Little Haystack Mountain, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Truman, Mt. Lafayette - Falling Waters Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Greenleaf Trail, Old Bridle Path - 11-16-2021

Hiking Trail Conditions Report
	Peaks	Little Haystack Mountain, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Truman, Mt. Lafayette, NH

	Trails:	Falling Waters Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Greenleaf Trail, Old Bridle Path

	Date of Hike:	Tuesday, November 16, 2021

	Parking/Access Road Notes:

	Surface Conditions:	Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Postholes

	Recommended Equipment:	Snowshoes, Light Traction

	Water Crossing Notes:	All easily managed

	Trail Maintenance Notes:

	Dog-Related Notes:

	Bugs:

	Lost and Found:


	Comments:	1-2" of fresh snow in the lot and at lower elevations. Three parties ahead of me broke trail up to Shining Rock Spur, making easy going. Microspikes were optional, with the obvious benefit of added traction and the drawback of accumulated ice balls underfoot. 3-4" inches of fresh snow above Shining Rock, where I took the lead. As expected, Franconia Ridge alternated between bare/icy rock and knee deep drifts. I opted to stick with microspikes for faster and more agile movement over the rock at the expense of some postholing. Conditions on Lafayette summit were 20 degrees F, winds 30-45 mph, visibility of ~100-150 meters. Switched to snowshoes for the descent from Lafayette to Greenleaf Hut, where the fresh snow was consistently deeper and route finding was challenging at times. Arrived at Greenleaf Hut at 3:15. Several parties had broken trail to the hut earlier in the day, through 2-3" of fresh snow. Temps had apparently warmed slightly above freezing at this elevation earlier in the day and were now dropping, the exact conditions that made it frustratingly easy to constantly accumulate ice balls in one's spikes. Accordingly, I opted to go the final three miles on Old Bridle Path without spikes, which was slippery but tolerable.

	Name:	Vane

	E-Mail:

	Date Submitted:	2021-11-18

	Link:	https://
		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.