| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
The Basin, Profile Lake, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Franconia Notch Recreation Path, Pemi Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 7, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We parked at the Basin East. Room for half a dozen to a dozen cars. We arrived at 9:45am and took one of the last spots. Similar situation when we got back at 3:30pm. The surface is down to pavement. Lots of ways to creatively park without blocking others and other parking areas around here so parking shouldn’t be too much of a problem. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Some awkward little things to step over. Only major crossing is on the Pemi Trail near the Basin. There was still a little bit of a snow bridge to jump across no problem. Will probably melt further tomorrow. Unless the melting tomorrow and Monday significantly increases the water level, I doubt it will be any problem. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
There is no sign for the Pemi Trail where it crosses the bike path just north of Lafayette Place Campground if traveling south. There’s a sign in the northbound direction though and it crosses immediately on the other side. I believe the guidebook mentions there’s not a sign here. Everything else was well signed. The bike path is path had no instructions and is of course easy to follow. Pemi Trail is blazed in blue (a bit faded sometimes but still quite visible) somewhat infrequently. The trail can be a bit obscure so it would probably take a bit of trail finding skills to follow in unbroken powder without a trench. Most of the trail we followed had been tracked out so we just followed others footsteps which more or less followed the trail everywhere. The trail could be brushed out a bit and trimmed back as we got whacked with branches often enough. We don’t recall any large blowdowns but there were small limbs that were hanging into the trail that were obnoxious and had to be ducked or crawled under. I tried to snap a major branch or two off one of the most annoying ones.I think there was one other blowdown near Profile Lake. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
We didn’t see any oddly but these trails should be okay for dogs as there aren’t any tough scrambles and there’s plenty of water. I’d be very careful with them on the bike path though and absolutely have them leashes as there are many snowmobiles that go through here in winter. In summer it is a bike path. |
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 | Bugs: |
None. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Picked up a red hat at the jct of the Pemi Trail with Basin-Cascades Trail. I think it was the same one that I saw there a week and a half ago and meant to pick up. I left a pair of what looked like prescription glasses (black rim) there. I also picked up a Petzl headlamp somewhere along the bike path around Profile Lake. Lemme know if it’s yours. Otherwise I’ll have another headlamp ;) |
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 | Comments: |
A very nice day out with dad :) 22F and sunny to start. I believe it was about 30F when we returned and still very sunny. The wind was present and made things much colder when it blew but not a big problem down in the notch like I’m sure it was up at elevation on Franconia Ridge (the lot didn’t look to full when we drove by around 4pm).
We took the bike path north from Basin East to the jct with Pemi Trail just north of Lafayette Campground, then Pemi Trail to its northern terminus at the Old Man of the Mtn museum, then the bike path, back to just north of Lafayette campground again, then Pemi Trail to the Basin, and the bike path a short distance to reconnect with our car (essentially did a figure 8 or loop) The bike path was of course well packed by snowmobiles and was hard and crusty in the morning. Doable with spikes but spikes will help with footing. Minimal depth. Many spots began to get soft along it in the afternoon sun. Beware of snowmobiles here although it wasn’t as busy I thought it would be for a sunny Saturday.
The last part of the Pemi Trail we did (between the Basin and the campground) was pretty solid and although had many postholes, snowshoes really weren’t necessary as Kinsman Ridge hides it from the sun. The other part of Pemi Trail we were on (between the campground and the northern terminus of the trail) was soft from the sun at times and not as well travelled. It was still generally crusty and supportive but we made frequent small divots and a couple genuine postholes unfortunately. They’ll disappear quickly with the warm weather I imagine. Unfortunately my father left his snowshoes in the car as he didn’t think he’d need them (neither did I) and while I brought mine, I brought my old Beheameth XL ones that would not have been ideal here. Furthermore, shortly after this section, you come to the tricky sidehill along the lake, where snowshoes would have been difficult to use (a small pair would be more doable). Snow depth is also fairly minimal so again, I reluctantly suggest you bring snowshoes tomorrow given the little bit of difficulty we had today and the warming temps tomorrow and Monday. I imagine shortly after that enough snow will have melted here that they will be unnecessary unless we have another big snow event.
There were bits of dry trail, wet trail, and mud usually around drainages but snow cover is still essentially complete. This will begin to change in the coming days. |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-03-07 |
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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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