow was a bit deeper and slightly post holed. Switched to snowshoes at that point and kept them on to the end; they were not absolutely necessary, but they usually allowed for easier walking and better grip, and I’d rather wear them than carry them.
Trail is much, much easier to follow than most LT sections north of here. Still, even though I have end-to-ended the LT 5 times, I spaced out and went the wrong way coming off Baker Peak, via the more traveled Baker Peak Trail. After losing a couple hundred vertical feet and maybe 0.3 mile, I looked up and thought “Why is that blaze blue and not white?†Hahaha! I turned around and reclimbed to the LT/AT junction laughing at my dumb mistake.
Little Rock Pond and Griffith Lake are lovely in wintertime! Snow was noticeably deeper on Peru and Styles Peaks, as expected (elevation 3400 feet), and I was very happy for my snowshoes. I encountered many critter tracks but exactly zero humans in 18 miles which made me :)
60 miles to MA! |
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 | Name: |
Snowflea |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2021-01-14 |
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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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