Mt. Lafayette and Mt. Lincoln - Franconia Loop

Franconia Loop - Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Lafayette and Little Haystack
Date of Hike - July 5, 2010
Trails - Old Bridle Path to Greenleaf Path to Franconia Ridge Trail to Falling Waters Trail
Mileage - 8.9 miles
Difficulty - Strenuous (with a hangover)
Favorite Moment - Hearing singing across the ridge
Weather - Verrrry Hot - cool and breezy along the ridge.




I awake. It's still dark out and I have that strange feeling in my stomach that only peaks in the predawn hours - that strange, somewhat awful feeling of excitement tinged with anxiety and, perhaps a bit of shock. I will climb three mountains today. I think I can. I think I can.

I Shower and hit the rode, headed north from Providence to the Franconia Notch. It's a long drive and Dunkin Donuts is a given. about 3 hours into the drive, I know I'm getting close and I'm only slightly terrified that the mountains looming, particularly along the right of route 93 in New Hampshire, will become a major part of my life over the next several hours.

I arrive around 9am at the Lafayette Campground Lot. The lot is already pretty crowded and there are several groups booted up and starting towards the Old Bridle Path trail head. I get my act together, including a hand full of advil in my pocket, PB&J, Starburst and (what I thought was) plenty of water. I begin and already I'm feeling a bit hurt. The day prior, I had been out sailing and gallivanting with friends, so my brain was a bit scrambled to start.

There are no buts about it: the Old Bridle Path and the Green Leaf Trail were a constant agony. It was constant in the sense that "flat" doesn't really exist over the 4.0-mile slog up to the summit of Mt. Lafayette and agonizing from the dehydration spurred from mass Corona Light consumption the day before.

My calves were on fire, and overall, I felt pretty terrible, but nothing could deter me from the views that came with the break out of the treeline. I nibbled on my starburst and with my sugars flying high, bit the bullet and kept climbing. It was a simply beautiful day, and the vista of my future path, so visible in the distance, invigorated me to continue.

A rock cairn with ski runs on Cannon Mountain behind

I reached the Green Leaf Hut and refilled on water. From here, the ridge was completely visible. I headed out from the hut and passed the lovely Eagle Lake glinting to the left in the valley between the hut and the beginning of the ascent to the first summit of Lafayette.

Green Leaf Hut with Mt. Lafayette

I followed the cairns up the rocky and steep Green Leaf Trail and finally reached the summit of Mt. Lafayette. The summit was slammed with people. There was a swarm of young men from a religious sect(presumably Mormons) , all dressed in matching khakis and navy polos, who were chanting and singing, praising God for the day and the glory of His creation, which was, in that moment, pretty awesome. The view south along the ridge to Lafayette and Little Haystack was absolutely amazing! I ate lunch at the summit, enjoying the serenade of my newly found spiritual friends. PB&J has never been so good.
Franconia Ridge Trail - aka - the Appalachian Trail

I reached the summit of Mount Lincoln pretty quickly. The ridge trail is mainly flat, so I had a decent pace, which was needed as it was a bit cool at that elevation and the sweat which had soaked me on the travel upward was now making me a tidbit chilly. The entire hike of the ridge was enhanced by the harmonious voices of the men coming from the earlier peak as they sang their little hearts out to the sky. The sound was palpable and the overall experience of the ridge was nearly ethereal.
View south from Mt. Lincoln to Little Haystack.







At the summit of Little Haystack, I began my descent down Falling Waters Trail. This trail, no surprise, featured a lot of waterfalls which were beautiful, but made the descent a slick one. The trek down the mountain was relatively slow but enjoyable with several beautiful photo-ops.

I got back to the Lafayette Campground lot feeling like a needed new knees; however, my pain could not even compare to the immense accomplishment that I felt. Not 3 hours earlier, I had been on top of the world - literally and figuratively.





A rocky cascade on Falling Waters Trail