| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Flume, Mt. Liberty, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Bike path, Liberty Spring Trail, Flume Slide Trial, Franconia Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, January 2, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
No prolbmes parking at the Flume visitor center. Probably 6-8 cars at 9:30am. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction, Traction, Ice Axe |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Needed to get creative on some of the stream crossings on the Flume Slide trail, walking up and down the embankment to find suitable areas for crossing. Rock ice was solid and allowed for safe passage. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
One big blowdown on Flume early on. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
NA |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Made the trip up to the Notch Friday morning to do the Flume/Liberty loop, barely missing the 35 car pile up by about 25 minutes. Saw a rolled over truck and other cars off the road near Plymouth. The squall tapered off by Campton. Parking lot at Flume had sheer ice covered by light snow on the sidewalks--be careful, walking on that was more dangerous than the trails! Used microspikes on the bike path and for the first several miles until we reached the start of the steep climbing up Flume Slide, where we switched to Kahtoola K10 3/4" crampons. These were necessary for the steep icey sections that followed. Microspikes would have been really pushing it. Definitely bring an ice axe for this route, as you will need it to get up and over the several steep ice flows safely. There was a solo hiker somewhere ahead of us--they were also using crampons and an ice axe. Temps at the top were manageable, but it was very windy. There are a few post holes along the ridge, but overall the trail was in good shape on Friday. Be careful on the slim ridge to Flume, as it was very icy and exposed. Wind really buffeted us on this section (25-35mph at least), so be advised, if you loose your balance here, you're likely dead. Saw hikers pitching a tent on the platform on the way down Liberty Springs, but other than that we had the trail pretty much all to ourselves. Switched on the headlamps for the last 3 miles. |
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 | Name: |
Jeremy Cote |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-01-05 |
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 | Link: |
 http:// |
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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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