Franconia Ridge 7-22-07

On July 22, 2007 I hiked with Shelby up the Old Bridle Path up to the Greenleaf Hut, then we took the Greenleaf trail up to the summit of Mount Lafayette. We then hiked the Franconia Ridge Trail up and over North Lincoln and Mount Lincoln over to Little Haystack and down the Falling Waters Trail back to the parking area at Lafayette Place. This hike was extremely steep, and about 8.9 miles long. We stopped quite often along the way so it took us 8 hours to complete the loop.

As we started up the trail, there was another hiker coming down and he said "You're almost there." What a cruel joke this turned out to be. This was an extremely long trip for me. However, this is by far the most rewarding trip I've been on as well. The only downfall of this trip was the number of hikers. This was however expected as these mountains are among the most popular in the Northeast. Going up there are all kinds of outlooks to get decent views down into franconia notch and once you summit Lafayette, you can even see to the east and to the north where the Bonds, and even Mt. Washington can be seen. The day was beautiful. The temp was in the mid 70's and once above 4000' or so the wind became just strong enough to cool you off.

It took us a while but we made it to the AMC hut. It was pretty steep up to this point with barely any flat sections for breaks. For the most part the whole trip is steep without many flats. The easiest part for me was walking the ridges. Of course up on the ridges, you can see how far you've got to go before you hit anything noticeably cool. When your in the woods the first time up a hike, you can never really tell what's coming ahead.

It didn't take long from here to hit some really steep sections on the way to the summit of Lafayette. There were a few false summits, but overall it wasn't that bad. The view into the north west and over to Cannon Mountain totally made it worth it.

Eventually we made it up to the top of Lafayette (4000' #5 for nick and #1 for Shelby) and the views are breathtaking. There are 360 degree views and the day was clear so you could even see Mount Washington pretty well. We stayed on the top of Lafayette for about a half an hour just taking pictures and eating lunch. We made it to the top in three hours and fifteen minutes.

Finally we had to go so we hiked down Lafayette headed towards Lincoln. The view of the ridge was great all the way to Little Haystack. The ridge walk was by far the best part of the trip. With about 2 miles above tree line, the views seem to never end.

Once we got to the top of Lincoln (4000' #6 for nick and #2 for Shelby) , we took more pictures of ourselves, and looked back at Lafayette. The trip was long so far, and we were about half way there. We bagged two 4000 footers and were on our way to Little Haystack which doesn't count as far as the list is concerned, but it is on a few other lists such as the Trailwrights list.

Lafayette from Lincoln:

We then hiked down Lincoln and were headed towards Little Haystack and there is a pretty cool group of rocks on the way that stick out like a sore thumb. The rocks if looked at from above you can actually see the shining rock cliff behind it. On the way down the Falling Waters Trail, there is a little spur path that leads to see the shining rock cliff. It is .2 miles round trip but we decided against the extra effort on the way down. Next time I will make sure to stop but being as this is our first trip up this ridge, we decided next time we would spend more time at shining rock cliff then at the top.

Also, the views are great along the whole ridge but below are a few images from the top of Little Haystack.

This is an image of Liberty and Flume from the top of Little Haystack.

This is an image of the AMC Greenleaf Hut from the top of Little Haystack.

Once finished taking pictures and eating a cheese stick, we began our journey down the mountain. The journey down was extremely steep, and the further down you got, the wetter and more hazardous it got. Once you come down to the streams every step needs to be taken with caution and it is a slow trip down. After beating book time up by about half an hour we fell behind about an hour on the way down. By the time this picture was taken, I was absolutley exhausted, but even on the trip down there were great views of the falls. This trip was my favorite so far on my quest to complete all of the 4000' mountains in New England. So far I've got 7 of the 67 and this trip was by far my favorite. Baxter Peak of Kathadin was a close second, and it may be my first if it hadn't rained that day. However, there's no beating the incredible views you get from the White Mountains. I'm definately doing this hike again. It was absolutley unforgetable.

Whiteface & Passaconaway 7-14-07

For me, this is the longest hike that I have ever done. I have hiked longer but over shorter distances. My Katahdin trip took two hours longer but I hiked less miles. His hike was 12.2 miles with 3800' of elevation gain, by far the longest in mileage I have ever done.


I started on the trail at 7:00AM and hiked up the Blueberry Ledge Trail from the Ferncroft Road Parking area. The trail was a lot of fun with a lot of ledge scrambling, and even though it wasn't blueberry season, you could see the bushes and that they would be ripe for the picking if the season was in. After exactly an hour I hit the upper junction of the Blueberry Ledge Trail and the Blueberry Ledge Cutoff Trail. I think I made good time on this section as it wasn't too steep. This whole mountain was fairly steady gain with a few steep spots. The steep spots were ledges for the most part with a few spots that were flat.

