Trails Used

Blueberry Ledges trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

We went out and back via the Ledges. We were concerned about the difficulty of that. It was slightly muddy but totally avoidable. First 2 miles were relatively easy. The slabs were pretty easy as well before the climb. Once the climb really started, rocks? roots? stairs? YES. Your typical New England Whites. Steep and rugged. The ledges were terrifying going up, but not down somehow. We found them to be easier descending. Once you see where you're going, it's not difficult. Lots of hand holds where you need them most.

Parking

Huge lot was full by 8:30am

Water Crossings

Only dry river beds

Wildlife

Lower level only and primarily on the way down

Trails Used

McCrillis

Trail Conditions

Notes

This trail is never in a trail report since it's not the popular way to snag Whiteface, so I figured I'd do my part to spread the word. I am not a Blueberry Ledges person so this was the best way for me to ascend Whiteface. The trail is in good shape despite not being heavily used. My only complaint were all of the leaves covering the trail. Got off course twice on the lower section but otherwise the trail corridor is obvious (at least to me). My research said not to do this trail after a lot of rainfall and I see why - significant water crossing and exposed ledges at the top. Since we haven't had any major rain since last week, I had no issues with either. No snow or ice to speak of. Only saw two people all day.

Parking

Parking lot wide open. Decent size.

Water Crossings

Could be rock-hoppable but I didn't do much scouting on that. I am a shoes and socks off kind of gal and managed to wad across using poles without being knocked over (water was between my feet and knees where I crossed).

Wildlife

Horrendous, both black flies and mosquitos. The wind picked up on my way back and that helped.

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

Mt. Rowe Trail, Ridge Trail, Brook Trail, Saddle Trail, Blue Trail (Belknap Mtn.), White Trail (Belknap Mtn.), Old Piper Trail, Piper-Whiteface Link, Whiteface Mountain Trail, Vista Trail, Piper-Round Pond Link, Klem-Mack Loop, Mack Ridge Trail, Yellow Trail (Mt. Shannon Loop), Red Trail (to Goat Pasture Hill and Mt. Anna), Belknap Range Trail (to Mt. Major), Boulder Loop Trail, Mt. Major Trail, North Straightback Link, Dave Roberts' Quarry Trail, Boulder Trail, East Gilford Trail, Round Pond Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

This was a 38.8 mile (theoretically; this mileage estimate felt conservative) tour of the Belknap 12, plus a few peaks off the beaten path, with 10,750' elevation gain. The beautiful views from Mt. Major and Gunstock Mtn. are well-known, but the Vista Trail (particularly the open ledges south of Piper Mtn's summit) and Mt. Shannon were scenic highlights- definitely worth visiting. Trail conditions were generally excellent, with less mud than anticipated after heavy rain 2 days prior. Almost all of the rock ledges and slabs were dry, which was a good thing, because a few sections (the Quarry Trail, Boulder Trail and Boulder Loop Trail, the steep descent from the Mack Ridge Trail) might have been hazardous with wet rocks. Aside from the expected crowds near Mt. Major, and a few other hikers on the Belknap Range Trail, there were miles of solitude on my chosen route. Full details on Unnecessary Climb!

Parking

Ample parking at Gilford Elementary School.

Water Crossings

Numerous brook crossings at lower elevations (and when inadvertently taking the Benjamin Weeks Trail on the way down), but all were straightforward rock hops.

Wildlife

Biting flies were out in force once the temperature warmed up (mid-morning)- not a problem when moving, but all over you if you made the mistake of stopping. Also found a hitchhiking dog tick at the end of the day.

Trails Used

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

Trail Conditions

Notes

A beautiful day for a walk in the woods. Met TJ in the parking lot and decided to hike the Blueberry Ledge Cutoff which neither of us had hiked before. What a nice trail! It was covered in leaves so I was happy to be going up instead of down it. Blueberry Ledge is wonderful, as always. There is some icy monorail going down Whiteface which we were able to avoid by walking next to it. The snowy sections were grippy; We both had spikes but didn't use them. Hopefully the rain this week will degrade the ice even more. Headed up Passaconaway was wet in spots. I didn't use the loop as I could see a deep monorail and didn't want to bother with it. Dicey's Mill is fast.

Parking

Great parking lot at Ferncroft.

Water Crossings

Easy to cross the stream on the log.

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.

Notes

Firsthand account of wildlife encounter during hike on Whiteface

Wildlife

Bear encountered on way up, displayed appropriate fear of humans

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

Blueberry Ledge

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

The first 2.5 miles up blueberry ledge were relatively dry! Some mud/water here and there, but easily avoidable. The final mile was mostly packed snow with some patches of ice and dry. We contemplated using our spikes a few times but managed fine without. There was some old bear scat and fresh moose scat around 3000ft so our eyes were peeled. Great weather for a spring hike!

Parking

Empty lot at 8am, filled halfway when we got down around 2pm.

Water Crossings

Minor/Avoidable

Wildlife

Saw a few, they are coming out!

Trails Used

Whiteface Mountain Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Trail was dry with a couple minor spots of mud. The ATV portion of the trail was dryer than I expected with many of the usual mud pits having no water in them. Views were decent but some could up north blocked some of the views. Cloudy skies with little to no wind and temps in the 40s.

Parking

Room for a few cars at the end of Belknap Mountain Road

Water Crossings

Easy hop today

Trails Used

Blueberry Ledge, Rollins, Dicey’s Mill

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Slippery in the morning going up Blueberry Ledge. The melting fresh snow made the ledges slippery and hid the ice that was below. fresh snow was balling on my microspikes so I switched to crampons about half way up. stayed in crampons for the trek across Rollins as there was a stable monorail under the fresh snow. some postholes on the sides of the trail that can be avoided. I stayed in crampons for the trip down Dicey's Mill then switched to bare boots shortly after the water crossing. There were wet leaves and standing water for much of the flats. The areas that receive the most sunlight with a southerly exposure are mostly clear of snow. The monorail continues throughout the shady areas especially at higher elevations.

Parking

clear of the fresh snow by the afternoon

Water Crossings

Dicey’s Mill crossing was easy on the logs

Wildlife

they are beginning to show up at lower elevations

Trails Used

Blueberry Ledge, Rollins

Trail Conditions

Notes

Out and back up to the summit of Whiteface via Blueberry Ledge trail. The trail was a mixed bag of hard ice, packed snow, exposed dirt/rocks, unstable monorail, and ledge. Took my spikes on and off multiple times during the day. The steep ledges were almost fully clear of snow/ice, although there were wet sections where water was running off. I found these wet sections to be very slippery so I recommend avoiding them at all costs.

Parking

Parked at Ferncroft. Appreciate the "Head in Parking Only" signs.

Water Crossings

Easy to step around the water on trails

Wildlife

Saw one or two

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