| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Garfield, Galehead Mountain, South Twin Mountain, North Twin Mountain, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Gale River Road, Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Frost Trail, Twinway, North Twin Spur, Gale River Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, April 16, 2022 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the winter lot on Gale River Road. It's free of snow, ice, or significant mud. Only one other vehicle when I arrived at 7:15AM and when I left at 4:00PM. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All crossings were easy today, low enough to pick a path across rocks and keep feet dry. It is currently raining and water levels could increase quickly however. However I did get a foot wet descending GRT below the tent site, the waterfall was running good today. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few smaller blowdowns on GRT, easy to get around or over. NTS is clear. GRT has a couple stepovers. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Didn't see any today but there are plenty of paw tracks. These are fine trails for dogs. |
|
 | Bugs: |
|
|
 | Lost and Found: |
|
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
The snow/ice starts to appear on Garfield Trail between 2,600-2,700 ft. but is not consistent. The sections above that often have running water are free of snow. The base doesn't become consistent until well over 3,00 ft. and the track decently stable and wide enough to easily stay on. I barebooted most of the way but chose to toss on Hillsounds on the last couple switchbacks at about 3,500 ft. Any ice was soft today and easy to get spikes to bite. Last minute decision to leave the snowshoes behind at the truck was the wrong one. Garfield Ridge Trail is much softer and only sees a small fraction of the traffic as GT/ GRT. The track is narrow and lined with many deep postholes in sections, stepping slightly off and you will sink well past the knee. I was able to mostly avoid postholing myself (with some exceptions) using careful foot placement. This really slowed my pace though. While you could sink if stepping off track in snoeshoes it would make it much easier to land on the track. The trail is much more supportive after the GRT junction, as well as Frost Trail. Twinway up to South Twin is decent, only a few spots of soft blue ice. NTS was in great shape to North Twin.
Super windy on the Garfield this morning. The wind was still whipping pretty good on each of my passes over South Twin, by now it was snowing pretty good. Low visibility being socked in with blowing snow but a there were a couple breaks in the clouds granting some sweet window views into the pemi. For the last few miles on GRT until back to my truck it was all rain, becoming heavy at times, and around 40 degrees.
This hike added Galehead to the list of peaks gridded for me, and my 11/12s for Garfield and the Twins .Only saw three other hikes all day, two of which being a pair of familiar faces. |
|
 | Name: |
Kyle L |
|
 | E-Mail: |
|
|
| Date Submitted: |
2022-04-16 |
|
 | 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. |
|
