Where has the summer gone? Paloma and I have been so busy this summer unfortunately hiking has taken a bit of a backseat. Thankfully, though, we have a number of free weekends coming up to get back in the woods! On Saturday, we decided to tackle one of the easier remaining mountains on our list, Mt. Galehead. My parents decided to join us and we all set off for the Gale River trailhead up off of Rt. 3 past Franconia Notch. The ride up was uneventful as usual, and the 70 MPH speed limit on Rt. 93 made the miles go buy quite fast.
When we reached the parking lot at around 8:25AM, there were already quite a few cars in the lot. I had been holding a large iced-coffee in my bladder for the majority of the ride so needless to say I had to pee. I went to the far end of the lot down a short trail, thinking I found a nice, secluded area. Little did I know there were two people sleeping in the back of a Subaru right next to the little trail. Whoops, hope you enjoyed the show! The weather at the trailhead was just over 70 degrees, a bit overcast and quite humid. We made our final preparations and were on the trail at 8:43AM.
MUD
Our route for the day was an out-and-back up the Gale River, Garfield Ridge, and Frost trails. A total distance of 10.2 miles. The Gale River trail follows along the Gale River (wow, what a unique name) for the first four or so miles of the hike. This provided a great warm-up as the trail had easy grades for nearly those entire four miles. There were a few water crossings that were easy to navigate, but I bet during rainy periods some of them could be a bit more treacherous. Despite some extremely muddy sections, we were able to keep up a pretty good pace until just before the junction with the Garfield Ridge trail, where things got quite a bit steeper and damp. Even though up to this point the hike was relatively mild, we were all sweating buckets as the humidity level was high and the temperatures were rising.
Galehead Hut
We reached the junction with the Garfield Ridge trail at 10:45AM and took a quick break to cool down a bit, re-hydrate and enjoy some trail-mix. With only 1.1 miles remaining to the summit, we were in pretty good spirits and ready to tackle the remainder of the hike. The Garfield Ridge trail was quite a bit steeper than the Gale River trail, but all in all it wasn't too difficult either. It was still quite a bit damp so we had to take extra care to make sure we didn't slip into one of the numerous mud puddles along the trail. We reached the Galehead Hut at 11:26PM, but decided to go for the summit first and then return to the hut for lunch.
Lookout Point
We took the Frost Trail from the Hut for the remaining half-mile to the summit. I had read that this section was strenuous but I am not exactly sure why it got that description. Aside from a 100 yard steep section, this was an easy and fast section of the trail. We stopped at a great outlook point just before the summit to take in some views since the summit is just a pile of rocks in the woods with no views whatsoever. The view from the outlook was beautiful and we could look back down over the Galehead Hut. After we got our fill of the view, we continued to the summit, reaching it at 11:49AM. We snapped a few obligatory summit photos and then set off back down the Frost Trail back towards the hut. We were all starving so we had some extra pep in our step.
Summit of Mt. Galehead
We sat down on the beautiful front porch of the hut to eat lunch. The view from the front porch was great, looking out over the valley below between Galehead and South Twin. There were quite a few other hikers at the hut, eating, refilling water, and relaxing before continuing on their adventures. The Galehead Hut is gorgeous on the inside as well, and it was interesting to read that this hut is the most remote in the AMC hut network, given that it is a 4.6 mile hike from the road. I kept thinking about how awesome it would if this hut was your summer home, and how great it would be to spend a few months living here. Dreams! After we had our fill of sandwiches, cookies, fruit and chips we decided it was time to begin our descent, leaving the hut at 12:41PM. The clouds were rolling in and looking a bit threatening so we figured we would get back into tree cover - the forecast did predict scattered T-storms.
Lunch a the hut
The descent was quite easy and quick and we made very good time coming down. We reached the parking lot at 3:00PM on the dot and shed all of our sweaty clothes to attempt to freshen up for dinner on the ride back. We stopped in Plymouth, NH at the Lucky Dog Tavern & Grille which is quickly becoming one of my favorite after-hike dinner spots, mainly due to their delicious pulled pork nachos with diced pickles. We ordered a full size as an appetizer and the thing was so massive it nearly took up the entire table. It proved to be no match for us hungry hikers though! We enjoyed some sandwiches and salads and continued on our ride home, stopping briefly in Concord to visit with my Grandparents and check out their new apartment.
