Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
Mt. Flume, NH |
|
| Trails: |
Lincoln Woods Trail, Osseo Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail |
|
| Date of Hike: |
Sunday, December 15, 2019 |
|
| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lincoln Woods was about as empty as I've seen in it in daylight in recent years. |
|
| Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Blue, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
|
| Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction |
|
| Water Crossing Notes: |
Minor via this route, but the brook and river were raging. The brook at the Osseo junction was high enough to flood a small part of the trail. |
|
| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
I cut out one blowdown on Osseo that was resulting in trail creep. Many stepovers remain, but nothing too bad. |
|
| Dog-Related Notes: |
Probably not a good idea right now due to the icy wood staircases. |
|
| Bugs: |
|
|
| Lost and Found: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Comments: |
Classic difficult shoulder season conditions.
Lincoln Woods Trail was mostly ice covered with occasional seeps of mud. While the ice was slippery late this morning, afternoon snow squalls coupled with above freeing temperatures resulted in a dusting of snow adhering to the ice and making it grippy enough to be (at least for me) barebootable this afternoon.
Osseo Trail flats were mostly bare this morning with a dusting of snow after the squalls. No snow on the south facing hardwood slopes, but snowpack visible across the brook on the northfacing slopes. Microspikes went on starting at the switchbacks, as the softwoods had shielded frozen granular and blue ice. Consistent snowpack start partway up the switchbacks, below the staircases.
The Osseo wood staircases were dangerous and crampons or Hillsounds would not have been overkill. Microspikes were simply outmatched by the blue ice and angle.
Above the staircases, the remaining snowpack was a good two feet. Plenty of postholes frozen into the footbed from people barebooting in the warmer temperatures. Even with the freeze at this level, the snowpack off trail was not firm enough to support boots. I didn't put on my snowshoes, but I was glad to have them for safety reasons (there's enough snow up high that if you were forced to leave the packed trail in the changing weather, you wouldn't be able to get far without flotation) and would carry them if I did this again tomorrow.
Above the Flume Slide junction, the Franconia Ridge Trail to the summit had a few tricky icy/rocky areas that outmatched Microspikes. Very windy along the ridge, in start contrast to the above freezing temperatures in the valley. |
|
| Name: |
rocket21 |
|
| E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2019-12-15 |
|
| Link: |
https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos |
|
|
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. |
|