| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Liberty, Mt. Flume, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Bike path, herd path, Liberty Spring Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, January 12, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Basin northbound lower lot (adjacent to restrooms) was not plowed, however the upper lot (adjacent to picnic area) was. |
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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 |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Ice bridges not fully formed. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Cut out a couple of blowdowns, but a few remain. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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|
 | Comments: |
Lots of powder. Snowshoes a must.
Bike path was groomed and busy with snowmobile traffic.
Herd path to the elbow was broken out this morning, but is still not well consolidated. By the looks of it, someone had come up from the Whitehouse trailhead yesterday and turned back at the water crossing. A pair of hikers broke out from there to Liberty this morning; great effort! There was 1 to 2 feet of powder (with deeper drifts) from the back to back storms earlier in the week. Snowpack on the ridge is approaching the signs and blazes, meaning there's a good 5-6 feet. No tracks heading northbound on Franconia Ridge. Noted a set of snowshoe tracks on lower Flume Slide junction, but it looks like they were as the result of turning back.
Amazingly, some parasitic postholers came up this afternoon, clinging to their snowshoeing friends while sinking into the deep snowpack. Few were impressed with this "earning" of a winter peak. It is negligent at best to be miles away from the road in snow this deep with no flotation in tow.
I caught up to the duo coming off Liberty and took over trail breaking to Flume to return the favor. Plenty of powder and some drifts up high, make spruce traps a potential hindrance (stayed true to the trail, so did not fall into any). Did not note any tracks coming up from Osseo. Did not appear that anyone else was going between the peaks today, so the trail is not particularly consolidated.
Cold and windy (enough to move one around this morning) on both summits. Blue skies and snow covered trees made for great scenery. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-01-12 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos |
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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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