All-in-all a great day for a hike, a good meal, and a visit. I'd recommend the Galehead hike for those looking for a longer hike that isn't going to kill you. Even though the views aren't spectacular there are still a few nice vantage points along the way and the hut is a nice place to visit.
Hike Stats
Trails: Gale River Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Frost Trail
Ever since our failed attempt at bagging Mt. Lincoln while hiking Mt. Lafayette last September, the mountain has been calling our names to complete it. Lincoln was the last of the four Franconia ridge mountains that we had to complete (Lafayette, Liberty, and Flume being the others), so we decided that it would be a good choice for our 25th mountain. Finally my buddy Foster was going to join us on a hike, so Paloma, Foster, and myself set off on Saturday morning towards Franconia Notch to finally bag Lincoln.
We arrived at the Falling Waters trail-head at around 9:15 AM. Despite the forecast calling for clouds and showers, the weather at the base was a beautiful 45 degrees with minimal clouds in the sky. Things were looking good. We made our final preparations and were on the trail at 9:30 AM. There was still a ton of snow on the ground, I estimated about three feet or so, but luckily the trail was pretty well packed down and easy to follow.
The frozen cascades
Our route for the day was to hike up the Falling Waters trail to the top of Little Haystack, then traverse the ridge to the summit of Lincoln and return the same way, a total distance of 7.8 miles. The lower portion of the Falling Waters trail is relatively mild, gaining elevation gradually. Since there was so much snow, we had little issues with any of the water crossings as they were completely covered - sometimes we didn't even realize we were over a river bed. Within only a few minutes we reached what we assumed was the cascades that this trail is famous for, though they were completely covered in snow and frozen so there wasn't much to see. In a few spots you could see some flowing water - I bet this trail is beautiful when the snow is gone.
Falling Waters - Appropriate Name!
As soon as we passed through the open river bed area the climbing truly began. The trail was still packed down relatively well but only about one foot in width - stepping off to either the left or the right would cause your legs to post-hole down about three feet. It was actually quite funny as every few seconds one of us would let out a "damn" or an "oof" as our legs broke through the snow and plummeted downward. We eventually caught up to a group of three which we would end up leap frogging the rest of the way to the top. By this point the trail was climbing steadily towards the summit of Little Haystack, which stands at about 4800' but unfortunately doesn't count due to the difference in height of it to the ridge which it is a part of (read the AMC 4000' "rules" here). Our hearts were racing and our legs were burning. This was a difficult section. We stopped for a quick snack break of Raisinets and clementines to refuel our bodies before the final push.
Lunch on Little Haystack
We finally broke through the trees and reached the top of Little Haystack at 11:50AM. Now here is where I must admit we encountered a bit of confusion. In reading about the route prior to our hike, I had read that you would reach the top of Little Haystack and then continue on the ridge to Lincoln, though I didn't realize that Lincoln completely blocks the view of Lafayette from here, and it looks like there are no mountains beyond it. Stupid me thought that we must be at the top of Lincoln since I knew the order of the mountains on the ridge and couldn't see Lafayette. This lead to me proclaiming that we were at the top, and we ended up taking premature summit photos and eating lunch. Luckily, an older gentleman asked us about our route of the day and I told him we were just hiking Lincoln so we would be turning and heading back down after we ate. Thankfully he questioned whether we had already been over to Lincoln which caused me to realize that we hadn't reached the summit yet! Whoops! I would have been devastated if we turned back and figured out we had only hiked Little Haystack! Nevertheless, the top of Little Haystack was beautiful and gave us great views. We had a nice spot hunkered down between some boulders which shielded us from the wind as we ate.
Paloma and I at the summit of Lincoln
Realizing that we still had some work to do, we packed up our things and headed across the ridge to the real Mt. Lincoln at 12:20PM. It was beautiful along the ridge, and it was neat watching the clouds whip by, engulfing us for a moment, then disappearing completely. Just goes to show you the ever changing weather in the White Mountains. We reached the summit of Lincoln at 12:45 PM, where Mt. Lafayette was revealed to us. Now it made sense! From the top of Lincoln we were treated to great views of the ridge and across to Cannon Mt. Since we had already eaten, we took a few snap shots at the summit then headed back across the ridge to Little Haystack to begin our descent.
Men.
