| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Flume, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Lincoln Woods Trail, Osseo Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, April 4, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Not a lot of cars there today. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow - Spring Snow |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Nothing significant |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Up high with the snow base high and snow on the branches, there are lots of face slappers and/or snow dumpers. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Pepper had an easy day overall. I treated his paws with Vaseline but not as thoroughly as usual thinking icing wouldn't be an issue. The new sticky snow did form a few snowballs, but nothing significant. The trail supported his weight easily so it was an easy hike for him. On Flume's summit ridge he did much better than me in the strong gusty winds; being low to the ground with four legs has its advantages. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
After a short stretch on Lincoln Woods I switched to snowshoes for the traction as mealy snow dominated. On the initial Osseo it was a mix of spring snow and ice but higher up it the trail snowshoes were essential on a soft and narrow monorail, although it was rarely above the snow around it. Even with snowshoes I punched through the rail every once in awhile, as had someone else in the past couple of days. There were some older boot postholes on the side as well. It was a bit better above 3000'but not as good as I expected. Up high maybe 2" or so of new snow had fallen, but where the wind was present it had drifted to 3-4". The new snow had coated the tree branches which were often bent into the trail.
We started in very light rain, it then turned to snow which melted on contact with us, then came accumulating snow and wind. We must have hit the summit when the cold front was coming through, because it blew me around pretty good. I really relied on my poles and sometimes the trees to stay upright. I used a short whack around the chimney since a slide there would have been serious, and it was icy and the wind was gusty. In the short time I was on it, my clothes froze. I should have put on my goggles too; the blown snow felt like sandblast. There were no views in the clouds. At that point I decided to skip going over to Liberty. There were no signs anyone had come from that direction. On the way back sections of our tracks had blown in but with a GPS (global positioning schnauzer) following the packed section of trail was easy. We didn't see anyone all day except a few on Lincoln Woods including one skier. At the end of the hike there was some sun between flurries. It was early spring to start and full blown winter on top, and a bit of both on the hike out. The hardest part of the hike was getting off and then back in on my dirt road. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
windriversjohn at gmail dot com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-04-04 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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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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