Also on this trip

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook, Mt Tripyramid, Kate Sleeper, Bushwhack, Rollins, Dicey's Mill, Walden, Square Ledge, Passaconaway Cutoff, Oliverian Brook

Trail Conditions

Notes

Scott needed the Tripyramids to grid out August. I needed Passaconaway and Whiteface. So why not do them together!? Overall a delightful day since we were able to car spot. The less traveled trails (south Tri to Whiteface, Passaconaway Cutoff, Oliverian Brook) are in very good shape with some stretches having a great sponginess to them that was a nice break from more northern roots and rocks. The only bad thing was a fun hiker who said my blue and yellow get up made me look like "Sunshine and Sky", which my knucklehead younger brother decided would be my new name. So that's just great. Do this hike with a friend. Spot a car. It's a big day but totally worth it.

Parking

Plenty of parking at 7am, and still spots open in the afternoon.

Water Crossings

All were running low and easy to cross.

Wildlife

Only a few, but for the second time this week, one hit my tonsils.

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook Trail and Mt. Tripyramid Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

I started early to try to beat the heat but still looked like I had jumped in a lake by the time I hit the first peak. The trail is mostly dry with some wet areas. Most of the mud is supportive but there are some mud pits that are not. There are rocks or logs in most of them to allow for dry feet. The steep section up Pine Bend was fairly dry but the humidity did add a few slick areas. Between the 2 peaks was dry with good footing. The trails were very quiet today. I only saw 3 people all morning. Even with the heat, this was WAY better than sitting on the couch!

Parking

I was the first one on the road today and there was one other when I finished. Just make sure your tires are off the paved portion of the road. Plenty of room to park.

Water Crossings

The water crossings were all super easy because the water levels are so low. I assessed which crossings had good water flow for filtering and filtered on the return trip. That may have been the best water ever.

Wildlife

Early this morning they were not an issue. But on my return trip I felt like PigPen from Charlie Brown with a cloud of them around my head. The cloud was just gnats that didn't bite but kept flying up my nose. Down low the mosquitoes were doing well and welcomed me with open arms.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Livermore Tr, Mount Tripyramid Tr

Trail Conditions

Notes

It was a beautiful day up on the slides of the Tripyramids, taking in the views. I hadn't been this way in over 20 years. It was time to come back so that my son could bag some 4Ks and I could remind myself what this trail entails. Honestly, the first time I hiked it, was in the South to North slide direction, i.e., the NOT recommended direction. I did fine. This time we did it the recommended way. It was also fine. Both slides are tough, but manageable and indeed offer fine views. We had fun identifying our favorite peaks. The trail in between the slides was lovely and pleasant to traverse. This hike finished August for me. Meanwhile, my son got his 21 and 22 4K as well as two more Terrifying 25 trails. Lots to be proud of today.

Parking

Plenty of parking when we arrived and when we left. It was a Wednesday, after all.

Water Crossings

All very easy. With Gortex boots, just "walk acrosses."

Wildlife

This was something we really wanted to give a heads up on: yellow jackets. We had several visiting with us while out on the slides. My son even got bit on the North Slide. The summits have a lot of buzzing flies, but none were biting. I'm not sure if I saw much in the way of mosquitos.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Livermore Trail, Mount Tripyramid Trail, Kate Sleeper Trail, East Sleeper Spur, Rollins Trail, Downes Brook Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Livermore trail was mostly very gradual, especially once we hit the road section. There was some deep mud but it was avoidable. Mount Tripyramid trail was nice and dry, and climbing the north slide was just as beautiful as when I did it in May. It was very dry so we could pretty much just march right up the middle of it. Kate Sleeper trail was well maintained and easy to follow. Near South Tripyramid, you descend a similar slide to that on Mount Tripyramid trail, which is loose and gravelly. East Sleeper spur is a little tight but easy to follow, and there is a small summit sign on the wooded summit of East Sleeper. Downes Brook trail is a bit overgrown up top, but it widens in the lower forest and is very wide and smooth. The brook crossings (which there are at least seven of) could be tricky in higher water, but that was not an issue at all and all crossings were easy to rock hop. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and felt like fall! Cool, crisp air with a nice breeze too. I could not have asked for a better day.

