| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Garfield, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, May 20, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
There were just a few cars in the lot on arrival. Not many others on the trail yesterday. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Going up, the first close cluster of crossings had quite a lot of water flowing. On the first of this set, we used a multi-branched birch tree that was down over the water and perhaps 50 ft upstream of where the trail hits the stream. We inched our way carefully along two of the limbs until we could put a foot down on a couple of only slightly submerged rocks. The next also made use of slightly submerged rocks. Further up, the last crossing also was done using submerged rocks. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
While most of the problem blowdowns had been addressed somewhat, and nothing really impedes travel, some later cleanup work would be useful, but most would need a bigger saw. We tossed a few trimmed branches aside. The sign at the high junction, reported down earlier, has been uprighted again; thanks to whoever did that. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
None |
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 | Bugs: |
None. They hunkered down somewhere, waiting out the cold, damp weather for a better day to bite us. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
One low gaiter, mine, which came off during our ascent, unnoticed. Someone evidently found it and left it atop a boulder on the trail, easy to notice as we came down. Thanks to whoever did that. |
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 | Comments: |
As other trip reports from yesterdays hikes have noted, above perhaps 3500 ft there had been a lot of ice on the trees. Some already had fallen off as temperatures moderated, leaving increasingly big piles of loose ice across the trail in places. The last stretch, above the junction to the top, was more uniformly covered in this loose, slushy ice, none of really adhered to the rocks. Surprisingly, the ledges around the old foundation at the top were essentially bare and dry, so we had lunch there. Then it was back down the steeps, slowly and carefully. Below the junction, we could move right along, as footing between the icy piles was quite good. The big problem by then was the frequent cascades of ice dislodging from the trees, each cascade knocking even more ice off in its fall. So for a while we were getting ice bombed. The trails were wet, and in many places were very shallow streams for long stretches. |
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 | Name: |
Pappy |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-05-21 |
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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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