Mt. Lafayette, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Liberty - 3/29/14

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Pac-man

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Joined
Jun 13, 2013
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Location
West Lebanon, NH
Trails: Bike Path, Old Bridle Path, Franconia Ridge Trail, Liberty Springs Trail, Basin Bushwhack, Bike Path

Trail Conditions: Bike path was packed out by snowmobilers and easy walking, OBP was hard packed along the monorail early in the morning, Franconia Ridge between Lafayette-Little Haystack had some snowdrifts, some bare spots, and some large areas of slush, the ridge between Haystack and Liberty was soft, heavy, and wet. Liberty springs was fast and smooth going down and then was beaten to hell by barebooters once it flattens out at the bottom.

Equipment: Used micros until Little Haystack, then snowshoes along to Liberty, micros for the descent, then snowshoes once it flattens out.

Comments: The first spring-like hike of the season! Parked the car at the Basin and walked the 1.5 miles to the OBP trailhead on the bike path. The snow was still hard packed heading up OBP to the hut and temps were only getting warmer, I'm sure within a few hours the post-holes were starting, but we had no issues in micros at the time. A beautiful time watching the clouds rise off Lafayette while we were at the hut and then the quick ascent of the summit cone led to heavy clouds and wind descending on the peak unfortunately, so no views to be had while we were up there. Once we headed to Lincoln, views were variable, but temps were warm and it a quick trip along the ridge. Every 10 feet was an adventure due to varying conditions - slush, 4' snow drifts, or bare rock. Once over to Haystack, we left for Liberty and quickly realized it was incredibly soft snow after 1 or 2 postholes. The snowshoes went on and the snow was very heavy, wet, and slow on the way over. Some duck-unders, and a few dead-end trails due to the lack of traffic and the lack of blazes along the way. Just be aware. We met a group of ~10 who said they broke the trail, which we appreciated. The trip down Liberty is always so fast, and buttsliding was almost necessary due to the slick snow. Snowshoes went back because post-holes were plentiful once the trail flattened out due to the warm sun from the whole day. Unfortunately, this whole report will probably be useless due to the weather over the next few days - but be prepared to wear snowshoes to keep the trails from being a terrible mess!
 
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