http://www.vftt.org/forums/ backcountry, hiking, skiing, kayaking, new england, new york, white mountains, adirondacks, catskills en Sun, 19 May 2013 15:11:38 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.vftt.org/forums/images/misc/rss.png http://www.vftt.org/forums/ http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49084-North-and-South-Kinsman-Mount-Kinsman-Trail-Kinsman-Ridge-Trail&goto=newpost Sun, 19 May 2013 14:43:28 GMT Date of Hike: May 18, 2013

Trail Conditions: Dry in the beginning but turned wet and muddy further in. Started running into patches of snow around 3200'. The ridge trail between the peaks had a little more snow towards the South peak but nothing really to worry about.

Special Equipment Required: None. I suppose you could use spikes on the snow between the peaks but I don't think it's worth the time to put them on.

Comments: Great day, weather was beautiful and the black flies were not bad at all. I brought bug spray and never used it. ]]> New Hampshire mhobbs http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49084-North-and-South-Kinsman-Mount-Kinsman-Trail-Kinsman-Ridge-Trail http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49083-Old-Speck&goto=newpost Sun, 19 May 2013 01:50:09 GMT May 18, 2013 Trail Conditions: Dry conditions on Eyebrow trail. Old Speck Trail (A.T.) was a mixed of dry with some (minor) muddy sections. The last mile to the summit had intermittent sections of soft snow with deteriorating monorail. Minor blow downs, all easily avoidable. No special... May 18, 2013

Trail Conditions: Dry conditions on Eyebrow trail. Old Speck Trail (A.T.) was a mixed of dry with some (minor) muddy sections. The last mile to the summit had intermittent sections of soft snow with deteriorating monorail. Minor blow downs, all easily avoidable.

No special equipment required

The handful of hikers on the trail today enjoyed overcast conditions with occasional hail above 3,500’ and rain below. The snow/ice on the trail were easy to cross or avoid.

Tom Oetinger

TJO1913@gmail.com ]]> Maine TEE-O http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49083-Old-Speck http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49082-Eisenhower-amp-Monroe-5-18-13&goto=newpost Sun, 19 May 2013 01:17:32 GMT Date of Hike: 5/18/13 Trails: Edmund Trail and Crawford Trail round trip. Mt Clinton road is open. Trail Conditions: Lower Edmund Trail dry, last section on the upper Edmund Trail with patches of snow. No snow above tree line to Eisenhower and to Monroe Special Equipment Required: Bare... Date of Hike: 5/18/13

Trails: Edmund Trail and Crawford Trail round trip. Mt Clinton road is open.

Trail Conditions: Lower Edmund Trail dry, last section on the upper Edmund Trail with patches of snow. No snow above tree line to Eisenhower and to Monroe

Special Equipment Required: Bare boots. Carried microspikes but did not use them.

Comments: Beautiful day. Many people on the trails today. Lower mountain flowers blooming: dogwood, trout lily, hepatica, trillium. ]]> New Hampshire sleepy_mike http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49082-Eisenhower-amp-Monroe-5-18-13 http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49081-South-and-Middle-Moat-Mountains-5-18-13&goto=newpost Sun, 19 May 2013 00:22:36 GMT Parked in Passaconaway Rd lot The Albany Covered Bridge is open which is the west turnoff from the Kanc onto Passaconaway (Dugway) Rd so this was nice and save me some time from going all the way around. Started at 8:40 Hit South Moat around 10:30 Awesome peak Many false peaks towards the... Parked in Passaconaway Rd lot

The Albany Covered Bridge is open which is the west turnoff from the Kanc onto Passaconaway (Dugway) Rd so this was nice and save me some time from going all the way around.

