| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Pierce, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Crawford Connector, Crawford Path, Webster Cliff Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, March 8, 2026 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Crawford Connector parking area is icy, particularly the entrance road leading to it, but otherwise in good condition. It did not fill up today. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The one major crossing, right where Crawford Connector meets Crawford Path, has a bridge (good thing, too, since Gibbs Brook was raging today). On Crawford Path, the snowbridges are all holding so far, with the exception of one that is a simple step-across. We could hear water flowing under the snowpack in several places (and see it in a couple of places too, at the bottom of postholes). |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Only one blowdown, and it was an easy step-over. Evidence of several other blowdowns having been cleared. Signs are all in place. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw two. They seemed to be doing better than the humans. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
An AirPod had been placed on an exposed rock on the side of the trail. |
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|
 | Comments: |
Knowing that the route to Pierce via Crawford Path is always well packed out in the winter, we both started off in spikes. There were numerous postholes on either side of the packed trail, but we were mostly able to stay on top of the solid, packed-out part. Gibbs Brook was roaring today. Heading up Crawford Path, there were plenty of postholes alongside the trail in some places, but still some nicer, smooth sections. The ratio of postholed sections to smooth sections would gradually swing more toward the postholed sections as we ascended, due to hikers coming down who didn't have the winter hiking experience necessary to know how to stay on the packed trail (and some of these hikers didn't even have any traction - they were literally barebooting), and therefore were postholing frequently. My hiking partner put her snowshoes on partway up, but I stubbornly kept my heavy-duty spikes on, trusting in my experience. Luckily, I only postholed a few times going up. This was good, because postholing is definitely something that should be avoided on the upper part of the trail - the snow is very deep, and some of the postholes we saw were more than four feet deep. I know the snow was that deep because my walking stick is 125 cm long, and I could push it entirely into the snow so that only the top was barely poking out. In addition, many of those deep postholes had running water underneath - we could see it far below. Once the trail breaks out into the scrub, the packed section gets even narrower, and I'd definitely recommend snowshoes there because postholing could be dangerous since the trail goes across a steep sidehill. When turning onto Webster Cliff Trail, immediately bear right up a steeper pitch - there are tracks that go straight but they lead to a dead end. Once you're up that pitch, the trail is easy to follow to the summit of Pierce.
Eisenhower, Isolation, Kearsarge North, and many other mountains were in the clear, though Mt. Washington was in the clouds. For the descent, I put my snowshoes on to lessen the chances of postholing. The trail continued to deteriorate in the afternoon - the number of postholes increased, and sometimes they were surprisingly close to the center of the trail. In a few places, the trail was getting very slushy with liquid water. The only people who should've been wearing anything but snowshoes are people who 1) had a good sense of balance, and 2) had enough winter hiking experience to know how to stay on top of the packed trail. However, with the weather continuing to stay warm, I'd recommend everyone wear snowshoes on this trail, since even the solidly packed areas were becoming somewhat less solidly packed by the time we got down to the bottom.
This was still a fun hike though - the snowy woods and ice formations are beautiful. We stopped by Gibbs Falls on the way down, and it was roaring, with lots of interesting ice shapes above. All of the connecting trails - Mizpah Cutoff, Crawford Path toward Eisenhower, and Webster Cliff Trail toward Mizpah Hut - looked less traveled. Snowshoes would definitely be required for any of them, and you'd probably still be postholing. Saw plenty of other people out, and they all seemed to be taking their postholing in stride. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2026-03-08 |
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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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