| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Little Haystack Mountain , NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Whitehouse Trail, Liberty Spring Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Falling Waters Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, September 28, 2025 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
To our surprise, there were actually a few spots still available at the Old Bridle Path/Falling Waters trailhead just before 8 AM. It overflowed later, though, since many hikers were using the shuttle to the Cannon Mountain lot in the afternoon. Plenty of space at the Whitehouse/Liberty Spring lot at 8:15 in the morning. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
|
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Everything was easily rock-hopped. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
One blowdown on Liberty Spring Trail. Signs are all in place. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
These are rough, rocky trails, but nothing particularly dangerous for dogs. We observed a range of dog and owner behavior today. On the positive side, one dog owner approached us on the trail, said his German Shepherd has issues dealing with other people (this impressed me, since it is sadly rare for dog owners to admit that their dogs have flaws), and then literally picked up his dog and carried it past us. Unfortunately, not all dog owners today were this considerate - we also passed a group of hikers with three very loud dogs, two of which seemed to be attacking each other. None of them were on leashes, and none of the humans were making any attempt whatsoever to control these dogs. That was a bit disconcerting. |
|
 | Bugs: |
Only a few today. |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
A sweater was lying on the ground partway up Falling Waters Trail. We left it there, assuming that one of the hikers ascending the trail had left it on purpose and would pick it up on their way down. |
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
This was a beautiful and strenuous hike to finally finish my redlining of the White Mountain Guide. Whitehouse Trail is easy, and the bike path has good signage at all of its trail junctions, including where to turn off onto Liberty Spring Trail. Liberty Spring Trail is rough and rocky pretty much the whole way, but it doesn't have any real rock scrambling. The sharp right turn 0.4 miles in is well signed, and the herd path down to the bike path is a revegetation area (though it's probably not a big deal to use it when it's under a few feet of snow). The fairly large brook crossing was an easy rock hop, and it's easy to notice the spot where the trail bends to the right and the steep climbing begins. This climb is very rocky and almost completely unrelenting - definitely a good test of stamina. The Liberty Spring tentsite has a lot of signs warning about bears - their most recent bear encounter was overnight just a couple of days ago. The remaining climb to the top of the ridge was more of the same, steep and rocky, and at the junction with Franconia Ridge Trail were more signs warning hikers not to leave their packs because bears have been stealing them (we did not see any bears on our hike today).
The ridge walk on Franconia Ridge Trail over to Little Haystack had easier grades and better footing until about a half-mile from Little Haystack, when the trail gets steeper and rougher with a few scrambles. At the top of these scrambles is a wide, spectacular view to the south. This was the final section of trail that I needed to redline, and as I approached the summit of Little Haystack and the trail junction that marked my finish, I could hardly believe that my redlining journey, which had taken a solid ten years of my life, had brought me to countless places I never thought I would visit, and had given me experiences to last a lifetime, would now be over. When the trail sign appeared from behind a rock, I slowly walked over and put my hand on it, and just like that, my redlining journey was complete. We had a celebratory lunch on Little Haystack and enjoyed the views.
We still had one more big task for the day - descending Falling Waters Trail. The upper part of the trail is steep and very rough, and some of the rocks were wet, so descending it was slow. Once we reached the switchback section, our pace was able to pick up a little bit. As we descended, we passed a disconcertingly large number of hikers who were heading up, and some of them looked unprepared to do the entire rest of the loop before sundown (and clearly weren't intending to spend the night since they didn't have the gear for it). We had to tell a few groups that they were further from the top than they realized. When we reached the brooks above Cloudland Falls, there were a few spots where it wasn't obvious where the trail went, since it went across open ledges next to the brook and the blazes are faded. Cloudland Falls was very nice even though the water levels are still low. The rest of the trail was less steep, though still rocky and ledgy in places with some slippery areas.
I feel so grateful to the dozens of hikers who assisted me during my redlining journey, whether it was for just one hike or for twenty or more. This website has also been an enormous help, by providing information about trails, particularly lesser-used trails, that I could use to plan my hikes. With this hike, I feel like I have come full circle, since my first-ever hike in the White Mountains, 16 years ago, was a climb up Falling Waters Trail, and now I've finished my redlining there as well.
Thank you so much Beverly for joining me! |
|
 | Name: |
GN |
|
 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2025-09-29 |
|
 | Link: |
 https:// |
|
|
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. |
|
