| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Flume, Mt. Liberty, Little Haystack Mountain, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Truman, Mt. Lafayette, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Cascade Brook Trail, Liberty Spring Trail, Flume Slide Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Greenleaf Trail, herd path, bike path |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, August 10, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Spotted my car at the Old Man Viewing parking lot at the Tram exit. There is a lot of parking there and I have never seen more than a dozen cars in this big lot. Easy to jump on Cascade Brook Trail where it crosses the Parkway early in the morning if you have someone that can dump you off at the end of the on ramp. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Little water out there, Flume brook easily rock hop-able. Flume Slide was bone dry. My first time across the new large bridge at outlet of Eagle Pond below Greenleaf Hut--my goodness after a 100+ years of rock hopping?? |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The herd path from bike path to Basin parking there are lots of revegetation signs to mark where the herd path on Liberty Spring Trail. New 10" birch tree across Flume Slide Trail halfway between stream & Flume Brook. 7" Spruce across FRT between Liberty Springs intersection and Little Haystack and gosh this section could use some serious brushing. Looks like the string guardrail is working to keep people on the trail, that's a good thing. Heartbreaking that most all the water bars have failed on Greenleaf Trail below the hut, especially below Eagle Pass it is slowly becoming a trench in many places. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
I only saw a couple of dogs and they looked happy even though it was so hot |
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 | Bugs: |
nope |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Got up early and decided I should go up the Flume Slide Trail, go across the FRT and down Greenleaf, so I did. I passed one fellow on the Flume Slide Trail before crossing the Brook--he was doing a hut to hut trip and was headed to Galehead. I saw a handful of people on Flume and more between the peaks but I had Liberty all to myself. At Liberty Spring Trailhead passed by a couple AT Nobos. Brushing needs to be done between Liberty and Little Haystack. Small crowd on Haystack. Nice meeting Dillon on the trail and hiking together with you Dillon for awhile on the Ridge! It was hot out there and rarely a breeze. Hazy, fuzzy view of even nearby Twins and Bonds, Mt. Washington was an occasional outline. On Lafayette, I gave a Nobo hiker my last liter of water after I asked him how he was doing and he answered "Dry". He asked me if I was sure I could spare it, I told him I'd get more at the hut in just a mile and he happily took it. It was so hot and it is a long ways to Garfield shelter's spring. I didn't see any Pemi-loop runners. Since my last visit at the end of May a bridge at the outlet of Eagle Ponds has been built, it sure looks like overkill. After all the bridges that have been removed and closed in the Whites why was this built? Hut Croo was busy in the kitchen, looked like they were making a scrapbook. Lots of people by the outside water spigot and I waited my turn to fill my bottle. From the hut down Greenleaf there were at least 6 people headed up and I passed two people headed down, that's the most people I have ever met on my favorite Franconia trail. In Eagle Pass ferns and grass on edge of trail were all matted down? The last big switch back, descending it is a hard left turn. I went straight for two steps and knew it wasn't right. It looks like the trail, I put a couple of sticks to block it off but needs serious brushing. Below you can see where this now bad herd path rejoins the trail and it looks like an awful way to go. The short whack to the bike path at the Old man pulloff sees a lot of use. Just before the bike path crosses under the Parkway, wow that Beaver Dam is getting tall and I would think the State might be concerned if this blows out and lets all that water go. On the bike path, um I mean the Rec Path, A family of bikers of all ages passed me headed down the Notch. Only a few cars in the Old Man Viewing Lot. Nice day, it was hot and I think it kept the big crowds away. |
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 | Name: |
Nordic_Gal |
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 | E-Mail: |
amybike@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-08-11 |
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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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