Started at 8:40
Hit South Moat around 10:30
Awesome peak
Many false peaks towards the top where you thought you were close to the summit and then more ups!
A fun climb with many ledge areas and good views opening up.
The walk from South to Middle is also fun and like a ridge-walk out in the open
Went the extra mile to the Red Ridge junction ... thought about grabbing North Moat but decided would get that on another hike with that loop with Red Ridge
4.3 miles at this point and then doubled it back for 8.6 miles
Back at the car at 2:55
Great day to be out on any trails today and was very impressed with the Moats and so glad I got to finally hike them today! ]]> Trip Reports shamples http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49081-South-and-Middle-Moat-Mountains-5-18-13 http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49080-Algonquin-Loop-up-Avalanch-Lake-side-May-18&goto=newpost Sun, 19 May 2013 00:14:35 GMT Conditions good up to the top. Some snow/ice on the way down once back in the treeline, but it's spotty, so using traction devices would be more of a nuisance. There are some awkward parts on steep wet and icy sections on the descent, so care should be taken on these parts, otherwise all is good. No bugs noted yet. ]]> New York Unregistered http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49080-Algonquin-Loop-up-Avalanch-Lake-side-May-18 http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49078-north-hitchcock-5-18-13&goto=newpost Sat, 18 May 2013 22:16:48 GMT date: 5/18/13 trails: east side trail, bushwack, pine island trail conditions: east side trail was dry and in good shape minus the damage done by irene. i hiked a few minutes past the northern pine island junction then took to the woods headed roughly east towards the summit of north... date: 5/18/13

trails: east side trail, bushwack, pine island trail

conditions: east side trail was dry and in good shape minus the damage done by irene. i hiked a few minutes past the northern pine island junction then took to the woods headed roughly east towards the summit of north hitchcock. nice open hard woods until around 2k then a band of spruce before returning to hardwoods across a broad plateau. after a couple hundred more vertical the woods got scrappier, but never too bad. i hit the ridge a couple tenths south of the summit which is where it got interesting with thick growth and blowdown dominating. dropping off the ridge to the west was somewhat helpful for a bit, but then i got back on and just pushed through arriving at a clear cut with a wooden deck (helicopter landing pad) and nearby solar panel and radio antenna. i knew this was up there, but still interesting to see in person. the highpoint is a bit north of this cleared area. for the descent i headed directly off the summit to the west finding that by slabbing north i remained in much nicer woods. i could only go so far north without getting too far off track and eventually turned back to the west going through one nasty stretch before getting into open woods the rest of the way back to east side trail crossing over some minor ridges and pretty drainages along the way. pine island trail was in nice shape. some great work was done re routing and getting that trail opened again after ts irene. water crossings on east side trail and pine island trail were not an issue today.

equipment: nothing in particular.

comments: a beautiful day in the woods. got worked pretty hard in the last .5 or so to the summit, but ended up having a pretty nice descent through great woods. some good views to franconia ridge and owls head from the helicopter platform at the summit and some limited looks to other surrounding peaks. nice walk along the pemi on pine island trail stopping to check out all the views from the river bank along the way. great to be out.

bryan

bryancuddihee@yahoo.com ]]> New Hampshire bryan http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49078-north-hitchcock-5-18-13 http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49077-5-18-13-Cabot-Bulge-amp-The-Horn&goto=newpost Sat, 18 May 2013 21:56:11 GMT 5/18/13: Cabot, the Bulge, & the Horn,

Trails: Bunnel Notch, Kilkenny Ridge, Mt. Cabot, & Unknown Pond Trail

The trails were mostly dry with a few areas of snow & ice, but it was mostly all avoidable. There were some major blow downs but nothing that couldn't be stepped over, crawled under, or side stepped without trampling the new vegetation.

Equipment: we brought micro spikes but never really needed them. Poles made for easy river hopping and stability on the partial monorail sections.

Thanks to Dehydrator for another great hike. The views from The Horn were amazing.

Z:D ]]> New Hampshire summitseeker http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49077-5-18-13-Cabot-Bulge-amp-The-Horn http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49075-Bald-Mountain-Adirondacks&goto=newpost Sat, 18 May 2013 11:44:23 GMT Trail is in great shape - we did meet some hikers doing maintenance - thanks Christine & Tony. Lots of wild flowers and lots of poison ivy at the start.

Just a down right great day to be in the mountains!!

Beauty around every corner:



Life is Good!



