What do you find helpful in Trail Conditions?

[adktyler]

In an effort to make my trail conditions as useful as possible, I've been making a checklist of things to look for while hiking, and to include when posting. Below is a list I've come up with categorized by season. I would very much appreciate your additions! I did a search for a thread like this in the past, but came up with nothing. I know that Darren has a format/example with suggestions, but I would like to go above and beyond that and include anything that you would want to know about. Any input would be appreciated, thanks!

Spring
Bugs
Mud
Blowdown/deadfall
Leftover snow
Leftover ice
Snow composition/thickness/firmness/depth
Snow spine/Monorail
Access road condition
Water/stream crossing
Amount of confusing herd paths
Human/animal damage to man-made additions (trail markers, summit signs, etc.)
Drinkable water
Condition of lean-tos/campsites

Summer
Bugs
Mud
Blowdown/deadfall
Overgrown vegetation
Access road condition
Firmness of trail
Water/stream crossing
Amount of confusing herd paths
Human/animal damage to man-made additions (trail markers, summit signs, etc.)
Drinkable water
Condition of lean-tos/campsites

Fall
Mud
Fresh snow
Fresh Ice
Snow composition/base/depth
Leaves covering trail
Blowdown/deadfall
Access road condition/roads plowed
Amount of confusing herd paths
Human/animal damage to man-made additions (trail markers, summit signs, etc.)
Drinkable water
Condition of lean-tos/campsites

Winter
Snow depth/composition/base/firmness/thickness
Trail broken
Ice thickness
Blowdown/deadfall
Access road condition/roads plowed
Amount of confusing herd paths
Human/animal damage to man-made additions (trail markers, summit signs, etc.)
Access to water
Condition of lean-tos/campsites

And then of course, anything else of particular interest to the future hiker/climber. What else should I add/describe in greater detail?

 

[Tom Rankin]

Excellent start!

Darren lists 'essential gear' but since you are trying to be complete, add that.

I think weather conditions are useful for me to determine if my hike will be the same as your hike. E.g. if you went when it was raining, you would probably not notice any bugs. Or, if it was bitter cold, and the weather has suddenly warmed, I will take that into account as well.

Stream crossings are worth noting.

Always of particular note is the conditions above tree line, if applicable.

 

[adktyler]

Excellent start!

Darren lists 'essential gear' but since you are trying to be complete, add that.

I think weather conditions are useful for me to determine if my hike will be the same as your hike. E.g. if you went when it was raining, you would probably not notice any bugs. Or, if it was bitter cold, and the weather has suddenly warmed, I will take that into account as well.

Stream crossings are worth noting.

Always of particular note is the conditions above tree line, if applicable.

Thanks. I left out essential gear because that's so much of an opinion thing. What's "essential" for one person, might be frivolous gear for another.

The weather aspect is a good one, because that will often directly affect the trail conditions.

I put water crossings on spring and summer. I changed it to be water/stream crossings.

Yea, above treeline. I would assume someone would note changes in the conditions no matter where they were, though. Lowlands = muddy. Treeline = wet rock; or something like that.

Thanks again!

 

[Tom Rankin]

Thanks for doing this; you're doing yeoman's work with this effort.

This reminds me, where was drinkable water available?

 

[TrishandAlex]

Awesome!

Things I like to know -- mud, snow (is it packed, loose or rotting), drinkable water availability, stream crossings, misleading herd paths.

 

[adktyler]

Thanks, guys. I'll add drinkable water to the list, I hadn't thought of that!

 

[Stan]

There was a time when all I expected and looked for was "what's different from the usual sources" so a bridge that's out or a road closed would not be a surprise. Everything else was either redundant, superfluous or an exercise in the writing skills of the poster.

Besides, half the fun of a hike, for me, is accepting conditions as they are found and dealing with the unexpected.

Now, however, a site like this has become a premier authority on conditions and, in some instances, a reasonable due diligence before going out. People seem concerned over the slightest of inconveniences, like bugs or mud fr'instance, then squawk about the lack of wilderness.

I like the old ways better. There is TMD, too much detail, to suit my tastes. Get out there and make the most of your own hike and abilities and forget about whether somebody else had a good time or not.

There are some good writers on this site, though, and I'm envious of their photos.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Personally I would like to see (added to Darren's 'template') water crossings (and alternatives if available - go 100 feet upstream, look for the old bridge remnants...) and water availability. I can infer the rest. I don't read the TCs June (mid-May) through October. I don't post either.

I've always thought a good thread would be "Stream Crossability" - that is, you post a stream crossability number (say 1-trivial, 10-waded using a pole section for breathing) and the appropriate drainage gauge number - height / cfps. That way we would have a good idea at what point things get dangerous.

For instance, when the Pemi, East Branch hits 750 cfps, then the final few crossings to Owl's Head get sketchy. Personally I keep notes on this when things are "close".

For Spikes/Shoes/Crampons - it is extremely rare that I don't carry 'shoes and either 'spikes or 'pons in the winter and I'm not sure I'd leave any of them home based solely on an anonymous TC. You may write "Snowshoes unnecessary" which may be true if you're 5'4" 120 pounds, but at 6'3" 200 pounds it might be necessary.

Blowdowns are of no interest to me but the trail maintainers care and so I report them.

Tim

 

[Paradox]

I tend to plan in terms of path-of-least-resistance. Written descriptions of where to go or when to turn are murky to my way of thinking. I know I am going to have snowshoes and softshells in the winter, and sun protection and DEET in the summer. Hence, the most useful things to me are GPS tracks and waypoints, followed by specific map references.

Pictures of human beings as the subject with nature as the background are inspirational to get me to a certain trail, summit, or point of interest.

