| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Liberty, Mt. Flume, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Bike path, herd path, Liberty Spring Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, May 10, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
First one in the northbound Basin lot in the morning. Upon returning, the lower lot was full (with a few Massachusetts plates parking in non-spaces) and the upper lot was about a third full. Overall, most of the plates were out of state. Only saw three folks on the trails, so presumably most of the cars were there for the bike path or the Basin itself. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Hoppable on slightly submerged rocks. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Large blowdown below the Flume junction, and large one above the camp site. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Winter conditions have returned. I brought snowshoes more as a safety item, but ended up using them early on, and would not have made it to Flume without them.
Bike path is snow free with a few inches in the woods. Herd path up to the turn had a couple of inches of snow, but is melting quickly since the ground isn't frozen. A few yellow violets and bellwort in bloom with trout lily trying to break through.
Liberty Spring Trail was bony past the water crossings and into the softwood. A couple of inches down low, increasing to six inches further up. Shortly after reaching the softwoods, there was residual snow/ice underneath the new powder. Microspikes would not have been useful due to the amount of powder and the consistency of the ice under it. I was working a lot more than needed by booting, so the snowshoes went on at this point. By the time I reached the camp site, there was 6-8" of powder (actual powder this morning, not wet stuff) on top of the existing snowpack, and it was flurrying. Up on the ridge, a few drifts were closer to 2 feet of powder. A couple of blazes were at ankle/shin height above the snowpack. A few random gotcha postholes hiding from postholers of yore. The ledgy areas are fairly clear.
Mid-winter powder conditions between the peaks as well, generally 6-12 inches on top of the existing snowpack of multiple feet. Not too far from the summit of Flume, I hit a few drifts that were more than knee deep with snowshoes. I couldn't imagine trying to bareboot through these, as the powder was probably 3-4 feet deep, on top of the existing snowpack.
I only encountered three other hikers on my descent, all of whom were well prepared with snowshoes. Thanks to this, the descent in the upper elevations was about the smoothest I've had on these peaks in many years.
Things got a little sticky below 3,000 feet, and one could tell the powder on top of previous bare ground (below the soft woods) was going quickly in the sun.
Conditions will change quickly, but the moral of the story is that, particularly in these circumstances, snowshoes should be at least carried when heading into the higher elevations. The colder than average spring, along with this recent powder, may result in the snowpack hanging on longer than normal at elevation. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-05-10 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos |
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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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