Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
Mt. Flume, Mt. Liberty, Little Haystack Mountain, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Truman, Mt. Lafayette, NH |
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| Trails: |
Liberty Spring Trail, Flume Slide Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Greenleaf Trail, Old Bridle Path |
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| Date of Hike: |
Saturday, December 21, 2019 |
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| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
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| Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Slush |
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| Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction, Ice Axe |
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| Water Crossing Notes: |
Several water crossings on Flume Slide Trail that are all doable, and pretty straightforward with poles. |
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| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
No major blowdowns |
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| Dog-Related Notes: |
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| Bugs: |
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| Lost and Found: |
Found: Sunglasses (on Flume Slide) |
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| Comments: |
tl;dr: We did the hike with just Hillsound Trail Crampons / Microspikes, along with poles and ice axes. Bringing real crampons is probably the right call for the Flume Slide Trail. Snowshoes would have made the travel from Flume to Little Haystack easier.
Liberty Spring Trail to the fork is in great shape; spikes are adequate here.
The lower part of Flume Slide Trail has some big water crossings, but they were fairly straightforward; poles were helpful for some.
The steep part of the Flume Slide Trail is full of ice, and it's tough without full crampons. We did it with Hillsounds/Microspikes and ice axes, with no slips or falls, but it took a lot of effort and concentration. Crampons would have been better.
The Franconia Ridge Trail from Flume to Little Haystack has 2-6" of unpacked snow (worse on the Liberty--Little Haystack part), which makes for slow travel with just light traction. Snowshoes would work better here.
Little Haystack to Lafayette was in perfect shape; Hillsounds/Microspikes were great here.
Greenleaf Trail and Old Bridal Path were in great shape. We were heading down these trails, and we trail ran the whole way with our Hillsounds/Microspikes. |
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| Name: |
Anish A |
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| E-Mail: |
aathalye@me.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-12-21 |
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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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