Trails Used

Dicey's Mill Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

since, it's literally been decades since I've hiked this trail without snow on it, I had no working memory of what it was like. I feel like all the stone step work is 'new' since most of the rocks were free from moss. I know some people don't like stone steps, but imo I think it help preserve the integrity of the trail by directing foot traffic. no erosion or trail braiding when you know where to place your foot. the last .2 is a bouldery rooty jungle gym of sorts. opted to come down the East loop, which I think is less so. met two solo hikers coming up that way. Passaconaway totally fit the bill today, since I hadn't been out in over a month and I will avoid the mountains during the holiday and the heat wave.

Parking

the dirt road is well graded and the lot can probably hold 30 cars if everyone parks well. a dozen when I arrived at 8:45am and a few less when I left at 2.

Water Crossings

used the log on the way up and waded across on the way down.

Wildlife

mostly down low. had to use spray for the mosquitos. lots of house flies. and the tiny bugs that go for your eyes.

Trails Used

Diceys Mill Tr

Trail Conditions

Parking

No problems

Water Crossings

Have to use the log or get wet feet.

Wildlife

Surprisingly few up high. More down low once it warmed up.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

The last good view on the hike is at the intersection of the Blueberry Ledge, McCrillis, and Rollins trails, 0.1 mile before the summit of Whiteface. Between the summits, I passed two pairs of backpackers on the Kate Sleeper Loop, but didn't see anyone else until I was descending Dicey's Mill. A pair of German hikers complimented me on my jersey, and a trail runner exclaimed "1 pm!" (kickoff) as he passed me. Nice to see some World Cup spirit!

Parking

I was the 7th car in the Ferncroft lot when I hit the trail at 5:45 am. Those before me must have spent the night up at Camp Rich, as I silk blazed Blueberry Ledge and Rollins. When I finished shortly before noon, there were only 2 spots left in the lot.

Water Crossings

There is a log crossing about halfway down Dicey's Mill.

Wildlife

Mosquitos lower down. Black flies at the summits. I kept moving, so they weren't too bad. A morning breeze kept the ledges mercifully clear of bugs.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Dicey's Mill Trail, Tom Wiggins Trail, Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Tom Wiggin’s must be what Kinsman’s Ridge Trail from the tram side must have been like before all of the erosion. If you like a challenge, Tom Wiggin Trail is for you. It’s steep, some loose spots, and generally you won’t see another soul. Hats off to the trail maintainers who keep Dicey’s Mill a dream trip in the mountains. I am always amazed when I hike these mountains on how well that trail is maintained. Rain made ledges on Blueberry Ledge a bit slippery going up. If you are uncomfortable with wet slabs, wait a day or two until the sun gets on them! Rollins Trail is a fun time in the rain and wind. No views so no need to feel like you have to stop to take it all in.

Water Crossings

Crossing on Tom Wiggin is doable with questionable steps wondering if you are going to get water running on your shoes or not. Crossed without getting wet. Dicey’s Mill crossing has logs that you can balance beam.

Wildlife

Only at parking lot.

Trails Used

Dicey’s Mill Trail, Rollins Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

All remnants of snow, ice and monorail are gone.

Parking

Plenty of parking at Ferncroft

Water Crossings

Used log over the river.

Wildlife

Cool temperatures in the upper 50s and a slight breeze kept bugs away. Did see a few in the parking lot at the end of the hike.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Blueberry Ledge, Rollins, Dicey's Mill

Trail Conditions

Notes

I had fun with the scrambles on Blueberry. I'm 5'4" tall and was able to find my way up by staying left, then right, then far left on the major scrambles. Nice views from Whiteface south peak. Filtered water at the tent site near Passaconaway. A few minor muddy and wet areas especially down low on Diceys. A log bridge kept my feet dry on the stream crossing. Snow and ice are gone, my spikes went for a ride. Overall, trails are well maintained.