Parking

Livermore trail only has roadside parking, and we were the second car there at 8:30. Downes Brook trail has a big parking lot that can probably hold around 15-20 cars.

Water Crossings

There are many crossings on Downes Brook trail, all of which were easy to rock hop, but would be much more challenging in higher water. There is a section of Downes Brook trail where the trail seems to go down a section of the brook, and this section and at a couple of the other crossings it was hard to relocate the trail after crossing. There was also one easy rock hop at the start of Mount Tripyramid trail.

Wildlife

Very few, and no bites.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Downes Brook Trail, Kate Sleeper Trail, Mt. Tripyramid Trail, Sabbaday Brook Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

My route was up Downes Brook Trail and over to Mt. Whiteface, then over the Sleepers and two of the Tripyramids. From there, I went down Sabbaday Brook Trail. That's roughly 15 miles. I saw only two other hikers in the first 9 miles. Kate Sleeper Trail, in particular, feels very remote. I met lots of hikers doing the Tripyramid loop. Then nobody for most of Sabbaday Brook Trail. Of course, there were tons of people enjoying Sabbaday Falls near the end of my hike. There aren't a lot of views on this hike. Probably the best view is looking at Sandwich Dome, Jennings, Welch and Dickey from the South Tri slide. On the other hand, this is a very rugged part of the Sandwich Range. Downes and Sabbaday brooks drain some very steep valleys. I particularly enjoyed the company of Downes Brook on the ascent. Even if you only get glimpses of the landscape here and there, you feel it in your bones. It's a very rewarding hike.

Parking

Parked at the Downes Brook trailhead. Although Downes Brook Trail is not very popular, it shares a parking lot with Hedgehog and Potash. I'm sure the lot is busy on a weekend.

Water Crossings

Downes Brook Trail crosses the brook at least 10 times. Sabbaday Brook Trail crosses its namesake at least 4 times. These crossings can be difficult in spring or after a heavy rain. All crossings were easy on my hike.

Wildlife

Almost none.

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook Trail : Mt Tripyramid Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

The trails were mostly dry. Most of the mud spots have rocks to step on. The rocks near the top of the brook valley are helter-skelter with moss in places. This stretch can be slippery when wet. Dry today. The views are restricted. The tree growth is making the views more obstructed every year. The best views are to Mt Chocorua and Mt Passaconaway and at another spot on Middle Tripyramid there is a view on Mt Tecumseh and Mt Osceola. Lots of hikers out today using all approaches (Pine Bend, Sabbaday, Slide, Sleeper).

Parking

The Kancamagus Highway (route 112) has a new coat of asphalt in the town of Livermore. Parking is alongside the road (no lot).

Water Crossings

The water level in the brooks is low. Easy to cross on rocks>

Wildlife

Not many

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook Trail, Mt. Tripyramid Trail, Sabbaday Brook Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Nothing crazy to report here. Didn't see nearly as many people on the trail as you might expect for a beautiful Sunday in the summer. Trail was dry overall with a few muddy spots that you could walk right through.

Parking

Parked off the side of the road at Pine Bend Brook. Would have parked at Sabbaday, but didn't have a new, valid WMNF sticker (mine expired in June). Road walk back to the car at the end of the hike was easy.

Water Crossings

All crossings were easy to rock hop with a little care. A few crossings on Sabbaday where a tiny bit of water came up over the tops of the boots, but nothing major.

Wildlife

No major issues. Some small annoying ones as you got closer to the water crossings on Sabbaday, but not worth putting on bug spray.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook, Mt. Tripyramid

Trail Conditions

Notes

Trail is in good shape. All of the mud spots are either able to be walked around or step on rocks/trees. Everything else was dry. The new path around the erosion event about a quarter mile in from the trail head is nice and holding up well. Lots of people out enjoying themselves while hiking and trail running. All rocks/slabs were dry. Kind of disappointed that there wasn’t any snow for butt sliding a portion of this trail but soon enough, it will be back!