From this point on up to the top of Whiteface, there was significantly less blueberry bushes and significantly more ledge scrambling. Full body hiking is definatly a short part of this trip. The hike is normal and you eventually come to a pretty abrupt ledge cliff that the view from is incredible. The picture below is from that cliff. It was tough to find the exact path of the trail but if you followed the ledge at some points where it looked like they might be travelable, you would eventually find some blue paint and know you were at least on a trail. Of course having the AMC guidebook handy was good for reassurance.

I finally reached the summit of Whiteface (4000' #3) and it was pretty uneventful as there are basically no views from the top. There are a few different outlooks on the way up and another one just past the summit that make the trip worth it. The views from the ledges below the summit area awesome as well. Now, the long trek to Passaconaway.

The Rollins Trail across the Whiteface ridge was great. It was a really easy walk and there are a few places that you can get some great viewpoints. Of course there are a few steep spots and a few switchbacks, but overall the trail is easy. I made it to the Passaconaway loop and climbed it up and down clockwise making for 4000' #4. Doing this again, I will stash my pack so as not to carry it up Passaconaway, but I forgot to do that this time. There is a pretty good view from the top and there is a fifty foot spur path to the actual summit. There is also a great view of what I think is Mount Washington and the Southern Presi's from Passaconaway and Whiteface. I didn't bother to walk the .6 miles to the outlook as I figured I would be sore enough by the time I made it back to my car.

------------------------------------------------

I then made my way down. I always have a harder time going down then going up. Seems my knees are the weakest part of my body. The trail was great, easy to follow and well marked. I was able to take a picture of where I had been on the way down. I did have to conserve water a little as I was running out and the only place to really grab water to be purified is on the way down the Dicey's Mill Trail on the Wonalancet River. I carried three liters with me and ran out just as I hit the river. At this point however it's pretty much too late to bother going through the purification process for water so I didn't bother and just kept walking to my car. Had it been any hotter of a day, I might have needed to carry more water with me.

Overall, this was a great trip, and I will definately do it again. As long as the weather is good I will probably go up and down the same way. The ledges could be dangerous when wet or icy but it's worth a shot in the summer with the incredible view you are rewarded with. I would also rather go up the ledges then down so going up the Blueberry Ledges is my best option. Next time I will definatly stash my pack so I don't have to carry it up Passaconaway. This would save me about 2 miles without a pack and no doubt my knees would feel better a whole lot quicker.

Hancocks N&S, 7-4-2007

As my first attempt in a 4000' footer in about six years I felt it necessary to get a good start on this hike. I camped on the night of July 3, 2007 at the Big Rock Campground a few miles West of the hairpin turn on the Kancamangus Highway in New Hampshire.

I woke up early and hit the Hancock Notch Trail at about 7:15am and hiked up until it meets with Cedar Brook Trail. From there I hiked the Cedar Brook Trail up to the Hancock Loop trail. All the water crossings were fairly easy to cross and boy were there a lot of them. I hiked up to South Hancock first.

Up to this point, the trail was relatively flat with a few quick gains but from here to the top of South Hancock, it was extremely steep and I was out of shape so I found it tough going up. The view of the Aarow Slide on Mt. Hancock from the South Hancock end of the Hancock loop trail helped me along.

With many breaks, at last I reached the summit. The summit of South Hancock is 4000' #1 for me so this is a big moment. No view from the summit at all but a brief 100' walk or so to the outlook there are some decent views. The day however was hazy as a warm front was moving in. Below is a picture from the outlook on South Hancock.

After taking a brief view from the outlook, I then hiked the back side of the loop over Middle Hancock (which used to be on the Trailwrights list but has been replaced by Northwest Hancock) to Hancock Mountain. This was a quick walk lots of up and down grades, but compared to the hike up the last .5 miles up South Hancock it was easy. I reached the Summit of Hancock Mountain which is if your keeping count at home 4000' #2 for me. I walked to the outlook which even on a hazy day had spectacular views.

I sat and ate a few PB&J sandwiches and I was off back home.

The hike down of .7 miles was extremely steep and felt more like 1.5 miles then .7 miles. I think it is steeper then the hike up South Hancock. If I were to do this again, I would probably go up North Hancock and down South Hancock.

My knees took a beating, partly because I'm French and partly because the Trail was extremely unforgiving. I reached the flats and walked out. The walk out seems longer than the walk in, however in my experience... it always does. 9.8 miles and 6 hours and 45 minutes later I was in my car headed back home.

People are funny sometimes. This is my first 4000' peak and I made damn sure that I had what I needed for this hike in terms of gear. I had probably too much gear: Extra clothes and food and such. About 2 miles in from the road, a family of about 6 asked me how far it was to the summit. I told them it would be another 3 miles at least and scared them away. I also told them that they had not even hit the uphill part yet. I figure as a parent, the least you can do is be prepared. They had a few smaller children with them who never would have made it another 3 miles let alone the 5 mile walk out. They turned around after we talked and looked at my map and I directed them over to the ranger station a few miles up the road. Hopefully they will figure out something fun to do.