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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Lafayette, Mt. Truman, Mt. Lincoln, Little Haystack Mountain, Mt. Liberty, NH
Trails
Trails: Old Bridle Path, Greenleaf Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Liberty Spring Trail, herd path, bike path
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, January 5, 2019
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: all lots plowed. (started at Falling Waters lot, ended at Basin lot).  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Ice - Black, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: rock hopping (cascade brook) no issues. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: a few step-overs/duck-unders. overhang branches in section between L.haystack and Liberty to contend with. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: several happy canines.  
Bugs
Bugs: actually YES. i saw two!! 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: i lost a glove (O.R., grey, light duty, duct tape patched hole in thumb) while butt sledding. not worried about getting it back, but hate to litter the trail. if you find, please pick it up and discard. 
 
Comments
Comments: Amazing day on the ridge! Plan A was to do the classing loop up FW down OBP. Ended up switching direction thinking if i got wet best to do so at end. Every kind of traction used today. Microspikes on hard packed trail most of way up Lafayette. Switched to light crampons at icy section just before summit. could have switched back to spikes at summit but opted to leave on the Hillsounds. Ridge was a mix of semi-packed and packed snow variable depth up to about 6" or so, and ice coated rock, and bare rock. Got greedy standing on Little Haystack at 1pm and feeling good. With Calm overcast conditions I decided to make a run for Liberty and Flume (ended up orphaning flume). Section between L.Haystack and Liberty Springs had been loosely broken out (thank you pemi-loopers and a few other groups), but required snow shoes. continuously dodging or plowing through branches w light powder covering along the way. Once junction at LST had been reached, it was better packed to summit of liberty. Liberty Springs was semi-hard to hard packed powder, requiring microspikes only once again. Some great butt-sledding conditions here if that's your thing. Liberty Bushwhack was easy to find and packed out. Bike path walk to Basin lot was well groomed snowmobile tracks. Special shout-out to the couple who gave me a ride from Basin to FW lot, saving me some dreaded road miles at the end of a long day. Great day to nudge my comfort level and reach my halfway point of Winter-48!  
Name
Name: Mick Coste 
E-Mail
E-Mail: mickcoste@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2019-01-06 
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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