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Minor snow on trail below Eagle Pass, above Eagle Pass until hut snow can be thigh deep and easy to posthole. Spikes are handy, and I saw no sign of any snowshoe use. Coming down snowshoes would have been handy to avoid adding to the postholes. Got to watch helicopters flying supplies up to...

And the White House. This is executive action taking place, not Congressional action. This foolishness at the parks and forests has nothing to do with money, and everything to do with sending a message to us peons, as Lawn Sale so elegantly stated. I'm just glad I can still go hiking this weekend!

Fantastic! That's great news. It's great to hear that there are some people with common sense in charge there. Now I'll just be hoping for some nice weather.

I'm assuming the Lincoln Woods parking lot is gated. Is that correct? I was planning on heading up this weekend, but now, who knows?

I agree. If I got a response like you describe, I would learn two things; first, the answer to my question, and second, how to better find my own answer in the future. I consider myself a pretty experienced hiker now, but compared to some of the posters here I am a babe in the woods. The...

Can I reply with a hearty AMEN? I have experienced this myself when I asked a question, and I got criticized for missing a previous answer when I had used search. I really appreciate the collective knowledge of the frequent posters, and I check the board regularly for the knowledge I gain...

Trail is still largely snow covered. At lower elevations no special equipment is needed, although the snow is getting much softer and post-holing is a risk. Above around 2,000 feet the snow gets much deeper - maybe 2-3 feet still in some places. I found snowshoes necessary to keep from...

Used snow shoes on the way up, although I saw many bare booters on the way down. Good base level of of snow all the way to the ridge top, all water crossings are bridged or easily cross-able. Traction of some sort is useful, and although snow shoes may not be necessary they were helpful in...

Overall trail is in decent condition. There is a big blowdown on the hill next to the reservoir on the Sholan Farms end of the trail. Most of the mud is either dry or frozen, so no walkarounds are necessary. No special equipment needed. Leaves and rocks are slick in some spots. Overall a...

Beautiful day for a hike. Significant ice higher up on South Twin (Twinway) with smaller amounts of snow and ice lower down. Spikes a must. Summit of South Twin is clear. Water crossing mostly easy, with some icy rocks to avoid. Trail is frozen, so the new, muddy section of Gale River Trail...

We have gone the last three years in the first week of May. No bugs, generally mild weather and fantastic hiking. We hope to head back again this coming May. I highly recommend that time of year.

We ended up going up Falling Waters to Little Haystack and across the ridge to the tentsite. We got the last emply site, and loved it. I slept in my bivy sack, and woke up to a big male black bear around 5 feet away from me. I sat up, he snuffled a bit and then took off up the trail. Nothing...

I guess I'm casual in the sense that I'm really, really slow. I love to hike, but I go at my own pace. I just got back from a 3 day backpack on the Kilkenny Ridge, so I'm not a newbie! Lot's of great advice here. It's comforting to know that somehow we'll find a spot. My daughter has...

Thanks, this is exactly what I needed to know. If the weather stays as predicted I'm hoping she can use my backpacking tent, and I'll use my bivy sack. I certainly don't mind sharing a platform if necessary to accomodate another weary hiker, I just wanted to see what our odds were of getting a...

Does anyone know how early in the day you can claim a tentsite at Liberty Spring? My daughter is visiting for two weeks from Tennessee, and we'd like to do a dad/daughter backpacking trip. We're both excited at the thought of doing a Franconia Ridge traverse, and we'd love to spend the night...

That's a great idea. I hadn't thought about it, but it would make my wife a lot happier!

Thanks for all the info and well wishes. It seems that experience is all over the place! I plan on hiking as long as it is reasonably safe to do so. I generally hike alone (I am very slow), and that will probably have to change someday. In the meantime, I will keep plugging along the best that...

Around 3 weeks ago I was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson's (I am only 47). So far my symptoms are mild, just a slight tremor in my left hand/arm which is accentuated while shivering. After the diagnosis I climbed Pierce and Monadnock up Pumpelly just to see how it would feel, and I felt...

Trail conditions are very good, but extraordinarily dry. Most of the usual pools and low areas of water are at best a bit muddy. No special equipment required. Tons of flies and a decent black fly population were noted.

Trail starts out dry, quickly gets patchy ice. After a mile or so continuous snow cover and monorail. After the cutoff the snow gets deeper, with post hole opportunities off the monorail. Spikes are handy, but not absolutely necessary. Snow and ice were very soft with the warmth.