Plowing Of Hiking Lots And Winter Bushwhacks

[DayTrip]

Planning a bunch of winter hikes this year and I'm wondering about a few logistical things:

1) Is there such a thing as a list of the parking areas at trail heads that get maintained in winter? I know the WMNF has a road status page on their site but I didn't see mention of winter maintenance. Lot of trail heads are right on the highway so leaving car on the road would not be good in winter. Hate to drive 3-4 hours to an unpaved lot and relying on NETC site is hit or miss depending on where people are hiking that week.

2) Doing the "48" in winter is obviously a lot more complicated with the numerous amount of trails on access roads which are closed. Is there some sort of official or unofficial "route list" of how most people do each summit? Is there such a thing as an AMC Guide for the winter, or some similar book?

Curious if anyone has come across this type of information.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Here's a summary of my single-season winter 48 routes ('11-'12)

Liberty-Flume - Basin (all trailheads on Franconia Ridge/Franconia Notch Parkway are plowed)
Tripyramids - From the Kanc or via Livermore Road (Depot Camp is plowed by WV)
Kinsmans via Mount Kinsman Trail (west side)
Hancocks - From the Kanc - lot is plowed, not always the first lot to be done, however
Moosilauke via Glenncliff
Cannon via Kinsman Ridge Trail (Tram)
Hale via Fire Warden (end of Little River Road)
Madison, Adams - Appalachia / Valley Way or Airline
Isolation - Rocky Branch / Engine Hill BW
Carters (3) - 19 Mile Brook, Carter Dome, South, Middle, Imp, Joe Dodge cut-thru
Cabot - Many people do this from the south even though the trail is "not maintained", or you can do it via the hatchery
Whiteface, Passaconaway - normal route from Ferncroft
Moriah - From Bangor Road
Zealand, Bonds - Traverse - have to park at the winter Zealand lot on 302. 23 miles to Lincoln Woods
Wildcats - out-and-back via the ski area ($10)
Owl's Head - From LW, using the Black Pond and Brutus BW
Osceolas - From the Kanc
Tom, Field, Willey - Normal route
Tecumseh - Ski area
Carrigain - Park at the end/winter lot of Sawyer Road + 302 - adds 2 miles each way to road walk it
Garfield - Have to walk the road, either from the small plowed area by the road, or by 5 corners in Bethlehem
Eisenhower, Pierce, Jackson - Park at the Highland Center or D
Twins + Galehead - From the end of Little River Road to Gale River Road and out through the Beaver Brook ski area
Lafayette, Lincoln - all normal routes are plowed
Waumbek - Park at the town lot at route 2 + Starr King Road (next to the Irving Station) and walk up the road
Washington, Jefferson, Monroe - From the winter cog lot via Ammo + Jewell

Tim

 

[DayTrip]

WOW! I wasn't expecting that level of detail in a reply. Thanks!

 

[bryan]

the 4000 Footer Guide has good descriptions of the most used winter routes. other than parking lots on forest roads that are closed most of the standard lots are kept clear. depending on the timing of a storm there are no guarantees the lot you are interested in will be plowed when you get there. a shovel should be standard equipment regardless of destination.
a search on netc of trips reports from the winter months would probably provide a lot of information on hiking routes others have used over the last few years. tim does a good job of citing some possibilities above. longer variations picking up more peaks per hike are certainly possible depending on conditions though some pieces of trail see a lot less use in winter than they do in summer.

bryan

 

[bikehikeskifish]

The above itinerary works out to 26 hikes over 24 days for 48 peaks. I combined Tom, Field and Willey with Tecumseh and Hale with Cannon.

Tim

 

[DayTrip]

Is this the book you are referring to Bryan?
http://www.amazon.com/4000-Footers-...&keywords=4000+footers+of+the+white+mountains

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Is this the book you are referring to Bryan?
http://www.amazon.com/4000-Footers-...&keywords=4000+footers+of+the+white+mountains

No, I think Bryan is referring to this one.

http://www.amazon.com/White-Mountain-Guide-29th-Comprehensive/dp/1934028444/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z

I use the same trailheads as Tim except that I like to do the Tri's from the Kanc, not Livermore, via Pine Bend Brook.

 

[psmart]

Plowing of WMNF trailheads is a real hodgepodge. A given lot may be plowed by the NH DOT, USFS, local highway department, or a private organization. As such, plowing is not coordinated by any single entity and will occur at different times and under different conditions.

 

[--M.]

All good stuff!

And if you're new to winter parking, know there's a real learning curve, both in NH and in the DAKs: beware of wheels on/off the pavement, not blocking a driveway or lot access, ensuring you don't get plowed in or scraped by a passing plow, not being able to get out of what you get into, oh the joys go on!

Biggest on my list was to invest in snow tires: $900 of confidence and stability. A tow rope or webbing may also be a good idea, maybe a team of oxen in the trunk.