Parking

Both sides of the road at Pine Bend Brook Trailhead had 7-10 vehicles. Repaving of that section of the Kanc is going on so side of road and gravel is a bit more pronounced at this point.

Water Crossings

All easy to navigate and rock hop.

Wildlife

None really, except for some around the water crossing and mud spots.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook Trail, Mt Tripyramid Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Triple H weather today, overnight rains made the humidity worse. Slippery damp early, dry on the way back. Rocks on the climb were also very wet with lots of slippery moss. Really hot with little wind made for slow going. Nice breeze along the ridge just before the final climb. I had both peaks solo for a bit, with a refreshing breeze. Slower down than usual as the heat really kicked my ass. I carried 4 liters of water & had to stretch the last 1/2 liter to finish. Had my filter but really just wanted to be done.

Parking

Both sides of Rt112 pull completely off road

Water Crossings

Rock hops, easy

Wildlife

Many flyers being a PIA, not biting

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook, Tripyramid Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Mostly wanted to mention the large birch blowdown and the significant bank erosion. Kind of like the Ammo trail. Hikers will no doubt start a herd path soon.

Parking

No problems

Water Crossings

Easily crossed.

Wildlife

Not bad probably due to cooler temps.

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook

Trail Conditions

Parking

Road parking

Water Crossings

easily hoppable

Wildlife

Some bugs. Mostly they like me. Others didn't seem to have as much an issue.

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook , Mt Tripyramids trsils

Trail Conditions

Parking

Fine

Water Crossings

All easy walk across.

Wildlife

Hardly any with the cool temps and great breeze!

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook Trail and Mt. Tripyramid Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Well, this was supposed to be a rest day but after getting up at 4am and checking the weather I opted to roll the dice. The area clearly got hit with lots of rain last night. The trail was wet with water pooling and flowing in spots. There are some deep squelchy areas of mud. The steeps were wet and slick so I took my time ascending and descending. There is water flowing on that section as well but the rocks were pretty grippy. I found the ones that weren't grippy too. Things were less muddy on the Mt Tripyramid trail but still very wet. I just took my time and did fine. It was great to bump into Tom I. and his crew who are working on the NH 500 highest. I hadn't seen Tom since our fateful trail breaking hike on the Twins and Galehead last winter. The skies cleared up nicely over the course of the day. I was really glad I didn't stay home.

Parking

I was the first to arrive and got the coveted spot off the side of the road near the trailhead. There is plenty of off road parking available.

Water Crossings

I rock hopped them with good success despite being funsized! Honestly, it was pretty easy crossing today.

Wildlife

I used DEET right off the bat and had my trusty bug net ready for quick deployment but never needed it. I think just having it within sight caused them to flee. I did have to reapply bug spray before the descent to keep them at bay.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Livermore Road, Scaur Trail, Pine Bend Brook Trail, Mt. Tripyramid Trail, Pipeline XC Trail, Mt. Tecumseh Trail, Tripoli Road, Mt. Osceola Trail, Greeley Ponds Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Camped at the Waterville Campground the night before and can confirm it absolutely poured in the area for 2 hours last night. Despite this, all the trails were in really great shape. The only lengthly flooded spot was the top of Osceola where it's slabby. Mud wasn't bad at all either. Fun way to get everything with a resupply pit stop at the car parked at the Livermore lot.

