bryan
New member
date: 2/1/14
trails: xc ski trails, ski trails, cohos trail, old summit loop trail, access road, snowmobile corridor 134, table rock trail
conditions: we parked off rt. 26 near dixville notch at a snowmobile crossing west of the access road to the closed balsams ski area. we started up on a xc trail (bunny hop?) also being used by snowmobiles then got on the power line swath into the base of the ski area. we headed straight up ski slopes utlizing a packed out snowmobile track. 6-8 inches of snow on the trail. at the top of the ski area we followed the cohos trail south towards dixville peak which soon joined up with snowmobile corridor 134. the cohos trail has been rerouted well below the summit so where it turned off we continued on the snowmobile corridor up to the old loop trail junction. this untravelled trail up to the line of wind turnbines gracing the summit ridge had a foot plus of snow, but once out into the wind farm swath it was blown down to mostly hardpack. we continued up to the highpoint (or where it once was....) then dropped down to the old snowmobile route and then the access road where snowmobiles turn around at a gate. a popular spot. a short distance down the road the current snowmobile route back towards the balsams turned off right and we then retraced our steps back to the ski area. from there we followed the cohos trail down to table rock which after a snowmobiled section had some nice fresh powder with up to 2 feet of snow in total. the final walk onto table rock had snow over ice which when added to the exposure admittedly made me a little queasy. we descended the western (more mildly graded) branch of the table rock trail almost to the road then cut over to an old cross country ski trail that took us back to the base of the ski area and from there we followed our original route back to the car.
equipment: snowshoes
comments: a great day up north. good snowhoeing on the closed ski trails and up to dixville peak. watch for snowmobiles as it seems to be a heavily travelled corridor. walking under the wind turbines is always an interesting experience. quite the monstrosities. some good views though from their swath and from the access road. glad we made the trip over to table rock even though it gave me a case of the jelly legs walking out there on the ice. a pretty stunning spot. thanks to amy and jeremy for a nice hike.
bryan
[email protected]
trails: xc ski trails, ski trails, cohos trail, old summit loop trail, access road, snowmobile corridor 134, table rock trail
conditions: we parked off rt. 26 near dixville notch at a snowmobile crossing west of the access road to the closed balsams ski area. we started up on a xc trail (bunny hop?) also being used by snowmobiles then got on the power line swath into the base of the ski area. we headed straight up ski slopes utlizing a packed out snowmobile track. 6-8 inches of snow on the trail. at the top of the ski area we followed the cohos trail south towards dixville peak which soon joined up with snowmobile corridor 134. the cohos trail has been rerouted well below the summit so where it turned off we continued on the snowmobile corridor up to the old loop trail junction. this untravelled trail up to the line of wind turnbines gracing the summit ridge had a foot plus of snow, but once out into the wind farm swath it was blown down to mostly hardpack. we continued up to the highpoint (or where it once was....) then dropped down to the old snowmobile route and then the access road where snowmobiles turn around at a gate. a popular spot. a short distance down the road the current snowmobile route back towards the balsams turned off right and we then retraced our steps back to the ski area. from there we followed the cohos trail down to table rock which after a snowmobiled section had some nice fresh powder with up to 2 feet of snow in total. the final walk onto table rock had snow over ice which when added to the exposure admittedly made me a little queasy. we descended the western (more mildly graded) branch of the table rock trail almost to the road then cut over to an old cross country ski trail that took us back to the base of the ski area and from there we followed our original route back to the car.
equipment: snowshoes
comments: a great day up north. good snowhoeing on the closed ski trails and up to dixville peak. watch for snowmobiles as it seems to be a heavily travelled corridor. walking under the wind turbines is always an interesting experience. quite the monstrosities. some good views though from their swath and from the access road. glad we made the trip over to table rock even though it gave me a case of the jelly legs walking out there on the ice. a pretty stunning spot. thanks to amy and jeremy for a nice hike.
bryan
[email protected]
