Mount Percival

Trail: Mt. Morgan Trail, Crawford Ridgepole Trail, Mt. Percival Trail, Morse Trail

Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow/Ice - Postholes

“Trail has been getting a lot of traffic and is very well packed out, our group of 9 took snowshoes but we saw plenty of folks out in spikes or barebooting. The snow was getting pretty soft in the sun by the afternoon and we saw a lot of postholes alongside the trail. The ladder is sketchy with most of the foot and handholds at the top being quite iced over. An axe could have been helpful for a secure handhold. Three of our group were brave enough to make it up the ladder in spikes, the rest took the cutaround trail. Cave route/boulder field has not been tracked out and I wouldn't recommend trying given the size of the gaps between those boulders. The cliff route was fine. One section with a bit of a narrow ledge, it was sticky soft snow for us but it could turn into a block of ice with some thaw freeze cycles over the next few weeks. Some of our group struggled with being so close to a small drop-off, but those with confident foot placement sailed through.”

Trail: Mt. Morgan Trail, Crawford Ridgepole Trail, Mt. Percival Trail, Morse Trail

Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Postholes

“Mt Morgan trail was easy going and well traveled. Mt Percival slightly less traveled, but still easy. Bare-booted mostly, with spikes only for the bit above the ladders. Between the summits was decent, but there were definitely some deep drifts, and knee-high postholing. Doesn't look like anyone has brought snowshoes up there. On Sunday the snow was soft, and navigating the deep drifts was no problem. With the ice and rain on Monday, that will certainly change.”

Trail: Mt. Percival Trail, Crawford Ridgepole Trail, bushwhack, Mt. Morgan Trail

Conditions: Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Ice - Blue

“Percival and Morgan with side trips to both summits of Mt. Squam, and a short bushwhack to The Sawtooth, the Squam Range high point. Whatever snow and ice that was around here is now 99.9% gone. Just small patches of black ice remain but they are all avoidable. Otherwise, everything was pleasantly dry. After first getting up to Percival I went out-and-back to the Squam summits. On the return trip between Percival and Morgan, I made another short bushwhack to The Sawtooth. A bit of a herd path is forming since it is so close to the trail, but this path leads up to the northern of the two bumps on top. This bump (2,235 ft.) has a small cairn. The southern bump, a short distance away, is two feet higher (2,237 ft.) according to the lidar data. There's also a view of the Sandwich Range here. As I got to Morgan I saw more people but still nothing crazy for a popular peak on a weekend. A chilly day with a brisk wind but the trees and topography of the ridge provided a good buffer. Wish the sun were more plentiful though!”