Wildlife

Surprisingly Few

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook Trail, Sabbaday Brook Trail, Mt. Tripyramid Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

If you are considering taking this route in the next few weeks, I would HIGHLY advise against it. Consider doing an out and back of Pine Bend Brook Trail instead. As stated previously, Sabbaday Brook is getting dangerous to cross. Luckily, this was the end of our hike, so we just committed to getting wet with about three miles left. We started around 8:45 am, it was pretty brisk at the bottom, but no issues with the quick mile road walk. The first three miles of Pine Bend Brook Trail were in great shape. With roughly two miles to the summit, we hit the snow. Just a dusting at first, but we quickly ascended into about three inches of wet snow with the trees melting down on us so aggressively it felt like rain. We put spikes on about a mile from the summit when I took a tumble on a snowy rock. The summit of North Tripyramid was definitely uneventful, so we headed the 0.8 miles over to Middle Tripyramid after a quick lunch. The route between the two summits was fairly easy, just a few blowdowns we had to get creative around. The views from Middle were gorgeous, especially with the 5ish inches of snow up there. This was when our bad decisions started. We had planned on heading down Sabbaday Brook to see the falls and make it a nice loop hike. The hikers in front of us had all (intelligently) backtracked down Pine Bend Brook, so we had to break trail down Sabbaday Brook. Roughly two miles of wet, slippery, thick snow had us exhausted and begging for reprise. We finally made it down below the snow line and had a few blissful minutes of easy, dry hiking before our next challenge started: the river crossings. And when I say river, I mean RIVER. Intense, rushing water with a strong current that gave way to some very sketchy rock hops. The trail was difficult to track in the last three miles, as lots of it was covered by the river. We eventually hit a point where we could no longer rock hop across, and ended up just wading through in our boots. As I said before, one of the crossings was waist deep (I’m fairly short, so would likely be mid-thigh for someone taller). I cannot emphasize enough: SAVE THIS TRAIL FOR A DROUGHT. These peaks were my 26th and 27th of the 48, and I’ve spent many years hiking in the whites. This was one of the most roller-coaster hikes I have ever been on. I have never been so nervous crossing through a stream. All that being said, it was, of course, still quite fun. The views from Middle Tripyramid were beautiful, and Sabbaday Falls was STUNNING. Next time, we’ll take the slides!

Parking

We were the first car to the Sabbaday Brook lot around 8:30 am.

Water Crossings

Sabbaday Brook Trail crossings require wading through strong rushing water that is at times waist deep. Crossings on Pine Bend Brook Trail are all easy enough to rock hop.

Wildlife

A few mosquitoes and flies near the very bottom of Sabbaday Brook, but nothing up high.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook, Mt Tripyramid Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Out and back on Pine Bend Brook. Starts as an enjoyable walk in the woods along the babbling stream. A few muddy sections had rocks and branches so my feet stayed fairly clean. Steep, rocky ascent from around 2300 ft to 3400 ft in elevation. After a short walk along the ridge, the final 500 ft ascent to North was steep with a few scrambles. The hike out and back to Middle was mild by comparison. Enjoyed meeting Tom and comparing hiking lists.

Parking

Side of road

Water Crossings

Many stream crossing, easy rock hops

Wildlife

A few mosquitoes in the morning at low elevation, then no bugs rest of day!

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Fantastic views today from the Middle Tripyramid summit and no great views from North,Tripyramid, but you can see the slides walking on the ridge and several other sights looking through the trees. The first 2.1 miles was not much elevation gain and very very minimum amount of rocks on the trail which made for a pretty fast time. On the way up once you hit the steeps heading to Norrh Tripyramid Summit it's relentless, steep and scrambling in a lot of places and and just when you've had enough, you pop out on the ridge to the summit and heading over to the middle was some scrambling in places going down as well as going up, but not too difficult and not too bad. Pine Bend is definitely a trail with a string mix of gentle and steep terrain. The trail was in great shape with no blowdowns and all of the many stream crossings were easily rock hopped. Not a crowded trail, but enjoyed the solitude. Great to meet several hikers today on the trail. I enjoyed hiking with couple from Vermont from North to Middle summit and the talking with Christina comparing our hiking aspirations of the white.

Parking

Easy parking off of the road n created to the trailhead

Water Crossings

Too many to remember, but all are easily rock hopped.

