This current pandemic that we are all experiencing sure put a halt to my grid pursuit for the month of March and April. But I am going to do my part and stay close to home and off the high summits. Even though many of those summits are local hikes for me I do not want to take a chance on an unfortunate mishap jeopardizing others. I have not been hiking in three weeks but wanted to get out for a short hike here in the North Country.
After a day of snow then a day of rain this past week I thought Giant Falls would have a nice flow of water coming down over it. I was glad my son Brandon decided to join me, we have not been hiking together in a long time. So it was off to Shelburne, NH for a short hike.
We arrived at the trailhead and found the ground to be bare. I brought my summer pack and left the traction behind. The bare ground was short-lived and we were soon into soft snow. There was a couple of tricky water crossings but we found a way across without getting our feet wet. It was a gradual climb to the Giant Falls trail junction. The trail conditions varied between soft snow, bare ground and some icy sections. We had no problem with bare booting but needed some careful foot placement on the few icy areas.
At 1.2 mi. the trail descends into the ravine for another 0.3 mi. to Giant Falls. It was a rather slippery slog on the way into the falls. We met a group of three hikers and moved well off the trail to let them pass by. Arriving at the base of the falls was a very impressive sight. The recent rain and snow had a large volume of water coming down over the falls. More careful footing was required as it was quite slippery. We stayed long enough for some photos and then began the return hike.
When we arrived back at the main trail we noticed that nobody had gone further up the Peabody Brook Trail. It would've been a tough slog as the trail was not broke out and the snow would only have gotten deeper. With warm temps there would've also been a problem with snow balling up on snowshoes and microspikes. We had left the traction behind and not planned on going any further than the falls so we started our descent.
It was a pleasant hike back down to the trailhead. We passed a group of four hikers on their way up for a total of seven hikers that we saw today. The trail was plenty wide and we easily had room for social distancing. It sure was nice to be back out on the trail on a warm day and I enjoyed the company of my son joining me for this hike. April will be a month of local hiking and I feel fortunate to live close to the White Mountains!
Enjoy the photos and videos!
The hike starts here on bare ground
We're soon into snow
A tricky water crossing
Nice bridge over the Peabody Brook
Nice signage
Easy over blowdown
Nice water flow after recent rain
A section of bare ground
Another tricky water crossing
A short bushwhack to find an easier crossing
A moose posthole
Only one old set of footprints going to Middle Mountain
More bare ground
Trail junction to Giant Falls
Ridgeline above Giant Falls
The top of Giant Falls can be seen through the trees
Zooming in to Giant Falls
Arriving at the base of Giant Falls
It was slippery along this section as we started back
Heading up out of the ravine
A bare section of trail
Stopping for some ledge climbing
Large pile of scat at the entrance to a small cave
Looking up ahead...snow...no snow...snow...no snow...snow
Peabody Brook
Easy under
Easy water crossing
Easy walk around water crossing
Back at the trailhead
Mount Madison on the drive home
Having Fun in the Great Outdoors!
Glad you're getting out! Enjoyed the blog post as always. Hope things improve soonish so we can get a few peaks in before end of spring. :)
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