 

[TrishandAlex]

Now, however, a site like this has become a premier authority on conditions and, in some instances, a reasonable due diligence before going out. People seem concerned over the slightest of inconveniences, like bugs or mud fr'instance, then squawk about the lack of wilderness.

For me, it's not being concerned about inconveniences -- if I know what to expect, then I know what gear to definitely bring and what I might be able to leave behind. It's about pack weight.

It's also about whether or not I might be able to reach the summit based on the current conditions. For example, if I want to reach a summit, but the snow on my desired trail isn't yet packed, or barely packed, then I might choose another hike.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Very much agreed.

500 Blowdowns could make the difference between coming anywhere near the summit and not! And if you doubt this, you should have tried the Catskills ON TRAIL a few years ago in spring!

Edit: Sorry that sounds contentious, not meant to be...

 

[adktyler]

Thanks, everyone, for the great discussion. I always learn different things that I expect on these kind of threads.

I guess this is another situation where opinion is involved (who would've thought?!?).

I hear you, Stan, about wanting to get out and be surprised. I very infrequently hike trails that I've read conditions for lately. I usually find huge things, like "bridge out" very helpful.

Tim, that's an interesting idea about the water crossing number rating system. I'll have to remember to try something like that out next time.

Paradox, do you really want GPS waypoints? Come on! That takes all the fun out of it !

Thanks, again, everyone!

 

[erugs]

I'd like to see a form so that there are consistencies in what kind of information is covered, as well as a spot for a little bit of commentary. I check the Trail Conditions frequently, but mostly to see what people are doing to help give me ideas on what to do, as I'm not working on any lists. (I was actually thinking of creating a kind of roulette wheel to help me make suggestions to my hiking friends on where we should consider going.)

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Tim, that's an interesting idea about the water crossing number rating system. I'll have to remember to try something like that out next time.

Like all things in the trail conditions, a lot depends on the comfort and experience level of both the writer and the reader. What is passable crossing for you may not be passable for me. As I said once before, I don't want to be turned around, 'wasting' a day, by avoidable and discernible conditions. We always read and hear that you should take your snowshoes with you, but that is probably the most common question/answer for (winter) trail conditions - snowshoes/crampons or can I bare-boot.

On trips with noted possibly challenging crossings, I usually include the graph(s) from the USGS water site (http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/?m=real&r=nh) in my albums, mostly for my own future reference. I also include photos of the actual crossings.

From my own personal experience, when I started hiking the NH 48, I wanted to know everything I could before I went on a trip. I'd look over photos and read everything I could. Now that I have the experience of the 48 (plus some) I do not 'prepare' nearly as 'hard' as I used to. I have learned that unless it has been raining for 3 days, or the really warm weather in early April, the crossings will be crossable. Likewise, knowing the pattern that evolves in winter as people report trails having been hiked - often that is enough.

Tim

 

[--M.]

Awesome!

I have come to rely on these reports very much. I may swing over to Stan's point of view once I'm out there (like Black Mountain Cabin, right Stan?), but it's helpful to know what's up before I go. The water-crossings comments are also good stuff, and I will google the stream-flow graphs if it's been raining a lot.

Especially helpful have been:
==Photos: Especially in snow season, they show the quality of the snow, depth, skiability, whether snowshoes or crampons are appropriate. They also provide a CSI-style smorgasborg of information, including what the parties were wearing for the conditions, what kind of skis they chose, things that don't always show up in the write-up.

==A statement of what the over-riding variable is: sometimes bugs, sometimes weather, sometimes terrain, sometimes snow conditions. Each hike has one or two things that really impact the itinerary and which the next hiker would find useful. For example: long, exposed sections on a sunny day = sunscreen; make sure you have water for Boott Spur; don't descend the Dry River without snowshoes; there are no lean-to shelters near the Hancocks; Jay Mountain Road (NY) is NOT for low-clearance vehicles. These are all real examples.

==One or two tidbits that made the hike special, i.e. "the Zeacliff Pond is definitely worth the detour, while the summit is for taggers only."

Great thread!

 

[giggy]

I think the reason many people put them up to make sure everyone else knows what they did....

 

[Mark Schaefer]

A prior post brings up lean-to / shelter. An additional point which could be added to your checklist:

Condition of any lean-tos, shelters, designated campsites.

It is kind of covered by your following statement: "Human/animal damage to man-made additions (trail markers, summit signs, etc.)", but an explicit reference might prompt more report data.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Especially helpful have been:
==Photos: Especially in snow season, they show the quality of the snow, depth, skiability, whether snowshoes or crampons are appropriate. They also provide a CSI-style smorgasborg of information, including what the parties were wearing for the conditions, what kind of skis they chose, things that don't always show up in the write-up.

I think we're getting beyond trail conditions and into Trip Reports now.

What is the limit on the number of characters in a TC?

 

[nietzschescat]

trail conditions

I just enjoy living vicariously though other people's hiking stories when I can't hike.

 

[adktyler]

I think the reason many people put them up to make sure everyone else knows what they did....

Haha, or they could just be trying to be helpful.

A prior post brings up lean-to / shelter. An additional point which could be added to your checklist:

Condition of any lean-tos, shelters, designated campsites.

It is kind of covered by your following statement: "Human/animal damage to man-made additions (trail markers, summit signs, etc.)", but an explicit reference might prompt more report data.

Great point, I'll include a shelter/campsite condition aspect as well.

I think we're getting beyond trail conditions and into Trip Reports now.

What is the limit on the number of characters in a TC?

I was thinking the same thing, but thanks for your thoughts --M. Trail conditions seem to be specifically just that, the condition of the trails...with the purpose of helping people.
If you want to put a longer description, then (as Darren says), keep the comments short and write a trip report!

Can you even embed photos in trail conditions?

I have no idea what the text limit is, I've never maxed it out.