| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
South Baldface, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Baldface Circle Trail, Slippery Brook Trail, Baldface Knob Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, March 8, 2026 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of room- only one other vehicle (a small bus) at the Baldface Circle trailhrad at the start, two different vehicles at the end. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Blue, Wet/Slippery Rock, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Mud - Significant, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
No major issues, although the ice bridges were starting to weaken to the point of breaking. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Originally planned to do both South and North Baldface, but called it at South due to extremely sloppy trail conditions. Read on for more deets...
Started the hike shortly after 8:30 AM. Trail/snow conditions were pretty solid... for the first mile and a half or so. After that point, the temperature spiked and the conditions rapidly deteriorated, becoming a complete slopfest in the alpine zone. Despite the trails being broken out, I still postholed despite wearing snowshoes, and sometimes postholed one to two feet or more. The last 0.5 mile to the summit of South Baldface was a mixed bag- the first .2 mile of that 0.5 mile was almost completely snow and ice-free (albeit extremely muddy in spots), and the 0.3 mile after that had the deepest, softest, most unstable snow of the hike. Televators/heel-lifts were useless because they'd just throw off my balance. The summit was pretty much bare rock/ground.
As tedious as the going was, it was worth it IMO- the mountain and the views of and from it were a real spectacle (enhanced the snowy landscape), and the alpine sections of the Baldface Knob Trail had an "out west" feel to me in that it reminded me of some of the big mountain hikes and climbs I've done out in the Cascades, Rockies, and Sierra Nevada.
It may still be winter on paper, but it was full-on spring conditions today, and it's only going to become more pronounced over the next few days with the even warmer temps forecasted. Might be time for me to start planning out my "mud season/spring thaw" hikes in southern NH, southern New England, and the Catskills... |
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 | Name: |
Spencer |
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 | E-Mail: |
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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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