Water Crossings

Log bridge on Diceys

Wildlife

Some black flies at lower elevation

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Oliverian Brook Trail, Passaconaway Cutoff, Square Ledge Trail, Walden Trail, Dicey’s Mill Trail, Rollins Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Oliverian, Passaconaway Cutoff, and Square Ledge all bare/wet/dry. Walden Trail had a dusting to 1/2” of snow in the morning but it was gone on the way back. From the view spur near the Passaconaway summit, to the summit, and down about 3/10ths of a mile on Dicey’s had minor stable monorails and some icy patches. Bare/wet/dry from there until about 7/10ths before Whiteface on Rollins. Almost continuous, varied heights of monorail to the Whiteface summit, mostly stable, and with a few bare patches.

Parking

No issues.

Water Crossings

No issues, walk-thru up to toes on boots, or rock hop.

Wildlife

Nope

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Blueberry Ledge, Rollins, Dicey's Mill

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

These two are still mixed conditions, especially with the spring snow recently. Small patches of ice start at 3300 feet. A stable monorail starts at the big overlook 0.25 miles below the Whiteface summit and continues for about a mile down Rollins trail. From the Dicey's Mill junction to Passaconaway is a mix of ice, snow and trail. Going up the ledges were fine. In other words - I bare booted to the big view point, then threw on spikes until Passaconaway and back down to the Dicey's Mill intersection. Bare booted the rest of the way out. Great to meet some internet friends in real life including Audrey, John, and maybe the Littlefoot crew although I didn't realize it until later.

Parking

First row full at 8am. Only a few spots available around 1pm.

Water Crossings

The big log on Dicey's Mill was easy to navigate. All other crossings were easy.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Road walk, Bklueberry Ledge Cutoff, Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey's Mil Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Hey bear! Ran into a big Black Bear on the way up the Blueberry Ledge Cutoff. Luckily, he seemed very wary of people and even ~60 yards away a strong "Hey Bear" got him moving in the other direction. A very mixed conditions day - raining at the trailhead and snowing higher up and trail conditions were typical for spring. It was snowing pretty hard above 3,000’, and while the ledges were wet, they were not icy. I bare-booted all the way to the Whiteface summit. From there I put on my rock spikes for the slabby sections between there and Passaconaway. There’s still a pretty good, but firm monorail up there too. I was very glad for spikes as there is still a lot of ice under the snow. Things are still somewhat icy on the way up Passaconaway and as annoying as it was, it was good to keep spikes on. I took them off on the way back down before the Walden Trail junction and kept them off the rest of the way. Dicey's Mill is in good shape for this time of year.

Parking

There were ~ 3 other cars when I arrived at 7 AM. When I finished at Noon, the lot was almost full

Water Crossings

Water level is low and even with rainy conditions, I crossed the brook on the logs. It's also very rock-hoppable.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Close to summer conditions. Sporadic snow starts after the Tom Wiggins junction but can be easily barebooted on or around until the Whiteface summit. Throw on your rock spikes for 0.75 miles after the summit to cruise on the narrow but solid monorail (one to three feet deep). Snow abruptly ends, and from here on out, along the rest of Rollins and Dicey's, is 99% snow/ice free! Nice morning on the trails, caught a sweet undercast from the ledges.

Parking

Plenty of parking at Ferncroft

Water Crossings

Used log to cross, water level was low, so it could have easily been rock hopped

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Rollins Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Mostly clear trails. Fantastic conditions for April. Spikes needed for Rollins Trail and up Passaconaway, but bare boots otherwise.

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

Blueberry Ledge, Rollins, Dicey Mills

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

I did not see any fresh tracks today any where even though there were a half-dozen cars parked at Ferncroft. I bare-booted 98% of the hike but the Rollins was the slowest with post-holing and the need for careful foot placement on the thin, weakening mono-rail. The only place I donned spikes was on the upper ascent to Passa. I'm guessing most of that ice will be gone soon with the warm temps. Absolutely beautiful, almost too warm day. Shorts and tee-shirt hike.

Parking

Plenty of room

Water Crossings

Was a bit worried about my pup crossing the log but she had no issues. Log was dry in the afternoon on the return and easily crossed.