]]> Trip Reports Adirondack Ladies http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49075-Bald-Mountain-Adirondacks http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49072-Mooselauke-plus-Jim-Blue-and-South&goto=newpost Sat, 18 May 2013 04:00:24 GMT We headed up via Asquam Ridge, Beaver Brook and Benton and down via Carriage and Hurricane. Asquam was free of snow all the way to the summit of Jim. However, heading down the north side of Jim the snow was very deep. Fortunately this section was very short. Beaver Brook from its... We headed up via Asquam Ridge, Beaver Brook and Benton and down via Carriage and Hurricane.

Asquam was free of snow all the way to the summit of Jim. However, heading down the north side of Jim the snow was very deep. Fortunately this section was very short. Beaver Brook from its intersection with Asquam had intermittent patches of snow all the way to Benton, but nothing that required traction. Benton to the tree line also had intermittent snow patches that were easily passed. Above the treeline the trails were bare. The carriage road was also bare above the tree line with intermittent patches down in the trees. There is a short section below Glencliff that has a bit more snow but it didn't last long. Below that short stretch Carriage Road and Hurricane were totally free of snow.

There were a surprising number of blowdowns between the two foot bridges on Asquam. They're not that hard to get by, but we've come to expect to be spoiled by the well maintained Dartmouth trails so this was a surprise. The rest of the trails were in good condition.

All streams were bridged by wooden bridges.

It's amazing how much smoother the Carriage road is below snapper. I would guess the difference comes from the lower amount of foot traffic.

There were no bugs out today. It was too cold when we left and too windy on top, but it warmed up to about 60* on lower Carriage and Hurricane and they still didn't come out.

We did the whack up to Blue today. I hadn't been there since Duffy died almost six years ago. The log book's first entry was by J & J in memory of Bill Bowden and the last entry before ours was in March by Stinky Feet.

I didn't realize when I did the whack how opportune it was. Just before the Benton trail I met a couple of guys coming down from the summit. The told me they couldn't see a thing. When I got up there just a short time later the clouds had lifted and we had great views. Had I not done the whack I also would have been treated to the fog.

There are no views from Jim and Blue but the views from the south peak are outstanding. The rewards are outstanding for just a 1/10 of a mile spur.

This was a very nostalgic final trip up one of my favorite peaks and the one for which Lauky was named. The mountain today offered us everything we have come to expect from that Mountain--wind, misty rain, fog, and outstanding views. It was a great hike.:)

http://s219.photobucket.com/user/Boo...226b9.jpg.html

Ednlauky@gmail.com ]]> New Hampshire http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49072-Mooselauke-plus-Jim-Blue-and-South http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49071-haystack-mountain-5-17-13&goto=newpost Fri, 17 May 2013 23:31:09 GMT date: 5/17/13 trails: haystack trail, deerfield ridge trail, haystack mountain trail conditions: from route 9 in wilmington i drove in haystack road then through a maze of roads a bit over 2.5 miles to the trailhead on upper dam road (good description in the vermont day hikers guide). ... date: 5/17/13

trails: haystack trail, deerfield ridge trail, haystack mountain trail

conditions: from route 9 in wilmington i drove in haystack road then through a maze of roads a bit over 2.5 miles to the trailhead on upper dam road (good description in the vermont day hikers guide). roadside parking for a number of cars there. the trail begins as a rough jeep road and is marked as "haystack trail" though my map refers to it as binney brook trail. a bit over a half mile the trail leaves the road to the left at a new sign for deerfield ridge trail. the "trail closed" signs are for snowmobiles in the winter. the trail is nice and dry as it climbs the ridge towards haystack becoming muddier and more like a multi use/ski trail as it levels before reaching the spur trail to the summit. this trail was in good shape and mostly dry to the summit ledges.

equipment: nothing in particular.

comments: given the long drive to this part of vermont i thought a second shorter hike was in order after grass/spruce earlier in the day. it was a real nice walk and the summit provided some good views up to mt. snow as well as more distant looks to ascutney and monadnock. could see some of the readsoboro area peaks, a couple windfarms and mt. greylock to the south as well. a beautiful day to be outside.

