Plowing Of Hiking Lots And Winter Bushwhacks

[bikehikeskifish]

Seems like it has seen frequent use the past few winters. In January 2009, I remember parking at 7Ds, but the following winters, the end of the road was "open" (in common use...) I don't recall seeing any postings on the end of the road nor on the bridge over the river which leads to both the old North Twin Trail and the snowmobile trail.

Tim

 

[Lefty E]

Forgot to mention did Willey via Kendron Flume Trail up to Ethan Pond Trail then of course Willey Range...Willey House site was nicely plowed and always seems to be plowed...and I was lucky as all trails were nicely packed out and the ladders were covered with snow so it was easy going other than being steep....knew the trails were packed out by checking netc and this forum...

 

[madmattd]

Seems like it has seen frequent use the past few winters. In January 2009, I remember parking at 7Ds, but the following winters, the end of the road was "open" (in common use...) I don't recall seeing any postings on the end of the road nor on the bridge over the river which leads to both the old North Twin Trail and the snowmobile trail.

Tim

There were no postings prohibiting parking at the turn-around at the end of Little River Road either time I parked there this year (January and April). Made sure to leave room for the plows to turn around if they came by. The gate over the bridge was closed both times, my assumption was to prevent snomo traffic. The area was well-plowed, the January visit was the morning after a 6" snowfall and it was clear.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

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.

After reading this post, I drove to the turnaround this afternoon, looking for new signs, etc, and frankly - I didn't see any changes at all. There's still the old yellow No Trespassing sign at the "top" of the turnaround but that appears to apply to an old road which extends beyond, and I think it's been there for some time. So ... maybe winter access to Hale and N. Twin will revert to parking at 7 Dwarfs, but I didn't draw the same conclusion you did. Time will tell -

 

[bobandgeri]

You didn't see the new sign and the roped off area along the river bank?

We also were told by a hiker we chatted with that when they tried to park on the road somebody came over and told them they couldn't park there.

Was the gate on the bridge open or closed?

Going to take a run up the snowmobile trails soon to see what all the fresh vehicle tracks going over the bridge is all about.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

You didn't see the new sign and the roped off area along the river bank?

No

We also were told by a hiker we chatted with that when they tried to park on the road somebody came over and told them they couldn't park there.

Was the gate on the bridge open or closed?

Open

Going to take a run up the snowmobile trails soon to see what all the fresh vehicle tracks going over the bridge is all about.

All three of us commented that nothing seemed to have changed, and we've all used it many times in winter, including when it used to be open many years ago, then closed and used 7 Dwarfs, and again when the turnaround was re-opened for general use.

Do you happen to know the landowner? If not, perhaps someone who does could check with him/her/them or even the town of Twin Mtn?

 

[DayTrip]

For what it's worth to anyone who may not have it, I got the book "The 4000 Footers Of The White Mountains" and I found it pretty disappointing with regard to winter routes. The winter sections for each peak are extremely brief and provide little information other than what is fairly obvious. The summer route descriptions are no more detailed than the AMC Guide in my opinion. It is also copyright 2008 and is "pre-Irene" so a lot of the material in certain sections is going to be dated. (I got the book on Amazon so I'm not entirely sure it was the latest edition - mine is the 2nd edition. Didn't think to check that).

I did however really enjoy all the historical notes for each peak and a lot of the appendix material and bibliography has a lot of excellent references for further reading (books and websites). I'd consider this book a "table of contents" to other sources of information. So overall it is worth it, just not for the winter hiking aspect. FYI.

 

[bobandgeri]

That is actually in Bethlehem, not Twin. I looked through the towns online meeting minutes to see if there was anything there and the only thing that I saw that could be relevant was a reference to 5 gravel pits that are in Bethlehem. There is a sand pit up behind the bridge a ways that we found one day when we were out for a run. Will get up there at some point to see what may be going on and report back. Somebody spent a lot of money to redo that bridge a few years ago!

 

[RoySwkr]

I got the book "The 4000 Footers Of The White Mountains" and I found it pretty disappointing with regard to winter routes. The winter sections for each peak are extremely brief and provide little information other than what is fairly obvious. The summer route descriptions are no more detailed than the AMC Guide in my opinion. ...

I did however really enjoy all the historical notes for each peak and a lot of the appendix material and bibliography has a lot of excellent references for further reading (books and websites). I'd consider this book a "table of contents" to other sources of information. So overall it is worth it, just not for the winter hiking aspect. FYI.

Part of it is that you really don't need much info to climb 4k peaks by standard routes even in winter - all it has to say is "park at X and follow the tracks"

The AMC guide used to have a lot more nature and history info before it was pushed out by more trails and recently by suggested hikes. "The 4000 Footers Of The White Mountains" is for those who want more context to their hike and not just the fastest way up.

For those who want actual footway detail, someday there will be a visual guide showing a typical trail view maybe every tenth-mile plus every intersection and special feature. Then you will have no need to do the hike at all

 

[DayTrip]

someday there will be a visual guide showing a typical trail view maybe every tenth-mile plus every intersection and special feature. Then you will have no need to do the hike at all

A picture is worth a thousand words but the experience is worth a thousand pictures!

 

[bikehikeskifish]

As I am targeting Hale, I just called the Town of Bethlehem, Highway Department, and they told me no problem parking on the road, just please not to block the plow turnaround (which was the standard for the past few years.) Yes, that property has been bought. Apparently the purchaser felt the bridge was town property and should be plowed, but the town does not agree. I read this as hikers ought to be able to use it, since the owner of the property doesn't think s/he does

Tim