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

No, I think Bryan is referring to this one.

http://www.amazon.com/White-Mountain-Guide-29th-Comprehensive/dp/1934028444/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z

I am pretty sure that Bryan is, as he states, referring to the 4,000 Footer book which, unlike the WMG, has a section on winter routes for each peak.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I can ski the Livermore Road stretch to the Tris

Tim

 

[peakbagger]

One major caveat with trailhead parking along state highways like RT 16 and RT 302, During and immediately after a snowstorm, if you are parked on the pavement along the side of the road, you could be towed even at trailheads. This sometimes occurs at Imp trail, the AT crossing of 302, Pine Bend Brook Trail and possibly at the Trudeau road intersection. Basically when the state of NH is in major snowstorm mode, either park well off the pavement and be prepared to have a major digging effort when you get back or find somewhere else to park. After a major storm, this may be in effect for 48 hours and is not posted.

A general courtesy issue is that if you do get to a established trailhead parking lot and it hasn't been plowed, don't just ram the car through the snowbank and block the entrance or exit. It considerably delays getting the lot cleared. If you must park get the shovel out and get the car to where its out of the way.

 

[Lefty E]

Once went to do the Kinsmans from the new Mt. Kinsman Trail and the lot was not plowed and even my pickup could not get in...and damaged my bumper trying to plow through a frozen plowed snowbank on the ever popular 19 Mile Brook trailhead (two days after snowstorm)...peakbagger gives good advice about the Imp trailheads, as the southern trailhead is a good one to get up to Middle and South Carter as an out and back...Cabot from the York Pond side: the gate seems to be open all winter as it is usually plowed in such a way the snow piles up around the open gate, and the road to the trailheads is usually plowed in a timely manner...you could also call the hatchery for update...Moriah is also accessed from Stony Brook trailhead which is usually plowed; if you use Bangor Street the residential parking might be tight, but there's a spot near the power line before the trail where you could park too...and Waumbek has the big snowmachine parking lot nearer the road than the town lot but that can be a pain getting out of sometimes...seems every year we hear about hiker's vehicles getting towed because they were parked on the traveled portion of the highway...

 

[Kevin Rooney]

A resource for beginner winter hikers is the logs of hikers who've done the 4's in one calendar winter, which can be found here. There have been some shifts over time, the most notable probably being the preferred routes up the Presi's since the opening of the Cog RR parking lot.

 

[peakbagger]

With respect to the snowmachine/hikers parking lot for Starr King/Waumbek I agree with Lefty's comments, it can be a real problem to get out of in the afternoon. Water from the highway tends to run into it creating a 'skating rink" add a bit of snow on top of the ice and unless the car has studs, the steep rise out of the parking lot onto Rt 2 can be a major PITA. I have had to resort to building up speed across the parking lot and taking a chance that I don't T-bone a car going by on RT2, I usually park adjacent to Irving in the town plowed spaces and walk down the road about 100 yards. Some folks inevitably try to drive up to the summer lot, the entrance is usually plowed in by the residents and parking at the snowbank blocks their access, out of common courtesy, don't park there.

In general, for winter hikers especially those who are going out in or immediately after a snowstorm, a good shovel capable of breaking through crust if need be, a tow strap, jumper cables and a large container of salt/and mix should be in the trunk.

One thing to note about the USFS Ammo and Jewell trail lot is that it is not plowed and is gated, park at the cog lot instead. The Mt Clinton Road Crawford Path parking does usually get plowed but its way down on the priority list, it can take a 2 or 3 days after a storm to clear it out and it frequently will have several inches of snow in it between storms.

The AMC does post their lot and they have the right to tow folks who not are staying at the Highland Center. I am not aware if they ever have.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I parked in the skating rink the first time I did Waumbek in winter. That's why I parked next to the Irving station in all subsequent hikes The 48in1winter site will give you some idea of combinations, from which you can guess the trailheads and routes--it doesn't record the actual routes or times or conditions--but you might be able to coordinate names and dates with archives here, or at NETC or trailsnh. I used my entry to fill in the first reply above.

Tim

 

[RoySwkr]

Kinsmans via Mount Kinsman Trail (west side)

Not plowed the day I was there

> Hale via Fire Warden (end of Little River Road)

Private property, often posted in the past

>Moriah - From Bangor Road

Stony Brook TH usually plowed

>Wildcats - out-and-back via the ski area ($10)

19MB usually plowed, Glen Ellis Falls not plowed but wide pulloffs on Rte.16

Tom, Field, Willey - Normal route

 

[DayTrip]

Great info as usual. Thanks. I went ahead and ordered the 4000 footer book (sounds like good info in it) and checked out the 48in1 website. I don't see trails listed though, just the order of the peaks they did (which I presume will also be a good idea for planning time of year for amount of daylight, conditions, etc). Looking forward to some snow! (Well at least in NH...not in my driveway at home).

 

[bobandgeri]

Just took a drive up Little River Road. The property along both sides and the end of the road which has always been posted, now has new signs and a path to the river which people used to go swimming, is roped off with a sign. The gate at the bridge that goes over the river was open and it looked like there has been recent traffic over it. My guess is that who ever owns the land is going to build so it may no longer be an option for easy access in Winter.

Just park down the street at the 7 Dwarfs motel (call first to be sure that hikers are still welcome to park there for $5 a car) and walk the snowmobile trail behind the motel.

 

[RollingRock]

The Willey Station Road is not plowed in winter for Mt. Willey if you decided to hike up from that end [Ethan Pond Trail/Willey Range Trail]. You MUST park off the road which means only high clearance vehicles will be able to do so. I parked alongside the road and got back just in time as the police had called for a tow truck.