Wildlife

The bugs are out.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook Trail, Mt Tripyramid Trail, herd path

Trail Conditions

Notes

Surprisingly dry and very little monorail, spikes stayed in the car. We were thinking of doing more summits than just the Tris so we added on a side quest to Scaur Peak. Summit herd path is braided and chock full of blowdowns of various shapes and sizes, rough and could be cleared up a bit, kinda wandered into the jar from the south end of the summit clearing. About the driest I've seen Pine bend and minimal mud tho bugs and heat were both nuisances on the last couple miles of the descent

Parking

Many cars at Pine bend

Water Crossings

Rock hops tho I walked thru all the streams on the descent

Wildlife

Blackfiles are alive down low merp

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Tripyramid trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

The top half of the north slide and the full south slide are both choss piles right now. Very difficult to scramble and we slipped often. Definitely go to the north slide and down the south slide. The solid portions of the north slide were wet and would probably be dangerous to descend.

Parking

No issues

Water Crossings

Several water crossings, all of them high right now. All of them but the very last coming down from south peak before rejoining the lollipop stick were passable with some creativity. We had to take shoes off for the last one and that was fine.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Livermore Road, Mt Tripyramid Trail, Pine Bend Brook Trail, Scaur Trail, Livermore Ttail

Trail Conditions

Notes

we barebooted up South Tripyramid slide, across and down Pine Bend to Scaur Trail ... small patches of icy monorail on the north side of South TriP, and trickier icy monorail patches on the north side of North TriP (upper Pine Bend Brook Trail) had enough rocks to negotiate without traction

Parking

two cars in the Livermore lot off Tripoli Road meant to check to see if Tripoli Road was open yet ... WMNF road status says it's still closed as of May 8 https://facebook.com/WhiteMountainNF/

Water Crossings

Avalanche Brook crossing was an easy rock hop

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Greeley Ponds Trail, Mount Osceola Trail, Tripoli Road, Mount Tecumseh Trail, Ski Trails, Livermore Trail, Mount Tripyramid Trail, Pine Bend Brook Trail, Scaur Ridge Trail, Livermore Trail, Old Skidder Trail, Bushwhack, Kancamagus Brook XC ski trail, Greeley Ponds Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

No traction needed anymore on any of these trails, minimal monorail in col between Osceola's. Only annoying ice is the first 0.25 miles leaving North Tripyramid summit heading down Pine Bend Brook Trail, ice can be picked around with care. Sloping ledge through the switch back descending Osceola had significant glaze ice this morning, expect this to be the norm most mornings until it stays above freezing and dries up. Other than that, trails are in the usual spring conditions for post snow; Mount Osceola Trail is eroded, rooty, rocky through the steeps. Mount Tecumseh Trail from Tripoli Road is a gem - cushy, quiet, and an abundance of Moose poop in the West Tecumseh / Tecumseh col. Ski trails were easy to hike, not too wet and the grass hasn't started to grow yet. Livermore Trail is in fine shape and dry. Mount Tripyramid Trail up South Slide is dry, final push up to South is eroded. Between the three peaks is in good shape. Scaur Ridge Trail is a joy to descend, very nice footing. Old Skidder Trail is short but a hidden gem with a semi-remote feeling to it. I bushwhacked down the abandoned Flume Brook Trail, it has quite a few deadfall blowdowns, a missing section where the trail disappeared into the brook, and an overgrown hobblebush section. Kancamagus Brook XC ski trail is mostly dry. Greeley Ponds Trail a little muddy around the ponds but overall good to go.

