| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Eagle Cliff (Franconia), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Bushwhack, Greenleaf Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 5, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Rather than start at the beginning of the Greenleaf Trail, I parked at the Old Man overlook exit (not signed as an exit) and bushwhacked from there. Signs there indicate only 10min parking but I came back with no ticket. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Greenleaf Trail is not blazed. Easy to follow as it had been packed down but after a fresh snow I’m not so sure that it would be. No blowdowns that I recall. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
The way I went may be a bit too steep/hazardous for a dog. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Day 125, Peak 126. 2nd hike of the day after Big Bickford Mtn next door. The sun was still out to my surprise and it was even warmer than anticipated making for a beautiful day, only hiking with a fleece for much if it.
The lower section of Greenleaf Trail is a PITA in my opinion as it parallels the road for so long so I decided to cut the distance and start from the Old Man exit as the trail is just a couple hundred feet from it. Indeed, I overshot it. Very steep to get there but doable and makes sense to me. Greenleaf Trail had seen snowshoe traffic. Not sure whether or not bareboots would be doable but I’m guessing that they would have. The trail is rather narrow and awkward at times, so a few spots where you’ve got to exercise caution as not to slip off the packed trail and slide down into the trees.
I started my whack maybe 0.1mi shy of Eagle Pass at 2950-2975ft. In reading trail reports, I saw that people come up from the backside, meaning they go just north of the pass to avoid the cliffs, then curve around to the summit. Based upon contour lines, it seemed that a shorter but not any steeper hike could be done by starting shortly before the pass, and following a minor ridge to the summit. I did it but it wasn’t easy. I do not recommend this. I started off in semi-thick woods at a moderate-steep grade. Seemed doable. Based on the contour lines, it seemed like I shouldn’t get cliffed out. Well, I didn’t get cliffed out but there were some cliffs around as it became steeper and the woods became thicker. Looked like I was in for a good time. Up to this point I’d been heading north from where I jumped off trail. Now, I trended more northeast. I finagled my way through some very steep scrub and soon came out at a flat and open area at about 3150ft. You can see this on Gaia. I was relieved except for the fact that I soon realized that this magnificently open little area was surrounded on all sides by thick scrub. I looked around for a bit and then decided I just needed to bite the bullet and push through. I climbed very steeply up the SE ridge of the mountain…actually it was more like swimming. I’ve done this sort of stuff in summer but was was my first time in winter. I was very cautious to check for ice underneath where I was stepping…luckily there wasn’t any. Even if there was, the scrub was so thick I couldn’t have fallen far!! After this hellish excursion of about 150 vertical feet, I come into the open again near the top of a climbers route. Fantastic views. A bit of a herd path through here. Then a honest to goodness herd path back into the woods and up toward the peak. I lost it at some point and just continued whacking up. I soon came into the open scrubby area on the flat summit. Not too hard to find the canister.
Hoping to not descend the way I came up, I looked for others route descriptions in the canister but as it was newly hung due to water damage, there were no routes to be found :( I still decided to follow others description of coming up the backside though the contour lines looked much closer than the way I came up. I retraced my steps almost back to the top of the climbers path at 3350ft. From here I took an easterly bearing and bushwhacked back to the trail. It was very steep but the powder slowed me down as so not to be treacherous. I swung too far to the north but eventually found my way back to trail. The powder was deeper here and it would’ve been grueling to break trail up it but the woods certainly weren’t as nasty as what I had to deal with on my ascent. I see why people go this way instead ???? Lesson learned…it’s almost like I’m too cheap to pay for Gaia and get the satellite views so I can know where the cliff bands are for when the topos lines are misleading.
I can’t believe it but this hike was barely over 2mi. About 1400ft of gain. It took me 4hrs to complete due to the difficult bushwhacking conditions. 240 more days and 259 more peaks to go… |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-03-06 |
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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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