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'
This past weekend we decided to hike Mt. Garfield. I had been reading that this was a pretty mild hike with great views from the summit - sounded perfect for a brisk fall day. My parents picked up Paloma and I at around 6:30AM and we set off for the trail-head, arriving at 8:45AM. My Uncle Ken and Aunt Martha decided to join us, so we met up with them at the parking lot. The weather was quite chilly, approximately 45 degrees at the base. As we were getting our gear together we could see our breath, though the clear skies and shining sun gave promise that it would warm up. I put on my new Icebreaker Merino Wool shirt as a base-layer so I knew I was going to be just fine.
Dad crossing the Gale River
The Mt. Garfield trail-head begins from a small parking area about a mile down a gravel road off of Route 302. It is nice to be removed that far from the main road as it was nearly perfectly silent in the woods. There were a few other cars in the parking lot but nothing compared to some of the lots we drove by back in Franconia Notch. We started up the Mt. Garfield trail at 8:58AM. The trail started climbing right from the lot along a forested ridge, following alongside the Gale River. The trail at this point was in pretty good shape, though the piles of fallen leaves required you to be a bit careful on some sections, as hidden rocks and roots could easily trip you up.
The crew at the junction
The trail then took a left and we began hiking along an old fire-road. This was nice because the trail was pretty wide and maintained a pretty moderate grade for the next few miles. We spent the majority of the hike up talking and joking, so the miles went by fairly quickly. We passed only a few other hikers along the way which was a nice change from the droves of people hiking on the Kinsmans the week prior. The absence of noise from cars, other people, and wind made the trail especially peaceful. While the Mt. Garfield trail doesn't offer many views while hiking up, the red, orange, and yellow leaves made it quite beautiful. A bit further up we came into a primarily birch tree covered section of the trail which offered a stark contrast to the colorful other trees that we had just hiked through. Come to find out, this particular section is actually called the "Burnt Knoll" as it was once completely burnt out, and the birch trees grew back in.
Paloma at the Summit
We reached the junction with the Garfield Ridge Trail shortly thereafter. At this point, Ken and Martha decided to head back down, as they were in a rush to get back to let their dog outside. After a few snacks we said our goodbyes, and Paloma, my parents and I continued the hike up to the summit, .2 miles ahead. From the junction to the summit is the only remotely challenging portion of the trail. It was actually quite steep in a few sections. Though being only .2 miles, it didn't really challenge us too much. Before you knew it we emerged from the trees to the beautiful summit of Mt. Garfield at 11:40AM. The summit is primarily bare, with an old fire tower foundation at the very top. I of course decided to climb around in the foundation and sat on one of the old walls. The views were incredible - you could see in every direction. It was interesting to look over at the backside of the Franconia Ridge Mountains (Lafayette, Lincoln, etc.).
Summit of Mt. Garfield
We sat down on a rock outcrop to have lunch and take some more photos. I explored around the summit and came across another American Flag tribute to a fallen NH soldier, the second one I have encountered. I really like what this guy is doing. We finished up lunch, took a few more photos, and began to head back down at 12:08PM. We knew from the start that the descent was going to be a quick one, and we welcomed this since Paloma had plans in Boston that she needed to get back for. Given that the grades on the trail were moderate, the hike down felt extremely fast. We arrived back at the parking lot at 2:17PM and headed back to our place.
All in all this was a great hike. I definitely recommend this for anyone looking to get in some decent mileage but not be killed by difficult terrain. While there was nothing too significant about the trail, it was still quite beautiful. The summit is one of the best I have been on which more than makes up for the "boring" trail. It was nice to hike with Ken and Martha as this was the first time I have done so - I would like to hike with them again in the future!
Hike Stats Trails: Mt. Garfield Trail Total Time (Including Breaks): 5:20 Distance: 10 Miles Elevation Gain: 3000'
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