Wildlife

A few waking up but nothing annoying.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Blueberry Ledge, Rollins, Walden, Dicey’s Mill

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Felt like summer today! Was able to bareboot all the way to the ledges. No snow until after the Tom Wiggin junction. Spikes went on from there until about halfway across Rollins. Monorail here is pretty stable, I only punched through a few times. Beginning of Walden trail is a stream. I barebooted up and down but most will want spikes. Dicey’s Mill is snow free for the most part save for a few short stretches near the top.

Water Crossings

Crossed on the log

Wildlife

There were some sightings.

Trails Used

Dicey's Mill, Summit Spur

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

The trail is in great shape. Pretty dry down low with a hard ice monorail starting around 3000 feet. The climb to the summit after Rollins trail junction has some wide, hard ice floes. Some of the monorail is crumbling due to running water beneath, but it's pretty obvious. Be sure to bring light traction. I met one other hiker who was descending without summitting due to no traction.

Water Crossings

The river is running high enough that it wasn't possible to rock hop. The log across looked pretty slippery, so I donned my crocs and waded across. Wading was easy, and the water only came up a little past my ankles. On the return the log looked dry so walked across it with no problem.

Wildlife

I saw a couple but none were biting.

Also on this trip

Trail Conditions

Notes

Spring conditions with variable footing ranging from good to significant flow ice on trail between peaks. Hiker wore microspikes and snowshoes all day. Part of 576 peaks grid challenge (48 peaks × 12 months). Guided trip with Redline Guide Chase Hall.

Water Crossings

Water crossing between the two peaks, log crossing, microspikes helped with traction

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey Mills Trail, Walden Trail,

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Spring conditions down low, will be spring conditions above 3000’ very soon. I posted pictures on AllTrails if you want to see the mix of conditions. There is a mix of bare trail, ice, and packed snow. Coverage above 3000’ is pretty good. I bare shoed the whole trail but had to go slower in some area to make sure I was avoiding ice. With the rain and warm temperatures coming this week, below 3000’ could become bare trail pretty soon as long the snow melt doesn’t refreeze after this week.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey Mills Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Overall, conditions were pretty good! Started up around 9 am and bare booted the first mile. The trail got a bit icy at that point. So I put on my Hillsound spikes and kept them on for the remainder of the hike. Heading up the blueberry Ledge Trail, there was a mix of frozen snow, ice, and bare rock. As much as I would have loved to use the televators on my snowshoes on the steeps, the trail was much too boney. The tricky ledges were mostly bare at the start, with sections of frozen snow and ice. Further up, they were mostly covered in frozen snow, making it easier to navigate in spikes. The rollins trail was a frozen monorail all the way to the Dicey Mills Trail junction. And the hike up Passaconaway from the junction was surprisingly easy, given that the steep rock scrambles were covered in a thick layer of hard packed snow with only small patches of ice, easily avoidable. The last two miles following the water crossing on Dicey Mills were slushy over frozen snow.

Parking

Plenty of parking in lot. The dirt road to parking lot is in pretty good shape. There's a portable toilet in the lot.

Water Crossings

The water crossing on Dicey Mills was low. You could rock hop it or take the log crossing over it. Water level is likely to increase with the upcoming warm temps and rain.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

We expected some bare trail to start but didn't get it. We bare booted the first 1.5 miles and put on Hillsound Pros at the first junction. The trail had packed snow in some places and ice in others. The first ledge was way easier than in previous months. There was thick ice at the bottom, so we hacked at it with trekking poles and made a little step to get up the first part of the ledge. The ledges higher up had more ice but with caution were easy to get up. At the junction with the Rollins trail I switched to snowshoes. There was a breakable crust on top of unpacked powder which made for tedious footing but the snowshoes did well. At the junction with Dicey's Mill trail I switched back into Hillsound Pros. The temps were making the snow sticky and the anti-balling plates were helpful. The colder temps kept the trail pretty firm. Descending we stayed in Pros but the snow was getting increasingly slippery and slushy due to the sun. We took the Pros off for the last mile and just bare booted. The base under held up well so we had no postholing. Another stellar day in the Whites!

Parking

The parking lot was plowed with plenty of room. The road leading to the parking area was icy and slushy this morning.

Water Crossings

We used the downed tree bridge to cross the stream on Dicey's Mill trail.

Wildlife

Still in Hell