The word "hilarious" describes our descent nearly perfectly. A steep trail + melting snow + gravity and inertia = three hikers completely out of control for much of the descent. I don't think I have laughed for such an extended period of time in my life as I did during our hike down. It was nearly impossible to hike slowly which caused us to have to basically jog down. This was all good until one of us would hit a soft spot and post hole one or both of our legs into the snow and stop dead in our tracks and face plant. I'd estimate that about once every five minutes one of us would be tumbling down the trail in some awkward movement. Thankfully the amount of snow made every landing soft, so we were able to laugh at each other rather than have concern for each other's well being. I am just hoping that no kids were nearby to hear the variety of questionable language that was coming out of our mouths each time wiped out!
By this point we were all soaking wet and tired, but were having a blast, so we decided to engage in what many winter hikers rave about - butt-sledding. Yes, sliding down the trail on nothing but your ass. The first spot we decided to give it a whirl was at a steep hairpin turn on the trail. It looked like others had the same idea, and a human ice-luge shortcut was made. It was too perfect to pass up. We all cruised down the 60' slide on our asses. It was quite fun. We continued to slide down all of the remaining steep spots we could find as we made our way back to the base.
We arrived at the lot at 3:10 PM - though we were sore and exhausted, we continued to talk about how awesome the hike was as we changed into dry clothes and packed up the car for the ride home. This really was a great, challenging hike. The Falling Waters trail is definitely one I will revisit at some point as I would love to see the cascades in action!
Public Service Announcement: If you ever plan to hike with Foster, bring eye protection and a helmet. He has a nasty habit of sling-shotting all branches he passes into your face. I am thankful that I still have vision in both eyes.
Hike Stats Trails: Falling Waters Trail, Franconia Ridge Total Time (Including Breaks): 5:40 Distance: 7.8 Miles Elevation Gain: 3400'
It’s about time we got back on the trails! On Saturday, Paloma and I decided last minute
(aka, I was fast asleep and Paloma woke me up!) to head up north and do a
hike. We decided that we wanted to try
to finish the mountains up on Franconia Ridge, so we chose Lafayette and
Lincoln. When we left our apartment at
around 7:30AM, the weather was crisp and cool – a nice fall day for a hike…so
we thought. The ride up was relatively
uneventful and we arrived at the Bridle Path trail head at just after
10:00AM. The lot was full – which was surprising
as the weather appeared to be deteriorating pretty quickly. We decided to start the hike off with layers
on as it was quite chilly.
We left the lot and began heading up the Bridle Path trail
towards the Greenleaf Hut. The first
section of the trail was quite easy, traversing across the base of the mountain
rather than climbing. This was a nice
welcome as it had been about a month since our last hike. Soon enough though, we began climbing and
climbing. The weather at this point was
quite chilly and misty, so it was a struggle maintaining the proper
temperature. We stopped often to take
layers off and add layers back on. It
was a never ending battle between sweating and freezing.
Paloma Hiking
By the time we emerged from the trees onto the ridge, the
wind picked up and the trail was socked in by clouds. We couldn't see much further than a 5 foot
radius around us. The Greenleaf hut was
a welcomed site when we reached it at 12:00PM.
The hut was bustling with people, as many had decided to make this their
end point and not brave the elements towards the summit one mile ahead. We stopped inside to use the rest room and
escape the rain and wind for a few minutes.
It was quite cozy inside. The
cook was busy preparing hot soup and drinks for interested hikers.
I took a look at the trail report they had posted on the
wall. 40+ MPH winds at the summit with
temperatures in the mid 30’s. Rain. Wind.
Cold. What were we thinking? This was honestly the first time in my many
years of hiking that I questioned whether or not it would be smart to
continue. After all, from the Greenleaf
hut to the summit of Lafayette is 1.1 miles of exposed hiking. No trees to hide behind or brush to block the
wind. Just rocks. We weren't prepared to be hiking in these
conditions, but luckily had brought a few extra items that helped. Paloma, being the trooper she is, was rearing
to go. I threw on an extra shirt, zipped
my jacket up, and pulled my hood tight around my head. Let’s do this.
Greenleaf Hut
Surprisingly, there were quite a few daring people who
decided to continue on. This gave me a
peace of mind as I knew we weren't the only idiots attempting the summit. With every step we took the weather got
incrementally worse. We couldn't see
more than a few feet in front of us and the only way we were able to stay on
the trail was due to the massive cairns built along the way. The wind was now whipping by, so any attempt
to shield yourself from the elements was futile. I could feel my anxiety kicking in as we
continued on. “What are we doing?” I
thought to myself.
