Muddy2Shoes
New member
Trail Conditions-Dorset: The Dorset Hollow Approach had several footprints heading up to the col. From the col, it was snowmobiled the rest of the way. Minor ice up to the ‘camp’.
Equipment: It was bare bootable but we did put on crampons to stop any slippage.
Comments:
This was one of two for the day and we got an early start. Parked the car at the end of Upper Dorset Hollow Road as described in the day hikers guide and after some discussion about which way to go, we went straight as that is where all the footprints went and it seemed to go in the right direction. You are always going up on this route. We got to the south peak & the fire tower remnants and turned back and found the Tree at the bottom of the spur. The small ‘Dorset Peak’ sign on the Tree helped ID which snowmobile trail to follow & we were at the canister in no time and hustled back down to head over to Equinox.
Trail Conditions-Equinox. Followed the Blue trail from West Union Street--parking at the small hiker lot for Equinox Preserve. The trails in or near the Preserve were solid packed snow and ice. The rest of the way up was broken in and bare-bootable.
Comments: After doing Dorset in the morning, I was dragging to be doing the second mountain for the day. The beginning of the Blue Trail from the parking lot is very nicely marked. The entire trail is easy to follow. This is a steady, relentless climb but the trail was well broken. We did put on crampons to stop any slippage. Almost everyone we saw on the trail was using just their boots. Most had very small packs and some had no packs and no water
. It would have been nice to have views from the top but it was not to be. A quick down had us sitting in front of pizza in Manchester before dark.
A total of 11+ miles and over 5,000 feet elevation gain for the day. NE100W #95 & #96.
Equipment: It was bare bootable but we did put on crampons to stop any slippage.
Comments:
This was one of two for the day and we got an early start. Parked the car at the end of Upper Dorset Hollow Road as described in the day hikers guide and after some discussion about which way to go, we went straight as that is where all the footprints went and it seemed to go in the right direction. You are always going up on this route. We got to the south peak & the fire tower remnants and turned back and found the Tree at the bottom of the spur. The small ‘Dorset Peak’ sign on the Tree helped ID which snowmobile trail to follow & we were at the canister in no time and hustled back down to head over to Equinox.
Trail Conditions-Equinox. Followed the Blue trail from West Union Street--parking at the small hiker lot for Equinox Preserve. The trails in or near the Preserve were solid packed snow and ice. The rest of the way up was broken in and bare-bootable.
Comments: After doing Dorset in the morning, I was dragging to be doing the second mountain for the day. The beginning of the Blue Trail from the parking lot is very nicely marked. The entire trail is easy to follow. This is a steady, relentless climb but the trail was well broken. We did put on crampons to stop any slippage. Almost everyone we saw on the trail was using just their boots. Most had very small packs and some had no packs and no water
. It would have been nice to have views from the top but it was not to be. A quick down had us sitting in front of pizza in Manchester before dark.A total of 11+ miles and over 5,000 feet elevation gain for the day. NE100W #95 & #96.
