Stoneybrooks
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- Nov 2, 2012
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01/16/2013:
Trail Conditions: Trails are hard packed and currently have a few inches of snow on top. Zealand Road is hard pack as well with a few inches of snow - great cross country skiing conditions.
Special Equipment Required: We brought snow shoes, microspikes and cross country skis and used all of them. Last quarter mile to hut is very steep and will require some good traction. Crampons would be overkill.
Comments: Hiking in on Tuesday road was consistency of compressed styrofoam. Parked at Route 303 parking lot and dragged gear in on sled. Used microspikes entire way in. Worst part of trail for dragging the sled was from the summer parking lot for maybe a half mile heading in direction of the hut. With another 12" of snow that section wouldn't be a problem. Dropped some gear at the hut and snow shoed to Thoreau Falls. Trail well packed but stepping off trail was some serious postholing. Nice stay at Zealand Hut. Caretaker, Steve, had the wood stove going from 5 PM to 9 PM. Even with stove on temperatures in hut were in upper 30's. Bunkhouse never got above 34 degrees. Woke up on Wednesday to falling snow. "Broke" trail out (about 2" of snow) at summer parking lot put on cross country skis and skied rest of way out. Best skiing I have had in a long time.
Stoneybrooks
george at crocker dot com
Trail Conditions: Trails are hard packed and currently have a few inches of snow on top. Zealand Road is hard pack as well with a few inches of snow - great cross country skiing conditions.
Special Equipment Required: We brought snow shoes, microspikes and cross country skis and used all of them. Last quarter mile to hut is very steep and will require some good traction. Crampons would be overkill.
Comments: Hiking in on Tuesday road was consistency of compressed styrofoam. Parked at Route 303 parking lot and dragged gear in on sled. Used microspikes entire way in. Worst part of trail for dragging the sled was from the summer parking lot for maybe a half mile heading in direction of the hut. With another 12" of snow that section wouldn't be a problem. Dropped some gear at the hut and snow shoed to Thoreau Falls. Trail well packed but stepping off trail was some serious postholing. Nice stay at Zealand Hut. Caretaker, Steve, had the wood stove going from 5 PM to 9 PM. Even with stove on temperatures in hut were in upper 30's. Bunkhouse never got above 34 degrees. Woke up on Wednesday to falling snow. "Broke" trail out (about 2" of snow) at summer parking lot put on cross country skis and skied rest of way out. Best skiing I have had in a long time.
Stoneybrooks
george at crocker dot com