Parking

Slowly pull into the Greeley Ponds trailhead, there are a couple of nasty bumps that might uppercut low clarence vehicles

Water Crossings

Easy rock hops

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Livermore Trail, Mt. Tripyramid Trail, Pine Bend Brook Trail, Scaur Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

We took the Livermore Trail to the south end of the Mt. Tripyramid Trail, climbed South Slide and traversed over South, Middle and North Peaks, descending by the Pine Bend Brook, Scaur Ridge and Livermore Trails. South Slide was dry and snow-free, except for a thin layer of the graupel falling as we climbed. The monorail appeared as we descended South Peak and continued on and off (mostly off) to North Peak. More monorail/white ice covered sections of our descent on the Pine Bend Trail down to 3800' or so. We wore rock spikes from South Peak until the monorail subsided below North Peak. The Scaur Ridge Trail was in great shape as was Livermore Trail, except the one blowdown. Today's was a rewarding hike with Chris and Renee in changeable weather and reasonable trail conditions. Wildflowers line much of the route, including painted and red trillium, bellwort, wood anemone, trout lilies, spring beauty and smooth white and round-leaved yellow violets. Hobblebush and rose twisted-stalk are budding. We saw three people all day. Two of them were headed to the Camp Rich site via Kate Sleeper, so that route should have gotten some traffic.

Parking

Livermore Road parking area had only a couple of cars all day. Rest rooms were open.

Water Crossings

Avalanche Brook Trail crossing involved an easy rock/log hop. No other significant crossings.

Wildlife

Not a one.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook Trail, Mount Tripyramid Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Intermittent slick flat white ice and low unstable/slippery monorail started about (3,800’) 1/4 mile below North Tri and was like that to Middle Tri (though both actual summits were snow/ice free). Most slick stuff was avoidable. I put spikes on about 1/10th mile below North Tri and kept them on until back to that same point - mostly because it was easier than either balancing or trying to avoid the slippery parts.

Parking

No issues

Water Crossings

A dozen or so today after yesterday’s rain. All low and rock hops. Sabbaday - one person I saw on North Tri had ascended via Sabbaday and he said the water crossings were HIGH.

Wildlife

None

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Livermore Trail, Scaur Ridge Trail, Pine Bend Brook Trail, Mount Tripyramid Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

In and out hike. A great day for the Tripyramids. Livermore trail/road was bare, Scaur Ridge trail dry and in great shape, Pine Bend was bare ground until the steeps then a solid ice monorail, Mount Tripyramid Trail was a combination ice monorail mixed with a few bare spots. I put microspikes on to climb the steeps and kept them on to Middle Tripyramid and back to the base of the steeps. All the monorails were solid - mmostly flat - and grippy. No mud - no running water - no bugs. Good time to hike the Tripyramids.

Parking

Livermore Parking Lot - 1 car at 7:15, 2 cars at 1:45

Water Crossings

None

Wildlife

None - Zero

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook, Mt Tripyramid Trail, Sabbaday Brook Trail, Road walk

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Tripyramids are in really good shape. Small patches of monorail start around 3300 and continue off and on until just past the Scaur intersection. I put on spikes at that point and wore them until middle even though the monorail was off and on the whole way. Felt really adventurous, so I went down Sabbaday Brook trail. The top is always steep, but not nearly as much ice and snow as I would have expected. Still enough to wear spikes for .3 miles or so, but not overwhelming. Below the stepp section it was very pleasant. Sure, there are lots of roots and rocks to navigate, but there's also lots of moss and water to enjoy. Only saw a dozen people between the falls and the parking lot, so it was a nice quiet day. Even the road walk was pretty quiet.

Parking

3 cars near the PBB trailhead around noon.

Water Crossings

Crossings on Pine Bend were easy. Crossings on Sabbaday Brook took a bit more thinking. Or you can just wade through for a relaxing shock to the system. I opted for the latter 3 times, but you can probably rock hop with a little thinking.

Wildlife

A few buzzing around the middle summit.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook Trail, Mt Tripyramid Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Water Crossings

All rock hoppable

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook, Tripyramid Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Bare-booted all the way to Middle and back to North, then donned spikes which made the descent from North much easier. On my way up I heard some voices off trail, so I yelled: "did you miss the trail"...they finally heard me. This was at the bottom of the steeps after the last crossing. When I headed back down from North a couple hours later, they were just 'summitting'. I hope they didn't bother tagging Middle because they'd still be out there. Also passed 3 young dudes who came up Sabbaday Trail, heading for Middle. But they didn't have spikes so they turned back. Middle was easy without spikes, both up and down. In a week, this hike can be done with trail runners.

