Ossipee (NH) Snowshoe Warm-up (Turtleback Mtn. and Bald Knob) - Early to Mid December

[rocket21]

*Update - Cancelled due to lack of snow*


A relatively mild hike mostly on gentle carriage roads - a good warmup/refresher hike for snowshoeing season. Two of the Ossipee 10 list peaks will be reached, each providing unique views.

Tentative Date: Saturday, December 20th, 2008, 9:00 AM *cancelled*
- Hike will be postponed or cancelled if there isn't at least a 6" base
- Hike will be postponed or cancelled due to precip or dangerous temperatures/winds

Location: Route 171 LRCT (Castle in the Clouds) Hiker Parking Area

Itinerary: Shannon Brook Trail, Bald Knob Cutoff, Bald Knob Trail, Turtleback Mt. Trail, Turtleback Summit Trail, (Turtleback Mountain), Turtleback Summit Trail, Turtleback Mt. Trail, Bald Knob Trail, (Bald Knob), Bald Knob Trail, Bald Knob Cutoff, Shannon Brook Trail

Equipment List: Snowshoes (with some sort of claw/crampon built in, ie modern snowshoes, not two tennis rackets), standard winter pack (ie warm clothes, etc.). Ice axe/crampons not needed.

 

[Steve-o]

I would be up for the 13/14th. weekend.

 

[Silverfox]

Think snow!!

I'm in...though the second weekend works better for me

 

[Amicus]

My schedule is uncertain but if I can I will - snowshoeing over there is something I never seem to get around to.

 

[LRiz]

I'm planning on joining in (either weekend will work for me at this point)... looking forward to bagging peaks 6 and 7 on my Ossipee 10 list!

 

[MichaelJ]

Wish I could be there, but it looks like other commitments may prevail.

 

[rocket21]

Some more details:

- Total vertical would be around 1,800 feet. Most of the vertical (about 1,500 feet) would be climbed to get to Turtleback.

- Total out and back distance would be around 8 miles.

- Anyone not feeling too great could bail partway through the hike by going directly to Bald Knob, rather than heading up to Turtleback (and then back down to Bald Knob).

- At this point, there is not enough snow in that part of the Ossipees for a snowshoe hike. There is still pllenty of time, however, for this to change.

 

[rocket21]

Here's a map of the planned hike:

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Turtleback

We should be there for this. Have you got a kilt yet?

KDT

 

[rocket21]

Have you got a kilt yet?

Heck no!

Is your kilt winterized?

 

[rocksnrolls]

I might come along.

 

[rocket21]

As of today, there is still not enough snow to pull this off. There is some snow, however in the forecast.

Thus, I'll make a decision on Wednesday, December 10th as to whether or not December 13th is the date, so that folks will have time to make other plans, etc.

 

[rocket21]

While there looks like there's a chance we could get some significant snow from this storm, it also looks like there's a very good chance we'll end up with lots of ice/rain. It's raining right now, so I'm going to go ahead and postpone the 13th date and schedule this hike for the 20th, weather and snow permitting.

 

[Steve-o]

Have fun !
Hope you get some snowpack up there.
Big ice-storm last night in Boston metro-west.
semi horror show !

 

[rocket21]

Have fun !
Hope you get some snowpack up there.

Still no real snowpack in the Bald Knob area, so the 20th is still not a definite yet.

 

[rocket21]

Since this is a snowshoe warmup hike by design, it's looking like it's going to be cancelled unless the forecast changes soon. I'll formally cancel it first thing Thursday morning (12/18) if we don't have about 6" or more snow forecasted by Saturday. Regardless of this, an Ossipee winter group hike (snowshoes or otherwise) will likely be scheduled for after the holidays.

 

[rocket21]

Cancelled. We picked up 2-3" of snow and have 2-5" forecasted for Friday (according to NOAA and Wunderground), but the lower end of that forecast would result in some very poor snowshoeing on the Bald Knob Cutoff Trail, which takes more snow than the carriage roads to cover.

We'll look to do an Ossipee Range hike in January that's not necessarily geared toward a specific type of equipment.