| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Lafayette, Mt. Truman, Mt. Lincoln, Little Haystack Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Old Bridle Path, Greenleaf Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Falling Waters Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, January 21, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The OBP / FW lot is plowed out in both directions and wide enough for parking on both sides. Which is a good thing since it was packed today. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The FW crossings are mostly open but water levels are so low that even I could cross them no trouble at all. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
OBP is pristine. Wowza. FW has two really new stepover blowdowns between the uppermost water crossing and the first hard left turn in the trail. Based on the tracks, looks like both happened during Thursday’s snow. Both could be managed with s hand saw. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
I was amazed to see two dogs today. One coming off Lafayette as I was ascending and one coming up to Little Haystack as I was coming down. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
It looked like someone decided to leave unwanted clothes during their climb up FW trail. I left them be with the hopes that the owner hiked an OAB. |
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 | Comments: |
Clockwise loop for me today; not the typical way that I hike this. It looked like about 40% of the traffic was this direction and 60% ccw. I soloed but was never really alone because I saw at least 55 people. Clockwise was a good plan for me because there are two spots that have given me trouble in the past. Agony Ridge, and the no-fall zone just below the Lafayette summit. Going up for both of these was preferable today.
Agony Ridge was sort of amusing. I watched a guy in crampons really struggle to get up it, then a guy in regular microspikes sailed right up. The next guy struggled in regular microspikes so he came back down and put on crampons and then did just fine. I was wearing “trail crampons” and was nervous but sailed right up no problem. You will definitely need some sort of traction but I can’t honestly say what is best.
The whole loop got really minimal snow in the Thursday night event. I wore snowshoes for about a mile of OBP on the way up but it was so bony that I switched to my trail crampons and completed the rest of the route in them. There is just enough snow that everything feels pretty grippy. Most people were in some sort of spikes, a handful were in crampons, and two people were in snowshoes. I saw lots of snowshoes taking rides on people’s backpacks.
When I got to the no fall zone just below the summit of Lafayette I watched in horror as a guy coming down took a running start and then butt slid it. I think that I stopped breathing. Near the point of no return he executed some sort of crafty maneuver that looked like a snowboard trick, and it turned out he had on snowshoes. He walked past me nonchalantly and wished me a good day. I’m not sure when I started breathing again; I am an old lady and I was really worried for his safety.
The winds were strong but not enough to knock anyone over. The undercast was spectacular.
Fine day on the Ridge. |
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 | Name: |
Bikecamphikegirl |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-01-21 |
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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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