bryan

bryancuddihee@yahoo.com ]]> Vermont bryan http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49071-haystack-mountain-5-17-13 http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49070-grass-mountain-spruce-peak-5-17-13&goto=newpost Fri, 17 May 2013 23:15:42 GMT date: 5/17/13 trails: shaftsbury hollow road, jeep/atv roads, bushwacks conditions: parked at a fork on shaftsbury hollow road about 2.5 miles from where it turns off grainger hollow road. google map directions were pretty much spot on. the road to the left looks to go to another house... date: 5/17/13

trails: shaftsbury hollow road, jeep/atv roads, bushwacks

conditions: parked at a fork on shaftsbury hollow road about 2.5 miles from where it turns off grainger hollow road. google map directions were pretty much spot on. the road to the left looks to go to another house and the much rougher continuation of the hollow road to the right leads to the grass/spruce col. i will note that a couple hundred yards up (at a split) there was a single no trespassing sign that i wasn't expecting as i had heard this route was ok. based on other prints from mountain bikes, atvs, etc that continued up i decided to do the same hoping it was meant more to keep out trouble makers than recreationalists. i had no trouble today and there were no other signs prohibiting travel in the area, but you will have to make your own call. after passing a house/camp in another half mile the road gets rougher and begins crossing over little white brook sometimes with culverts, sometimes without. there are a number of roads that break off, but as long as you stick to the road paralleling the brook you will be on track. the road gets rougher with some washouts as it climbs towards the grass/spruce col getting pretty far above the brook before leveling and meeting another prominent road coming up from the southeast into the col. what looks like a pile of rocks and debris is actually a final resting place for a passenger car of some sort. from there i bushwacked directly up to grass through mostly open hardwoods with some young, low growth and hobblebush to the broad summit plateau. the highpoint is to the northern end near where an atv trail leaves to the north. the summit seems to receive a lot of visitors from that side via atvs. i headed back to the col and picked up the other road coming into the col that slabs around spruce peak walking it for a few minutes before bushwacking up to the ridge and on to the summit which is also pretty broad and marked with a cairn and much to my surprise a usgs benchmark. woods were again open hardwoods with some lower growth. i descended roughly the same way to the col and back down the road. the brook crossings were not an issue though stepping stones were pretty greasy.

equipment: nothing in particular.

comments: i had grass in mind for a while and today looked like a nice day to give it a shot and visit spruce peak as well. the route up through the hollow along the brook was beautiful and quiet as were the bushwacks through lovely open woods to the summits. cool temps and a steady breeze meant no bugs and comfortable walking. a great hike.

bryan

bryancuddihee@yahoo.com ]]> Vermont bryan http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49070-grass-mountain-spruce-peak-5-17-13 http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49068-North-of-the-border-quake&goto=newpost Fri, 17 May 2013 17:19:46 GMT Did anyone feel this up north[vermont or n.h.] http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Ma...344/story.html
another link http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/can...335vbz/-/index ]]> General Backcountry Red Oak http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49068-North-of-the-border-quake http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49067-Baxter-State-Park-in-early-September&goto=newpost Fri, 17 May 2013 15:13:54 GMT Starting to plan my NEHH finish - I need the 6 peaks in Baxter. Let me know if you are interested. Somewhere between Labor Day and 9/15 (I would like to be in NH for Flags on the 48, however.) Tim Starting to plan my NEHH finish - I need the 6 peaks in Baxter. Let me know if you are interested. Somewhere between Labor Day and 9/15 (I would like to be in NH for Flags on the 48, however.)

Tim ]]> bikehikeskifish http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49067-Baxter-State-Park-in-early-September http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49064-Tripyramids-(all)-via-Livermore-and-Mt-Tripyramids-Trails-5-16&goto=newpost Thu, 16 May 2013 23:53:47 GMT Date of Hike: May 16, 2013

Trail Conditions: Having not hiked since yesterday I was itchin' to hit the trails so I did. Livermore Trail was in great shape (like an old road, of course). Hardly any mud, and one easy-over blowdown. That's it. Mt. Tripyramid Trail was also in great shape. A little wetter, a little muddier, but easy walking. The first crossing was easy as pie. The North Slide was a bit wet with a little snow so a great amount of care needed to be taken on the lower slabs as they were quite slippery in many spots. Thank goodness for all those tough little trees else we would have never climbed it without protection. The upper parts of the slide were dry and easy to negotiate. The ridge was pretty easy walking. A little ice, tiny remnants of the monorail, and a couple of easy-to-manage blowdowns. The trail was wet and a bit muddy in places, but not bad at all. The South Slide was a piece of cake. Very dry with all that southern exposure. The remaining crossings were super simple and the rest of the trail was like the start: slightly wet and muddy in a few spots, plus a couple of easy-to-manage blowdowns there as well. All-in-all, no problem.

