| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
South Baldface, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Baldface Circle Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, January 2, 2017 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking lot plowed...2nd car in the parking lot this morning, about 7 when I left |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Just a bit of running water, but easily crossible |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Great trail with no Maintenace notes to mention |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
No dogs seen today on the trail, but looks like yesterday there had been one up there |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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|
 | Comments: |
The bottom portion of the trail going to S. Baldface was well packed (believe there were 4 backpackers that used snowshoes up and down in previous days, a few barebooter tracks, and skiers) up to the shelter. After that, a gentlemen before me had to break trail. Snowshoes could have been used for about 15 minutes until you hit the ledges. I used microspikes for about .5 mile before I had to pull out my full crampons in order to get up a solid ice encrusted boulder. Probably could have found a way around it, but was tired of sinking up past my waste in the snow. The last .5 mile to the summit (from the trail intersection) started out desiring microspikes, about 20 steps of snowshoes, another section of needing only microspikes, and then once you hit the trees, snowshoes the rest of the way up, and even then the gentlemen in front of me and myself often found ourselves up to our knees or further in certain areas. Exhausting .5 last half mile as it looks like everybody since last Thursday only made it to the intersection where the Baldface Loop Trail turns North, go straight to summit S. Baldface, or turn South to possibly go down Slippery ? Trail. My plan was to head down this last way because it looked like at least a couple people had used this trail from where it branched off near the bottom, but I quickly found myself once again in drifts well above my knees so I turned around and came down the same way I climbed up.
As for what the trail to N. Baldface looked like, from the bottom of the trail, where it splits off, it looked as if a single person had done the loop bare-booting it. From the top it was hard to tell because a person could rock hop quite a bit for a short way North or South. When I headed back down to the car, the same intersection at the base of the mountain (.7 miles in) seemed to indicate that at least another person attempted the climb to N. Baldface. Sorry I don't have any more information on that. |
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 | Name: |
Geico |
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 | E-Mail: |
sbcatcher11@hotmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2017-01-02 |
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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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