| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Liberty, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Bike path, herd path, Liberty Spring Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, March 19, 2023 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of room at the northbound Basin parking area - it's plowed and in pretty good shape. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All crossings were straightforward rock hops, and previous tracks told you where to step. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
One duck-under in the upper half of the trail. A tree next to the trail in the upper part was actively creaking and cracking - if it breaks, it will probably need to be cleared from the trail. A few open wet areas in the lower part of the trail - they were mostly frozen today, but could be very muddy in the spring. Signs were all in place. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw one - it seemed to be doing fine. |
|
 | Bugs: |
LOL! |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing. |
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|
 | Comments: |
This was a fun out-and-back to Liberty with Kwi. The bike path is well packed out from the snowmobiles. The herd path connecting to Liberty Spring Trail is of course not signed, but if you're looking for it, you can't miss it. It was in good condition - the warmer temperatures yesterday plus the hard freeze overnight turned it nice and solid, and it was easily done in spikes with no postholing. Liberty Spring Trail was much the same - spikes were perfectly sufficient and we never postholed. Further up, on the steeper section, the snow was a bit looser, but the base was still very solid. Snowshoes might have been useful for the televators, but they would've had to have aggressive traction to not slide backwards on the long steep section. It was very windy climbing up the rocky summit cone of Liberty, but nothing particularly dangerous. I switched to Hillsound Trail Crampons for the descent, and they gave me very good traction on the steep sections.
It was partly to mostly cloudy for most of the hike, with a few snow flurries on the way down. We saw about 10 other people, including four guys who were doing a hike as part of a bachelor party. Everyone was having a good time. This was my first hike with 3,000 vertical feet of climbing since last fall, as well as my only 4000-footer this winter. |
|
 | Name: |
GN |
|
 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2023-03-19 |
|
 | 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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