| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Lafayette, Mt. Truman, Mt. Lincoln, Little Haystack Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Old Bridle Path, Greenleaf Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Falling Waters Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, April 8, 2011 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Usual wide open spaces. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Blue, Snow - Drifts, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Spring Snow |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None a problem. Some still bridged or mostly so; some are hops. Water levels are low which makes the crossings easy but the falls aren't as spectacular and they would otherwise be. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
One big walk around blowdown on OBP and another on FW. FW had another blowdown that is now an easy duckunder. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Great day for the mighty tough little dog. On the hike up Pepper could go anywhere. He had no problem above treeline and loved the views. He picked up a few leg ice trinkets on FW but no big deal. Going up FW it is likely a dog will wet their paws at a couple crossings. There were two other dogs behind us and I'll guess they had a great day too. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
OBP mostly uneven crusty up to the hut; on the steep sections microspikes helpful. On Lafayette microspikes were essential and even then care needed in places going up on a hard rough crusty and icy surface. It likely softened later and would be okay to go down with microspikes but if I had had to turn around then I'd have put the Hillsounds on. I saw some crampon tracks from yesterday. On the ridge there was a mix of solid ice, drifted snow, crust and especially south of Lincoln, bare rock. Microspikes useful in places, but in others they slowed me down protecting them. Shortly below Haystack on FW I should have put on the snowshoes just for fun as the snow was dry and unconsolidated, and hence bootprints would have flattened out by the snowshoes. It would have been fast and fun. By the stream crossings the snow was melting some. I didn't see anybody using snowshoes today but when I looked most had them, alhtough there weren't many on the trails. I only know of 3 people behind us on the OBP, 3 who came up FW who I met at Haystack, and a few near or at the lot who were just starting up. I got done before the snow really softened, however, so I would recommend carrying them tomorrow and getting an early start. Great views today under sunny skies. There was some windy times on the ridge which made it wintry so I needed my winter gear and we didn't stop long on the peaks. What a great way to spend a vacation morning away from the work computers with a great little buddy. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
windriversjohn at gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2011-04-08 |
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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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