| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Garfield, Galehead Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Gale River Road, Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Frost Trail, Gale River Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked across the street from Gale River Rd entrance in the plowed out area. Obviously, don't block the snow-mo trail. Road walked to the Garfield entrance of Gale River Rd. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
As you would expect, the Garfield Ridge Trail between Garfield and Galehead is a disaster of blowdowns and leaners. Any time I was able to walk not hunched over to duck through spruce leaners for more than 50 yds was joyous. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Bare booted the first 6 miles to the junction of Garfield Trail and Garfield Ridge trail, then snowshoes for the climb up to Garfield, which is pretty steep. Once heading towards Galehead on the Garfield Ridge Trail (GRT) the real challenge began. Nora and Kiran (trip report from Sunday) had broken it out, which was a Herculean task. Not just dealing with the deep, untracked snow, but there are so many blowdowns that navigation is a challenge...having their route to follow was huge. Someone came from Galehead to Garfield on Monday, but even with 3 sets of snowshoes, the snow is deep and unstable even in the track. I was a bit anxious about the steep section coming down from Garfield which is a waterfall in the summer, but there is so much snow that this section was no problem (I butt-slid down). It was an exhausting 2 miles, pushing around, over, through the spruce leaners was as tough as the deep and loose snow. Even with a shell on, I was soaked and when I finally got to the comparatively well coiffed Gale River trail heading up to the hut, where I took a much needed snack break on the porch, which on a sunny day is delightful. Put on dry stuff, and headed up to Galehead for a few more spruce interactions, then the long slog out. After the first 2 miles down from the hut, which is fairly steep, I went back to bare boots for the rest of Gale River Trail and the walk out on the groomed snowmobile trail aka Gale River Rd.
You 100% need snowshoes for the Gale River Trail up to the hut and then to the summit above 3000' and obviously if you are dumb enough to go for the GRT between Galehead and Garfield. |
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 | Name: |
Borealis |
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 | E-Mail: |
kdwelch1@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2026-02-03 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.strava.com/activities/17278098347 |
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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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