| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Flume, Mt. Liberty, Little Haystack Mountain, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Truman, Mt. Lafayette, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Bike path, Liberty Spring Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Greenleaf Trail, Old Bridle Path |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, December 21, 2021 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at paved Basin Lot for the northbound side off I-93. This lot is well plowed and salted. Lots of parking. Privies closed at this location. The privies on Old Bridle Path are open, cleaned and stocked. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All rock hoppable. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
There are multiple signs on Franconia Ridge that say to leash dogs to prevent damage to alpine vegetation. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Route:
Bike path > Liberty Springs Trail > Franconia Ridge Trail out and back to Mt. Flume > Franconia Ridge Trail > Greenleaf Trail > Old Bridle Path > bike path back to parking.
Liberty Springs: this is the AT and is well blazed in white. Footbed simple to follow. Although I donned snowshoes after the larger water crossing, I really don’t encourage them on this trail yet. There were still too many rocks under a very shallow layer of snow with several open sections of trail in the lower elevations. Once at the junction with FRT, snowshoes rule! Nice to meet you, Pat! Several persons out on this trail today.
Franconia Ridge:
- From the jct with Liberty Springs towards Flume summit, the trail is well blazed in blue all the way to Flume summit and is ready for snowshoes. I had a blast in mine. But I’m certifiably nuts, sooooooooo…
- From the jct with Liberty Springs moving towards Lafayette, the trail is part of the AT and is well blazed in white blazes with large, visible carins above tree-line. I was able to follow the trail without issue in the intermittent reduced visibility from clouds. Snowshoes do best along the ridge below tree-line. There is plenty of snow in addition to deep drifts. The person that traversed this segment Sunday or Monday also wore snowshoes. I tried to combine our prints to get a trench started.
- Once emerging above tree-line I recommend some form of traction. I used Microspikes without issue. There were numerous drifts but never long enough to warrant a change of footwear. Not as much ice as I expected, though there is enough of and it is in the precise spots where you DON’T want ice to be…
- Simple to stay on trail. All sections are broken out. I saw no other person until Greenleaf Trail.
Greenleaf Trail: large carins visible above tree-line. Uh… is this blazed? Shoot. I forget. I guess I didn’t need blazes anyway. Trail well broken out and simple to follow. Of course, in grand Whites style, the clouds COMPLETELY disappear once I’m 0.25 miles off Lafayette’s summit. Of course. Wonderful views from various points on this trail. Spike use encouraged as there is much ice and icy, packed snow.
Old Bridle Path: this is nicely blazed in yellow, broken out and very icy in spots. This trail really is snowshoe ready to start building a nice, even trench. But, I can vouch for the need for spikes right now. There is still quite a bit of potentially treacherous ice along the steeps (well nearly all the way down to where the woods open up around 2300 feet). I elected to remain in spikes as I wasn’t postholing. I didn’t realize all the views I missed when I hiked this in the rain in October. Huh. I like this Grid game! Now “officially†at 33.3% gridded. |
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 | Name: |
Remington34 |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2021-12-21 |
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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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