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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Lafayette, Mt. Truman, Mt. Lincoln, Little Haystack Mountain, NH
Trails
Trails: Old Bridle Path, Greenleaf Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Falling Waters Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, January 18, 2014
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Large lot in good winter condition 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Major Falling Waters crossings partially open, but rock/log hoppable. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: No significant issues. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Pretty easy day for Pepper. I wanted to reduce icing/snowballing from the forecasted new snow so we went up OBP after applying the usual Vaseline to his paws. There were no issues today though. FW crossings are open enough a dog could easily get their paws & legs wet and Pepper did on the way down. But that was at the latter part of the hike, and there was no new snow anyway despite the forecast, so there were no icing issues. Pepper was so happy to run into Cory and Per on their long hike from LW to Little River. We saw one other dog, a happy German Shephard. 
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: I used microspikes the entire hike. I'd guess 80% of those we met were in spikes, most of the others in crampons, and a few at the end barebooting so maybe they weren't going all the way up. Surprisingly to me, the OBP had very little exposed ice; most of it was on Falling Waters. The stretch of OBP from the hut to Lafayette was mostly drifted snow slightly hardened by the wind. Same for the ridge. FW had some thin snow over ice that was a tad slippery up high, and some sticky ice bulges below that, and then a bit of ice in places thereafter, but nothing like what we've been hiking on for so long. All in all it is a fast and easy loop right now. The forecast had led today's hike being rescheduled, and I was just hoping to squeeze an easy peak in before the snow made driving hazardous. Instead it was blue sky in the Notch so we stopped for L&L. Amazingly, it stayed that way the whole hike, although we eventually saw snow clouds to the south. I didn't see any flakes until Campton on the drive home, and they weren't much. Winds were light for winter on the ridge. Great views. This has been a tough week for the mountain forecasters; they need new Ouija boards. There were a fair number of hikers on FW today, some going up rather late considering the forecast, not the actual weather. We enjoyed meeting several hikers from prior peaks this winter. Thanks for a great day Pepper.  
Name
Name: Pepper and Me 
E-Mail
E-Mail: windriversjohn at gmail dot com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2014-01-18 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense.

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