peakbagger-paul
Member
3-26-09 - Mt Liberty via Liberty Spring and Franconia Ridge Trails
I parked at the Basin lot and took the bike path to the Liberty Spring Trail, then up to the Franconia Ridge Trail to the summit of Mt Liberty. On the way back, I took the shortcut on the abandoned former Whitehouse Mill logging road mentioned on Mohamed's Peakbagging site (thanks, Mohamed). The shortcut was obvious from the sharp turn on the Liberty Spring Trail end from all the traffic it's had. I hadn't noticed it from the bike path on the way up.
The trail was well packed and the packed strip was fairly wide compared to many trails I've been on in the snow. I wore Microspikes all the way from the bike path and back again. They worked well on the way up (there were a few bare spots near the bottom), but were marginal on the way down due to softening snow. There were a few small patches of ice on the summit, but also lots of bare rock. I think crampons would have been overkill, and snowshoes were definitely not needed although I carried mine.
The views from the summit were good but a little hazy and clouds were starting to move in. I had considered taking the Franconia Ridge Trail to Little Haystack and the Falling Waters Trail down, but (1) The Franconia Ridge Trail was less traveled north of the Liberty Springs Trail, (2) The Microspikes probably wouldn't have been good enough for the Falling Water Trail's icy spots, and (3) Rain was on the way.
It was a good day. The walking was fairly fast due to the hard surface and wide packed area, the temperature wasn't too cold or too warm (except for cold wind on the summit), and I didn't see anyone else on the trail.
I parked at the Basin lot and took the bike path to the Liberty Spring Trail, then up to the Franconia Ridge Trail to the summit of Mt Liberty. On the way back, I took the shortcut on the abandoned former Whitehouse Mill logging road mentioned on Mohamed's Peakbagging site (thanks, Mohamed). The shortcut was obvious from the sharp turn on the Liberty Spring Trail end from all the traffic it's had. I hadn't noticed it from the bike path on the way up.
The trail was well packed and the packed strip was fairly wide compared to many trails I've been on in the snow. I wore Microspikes all the way from the bike path and back again. They worked well on the way up (there were a few bare spots near the bottom), but were marginal on the way down due to softening snow. There were a few small patches of ice on the summit, but also lots of bare rock. I think crampons would have been overkill, and snowshoes were definitely not needed although I carried mine.
The views from the summit were good but a little hazy and clouds were starting to move in. I had considered taking the Franconia Ridge Trail to Little Haystack and the Falling Waters Trail down, but (1) The Franconia Ridge Trail was less traveled north of the Liberty Springs Trail, (2) The Microspikes probably wouldn't have been good enough for the Falling Water Trail's icy spots, and (3) Rain was on the way.
It was a good day. The walking was fairly fast due to the hard surface and wide packed area, the temperature wasn't too cold or too warm (except for cold wind on the summit), and I didn't see anyone else on the trail.
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