Special Equipment Used: We brought microspikes but we never felt the need to use them. I wouldn't even bother bringing them unless you're unsure of yourself. Trekking poles are a nice option for balance for the crossings, but even they weren't really needed.

Comments: Hiked this one with a Meetup hike I was leading for Random. I was joined by my friend Bill Robichaud plus Brad, Karen, Debra, and Radley and I must say this was an awesome group who exhibited great courage and drive on such tough terrain. The screening worked and all survived it well. We all clicked so well and had such a great day with tons of smiles and laughs (and a great finish at the Mad River Tavern for some Switchback Ale). On exit we met Sandy Price (sleeveless) on the trail going south to north and she was so cool; working on her gird and almost done. Impressive to say the least. On top of it all, the day was super productive from a list standpoint: 44 and 45 of my 2013 48 (two to go for the year), two more grid peaks, one peak for the TW72 list, plus the South Slide which I still needed for the Terrifying 25 list. Woo-hoo.

Mike "Tramper" Cherim
Nottingham NH ]]> New Hampshire NH Tramper http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49064-Tripyramids-(all)-via-Livermore-and-Mt-Tripyramids-Trails-5-16 http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49063-Gunstock-Mtn-Plane-Crash-Site-on-Belknap-Mtn-and-Piper-Mtn-5-12-13&goto=newpost Thu, 16 May 2013 12:21:37 GMT We had just read about a Piper plane crash on Belknap Mountain and our interests were peaked having already been to the crash sites on Waternomee and Mount Success. We had just been to Belknap Mountain for the fire tower on March 31st, and had no idea how close we were to the crash site, now we... We had just read about a Piper plane crash on Belknap Mountain and our interests were peaked having already been to the crash sites on Waternomee and Mount Success. We had just been to Belknap Mountain for the fire tower on March 31st, and had no idea how close we were to the crash site, now we needed to go back.
When we head out Sunday morning it was rainy at our house, but as we got closer the Belknap Range the rain stopped. We went with friends and decided to hike up to Gunstock first and check out the views. We took the Blue Trail to the Saddle Trail, then hit the Gunstock summit using the Brook Trail. All the trails were in good condition and dry for the most part, but any mud was avoidable. Oh and the sign on the chair lift that says, “Caution lift can start at any time”, believe it, cause it ran for about 2 minutes. We’re just glad we didn’t decide to seat on the chairs for lunch. :D
After leaving the summit on Gunstock we headed over to Belknap using the Brook to Saddle then Blue Trails again. We hiked down to the crash site of a Piper private airplane that crashed in June of 1972. Getting down to the site is steep, the rocks and moss were wet and slippery, but it was doable with caution. We had the coordinates on the GPS, but once we found the herd path, it wasn't too hard to follow. The site is a Waymark Point and a Geocache area and yes, we found the cache.
Having accomplished what we set out to do we decided to continue on to Piper Mountain using the White Trail and the Orange/Old Piper Trail. These were some of the most blazed trails we have ever been on, almost to the point of being over done. The summit of North Peak of Piper Mountain was definitely unique. We felt like we were visiting the Flintstones in Bedrock (Hope I didn't just date us too much there lol). There was chairs and little couches made out of boulders up there and they were comfortable. There was also a fire place and a fire pit built. We were quite impressed. After enjoying the views and furniture for awhile we headed back down to the summer parking lot and ended our adventure. The whole hike was less than 5 miles and well worth it.
We did video the whole hike, but if you like the element of surprise, please be aware we did film the whole crash site. We did not show where the herd path starts, nor did we film where the Geocache is. If you would be interested in seeing the video here is the link...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGizU47vlPo ]]> Trip Reports WeRmudfun http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?49063-Gunstock-Mtn-Plane-Crash-Site-on-Belknap-Mtn-and-Piper-Mtn-5-12-13