Summit of Mt. Lafayette
We continued on, trying to pick up the pace. A forest ranger was coming down from the
summit and we stopped to chat about the conditions. He was taking headcounts of the people hiking
to the summit – what a great sign…he was probably expecting the worst. “If you are going to do it, you have to
commit now, get up there, and get down.”
We were so close so against my better judgement, we carried on.
Bad Weather!
The feelings when we reached the summit at 1:00PM were a mixture
of excitement, fear, concern, and adventure.
You have to respect the weather in the White Mountains – it can get
gnarly. The American flag whipping in the wind at the summit made the scenery
quite eerie and mysterious. We took a few photos with my rain-drenched
fogged up phone and decided to get the hell out of there. We had a decision to make. Continue over to the summit of Lincoln,
almost 2 additional miles of exposure to the nasty weather, or head back down
to the hut. We chose the latter. It didn't seem that many people were
continuing over to Lincoln, so we weren't going to either. Lincoln will be there for next time.
Warming up in the Greenleaf Hut
We hustled down towards the hut, reaching it at just before
2:00PM. We went back into the hut, this
time to eat lunch. It was packed. It looked like a ski lodge during school
vacation week. Gear was strewn about,
the windows were fogged up, and the smell of sweat mixed with hot soup was
quite nasty. Regardless, the warmth
provided by the shelter was enough to draw us in and make us sit for a
while. I purchased a cup of lemon tea to
warm myself up and we ate lunch. We were
back on the trail at 2:20PM.
The hike down was pretty standard. We were leapfrogging with a bunch of people the
entire way. One couple was hiking with a
black lab – the dog joined Paloma and I for some of the hike before returning
to its owners. It must have been a
holiday in Canada because nearly every group we passed was speaking French. I felt like I was hiking in the French Alps
or something. We made it back to the car
at 4:11PM. What an epic day. We cranked the heat on to dry ourselves off,
stopped at Dunks for a coffee and made our way back home. We capped the night off with a movie – “Machine
Gun Preacher” – which I highly, highly recommend.
Lincoln – we will hike you some day!
Hike Stats Trails: Bridle Path, Greenleaf Total Time (Including Breaks): 6:00 Distance: 8.0 Miles
It has been a few weeks since my last hike - been very busy lately! Paloma is away in Sao Paolo, Brazil for two weeks for work, so I decided to sign up for my first ever trip through the AMC - Boston Chapter - a 12+ mile bushwhack of Wolf Cub, a 3000' mountain located close to Lincoln, NH. A bushwhack means that there are no formal trails leading to the summit, so we will be using a map, compass, and brute force to move through thick woods/brush to our destination. I couldn't be more excited! We might even try to tackle the slightly more popular Mt. Wolf - this is all depending on energy levels and interests of the others in the group. It looks like there will be approximately 6 or so others doing the hike with me. I have not met any of the others but just knowing the type of people who tend to enjoy hiking, I am sure they will all be great.
Topographic Map of Wolf Cub
Though I have spent plenty of time exploring the woods off-trail - I have never done this with a particular destination in mind. Luckily, one of the guys I am hiking with is experienced with land navigation and has offered to help me get my bearings once we are underway. I was able to scrounge together some old "bushwhacking" gear (see below), including some old gators to help protect my legs if we are pushing through thorns/brush and some clear lensed glasses to protect my eyes from sticks etc. in the dark woods.
I am confident in my fitness level at this point so I am not too worried about that aspect of the hike - though I think it will be more challenging than I am anticipating given that we are hiking through non-maintained woods. It will sure be an adventure, one that I can't wait to write about when I finish it!
The below is some of the gear that I am bringing along on the hike. Much of this I would typically carry anyways, but bushwhacking requires some additional items.
Gear
1. Hat to protect from branches.
2. Gators to protect my legs.
3. Gloves to use if I need to remove brush from the path.
4. Headlamp in the event that we take longer than planned.
5. Clear lenses to protect my eyes in the darker woods.
6. First-aid.
7. TP for, well, pooping.
8. Hand-sanitizer for after #7.
9. Goldbond - miracle for every sweaty male.
10. Lighter.
11. Knife to kill attacking bears.
12. Compass for navigation purposes.
13. Plenty of protein/energy bars.
14. 100 Oz's of water.
15. Rain jacket for bad weather.
16. Not pictured - other food, boots, pack,
extra clothes.
Check back in a few more days for a detailed report of this trip!