Parking

Lots of cars parked on both sides of Kanc at noonish. Still a few at 5:30 pm.

Water Crossings

All (a dozen?) easily crossed.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook Trail, Mount Tripyramid Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

On and off minimal snow starts just before the switchback through the steeps, 3300'. About a half mile before the Scaur Ridge junction, there is a shallow and narrow monorail in spots, all this can easily be barebooted up or around. Trail is down to dirt at Scaur junction for a few tenths of a mile before icy monorail comes into play the last half mile up to the summit. I put on my microspikes here and kept them on until back at this spot. Snow is softer between peaks with minimal icy spots. Pretty easy day with mild temps. A half dozen happy hikers out and about. Sarge sniffed out a Moose antler just off the trail, so I hiked it out for him!

Parking

Plenty of room on the side of the Kanc to park off the pavement.

Water Crossings

All easy rock hops at the moment

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook Trail, Mt. Tripyramid Trail, Kate Sleeper Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail, Walden Trail, Square Ledge Trail, Passaconaway Cutoff, Oliverian Brook Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Sandwich Traverse...started at Oliverian Brook TH, road a bike the 3 miles along the Kanc to Pind Bend Brook TH and locked it to a tree. Bareboots up farther than I should have...you'll want to put spikes on at the Scaur Trail junction. The monorail is consistent and solid, and gets icy near the top so might as well put them on there...it will help you stay on the monorail. Wore the spikes over to S. Try and down the steep part until it emerges onto the slide where there is no snow/ice. Went bare boots down the slide and across Kate Sleeper which has everything from bare ground to 2' deep monorail, but supportive and not icy so bare boots were fine. Microspikes up to the lookout ledges on WF as it is icy in spots, then all the way across the Rollins trail and up Dicey's Mill to Passaconaway. You could have bare booted from the 2nd half of Rollins trail coming from wf to the WF summit, but there is also ice so I chose to keep the spikes on even on the bare sections. A hiker who had come up Walden Trail (back side of Passaconaway) told me he had bare booted it and that the Dicey's Mill trail had much more ice, so I took the spikes off at the lookout ledge on the backside of Passaconaway and barebooted down Walden as well. There is still some ice requiring creative route planning, but I never regretted not having the spikes on. Bare boots the rest of the way down to Oliverian Brook TH. Any monorail/snow was pretty grippy. Grids out the Tris for me and #11 on WF/Passaconaway. Will have to find an excuse to do Kate Sleeper again, one of my favorite trails.

Parking

Parked at Oliverian Brook Lot. It is huge (could probably hold 30 cars parked poorly). There were 2 today. We parked well.

Water Crossings

Had to go ankle deep to cross Downes Brook about 2 miles from Oliverian Lot on the way out. All others rock-hoppable.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Pine Bend Brook Trail, Mt Tripyramid Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

I believe I was the only one up today, and it was just lovely. The snowstorm Saturday left only a dusting to 1/2" at most on the ridge. Some light flurries as I made my way up the last scramble to the summit. The monorail is holding together nicely after the last freeze and should be good for some time given the forecast. It starts in earnest after the last crossing, but there are traces and wet/sometimes icy rocks leading up to that. Definitely recommend microspikes (I had them on from N peak on the way up to the Scaur junction on the way down), but they're probably not even necessary, as everything is pretty avoidable, save maybe a couple dicier spots on the last summit push. Most of the monorail is snow, not ice, but it was hard to tell in spots today with the recent dusting. Better to be safe than sorry, at least coming down!

Water Crossings

All hoppable

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Pine Bend

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Bare booted until 3.5 miles in then put on spikes. The monorail was mostly stable but narrow between peaks. April conditions were good. Hike completed by 12:30.

Water Crossings

All water crossings were fine.

Also on this trip

Notes

Two days of hiking back to back. Guided by Redline Guide Chase Hall. Part of a Grid Gettin' Guest series.