Sandwich Dome

Trail: Sandwich Mountain Trail, Jennings Peak Spur, Drakes Brook Trail

Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Spring Snow, Slush

“The initial river crossing may have been doable for some, but not for us. We took the bushwhack from the road by the electric plant to join the trail. Still plenty of snow up there packed in. The vertical climb was steep and rocky. Not to mention very icy and on the difficult with spikes. Further up you climb before you turn to Noon peak, it was difficult for the spikes for sure. The snow is melting but the refreeze is tough for the spikes. I pulled myself up with trees and roots that weren't frozen and intact. The stretch right before Noon Peak was tough with the ice. Snow and monorail pretty good still. Great views on all 3 peaks, though Jennings still has my favorite vote. The snow from Jennings to Sandwich right before the final climb is very crunchy. We took Drakes Brook back like everyone else and it was BY FAR easier. Just kind of long. The other river crossing before getting back to the trailhead was doable with careful footprints. We were dry.”

Trail: Smarts Brook Trail, Sandwich Mountain Trail

Conditions: Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Wet/Sticky

“No views out there today, but we had a great time taking the lesser-hiked-winter-path to Sandwich Dome. We wore snowshoes from trailhead to trailhead, but if you're OK with a little bit of ice at the very start of the hike, bare-booting up to about 2,000' would have been reasonable. One in our group tried using spikes, but she quickly gathered a massive clump of snow that, combined with the water from the open water crossings, stayed on the poor spike for the rest of the day. There's pretty minimal snow down low--just a little new powder (1" or so) from overnight that our 7 sets of snowshoes easily packed down. As the trail ascends, the snowpack becomes a little deeper with new snow reaching maybe 2", though the snowpack remains very low for this time of the year. There wasn't anyone else heading up Sandwich Dome today, and we had first tracks on the upper, more commonly hiked portion, of this route. While there are noticeable remnants of snowshoe postholes from last weekend, most of them are filled in enough to not be a major issue. Along the upper section of the Sandwich Mountain Trail, a monorail--stable and still pretty wide--is very much visible as the snow off to the edges starts to melt down. Overall, conditions are typical of what one would find in ~early April.”

Trail: Sandwich Mountain Trail, Jennings Peak Spur, Drakes Brook Trail

Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder

“Sandwich Mountain Trail was broken out nicely from the parking lot to Jennings peak with some minor post-holing closer to Jennings as the snow got softer. From Jennings Peak to Sandwich dome, the trail was windblown and covered over. I broke it out from Jennings to Sandwich dome. The snow is soft here but not too bad. There's several blowdowns to Sandwich dome, but none of them too hard to go around or under. Drakes Brook Trail was broken out with about 5 inches of power on top. Again, I was able to pack that down w/ my snowshoes.”