"Franconia Notch Traverse"

Date of Hike: 6/26/10

Whitehouse/Liberty Springs Trail: 1.4 miles
Flume Slide Trail: 3.3. miles
Franconia Ridge Trail: 5.0 miles
Greenleaf Trail/Old Bridle Path: 4.0 miles
Lonesome Lake/Hi-Cannon/Kinsman Ridge Trail: 2.4 miles
Kinsman Ridge Trail: 6.7 miles
Kinsman Pond/Cascade Brook/Whitehouse Trail: 5.3 miles
Total Miles: 28.1 (9,900 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- With longer days come longer hikes and coming into this spring/summer I set a goal to do as many 20 plus mile one day endurance hikes as I could.
- Having already accomplished a Pemi Loop last month I was looking for another killer hike to do in the Franconia Notch region when I saw what looked to be a hidden gem of a hike.
- All hikers know about the Pemi Loop as it's a very popular hike but lesser known is it's evil twin the Franconia Notch Loop...Less miles, more elevation gain, no mind-numbing flat LW/Wilderness Trail, replace the ascent up South Twin with the hike up Cannon, the hike through the Cannon Balls is a mini Garfield Ridge, and oh yeah something the Pemi Loop doesn't have the Flume Slide!
- Left RI at 3am, on trail at 5:45am, lost my marbles at 6:30pm, finished at 7:15pm. Temps above 60 below treeline, high 40's above treeline, cloudy day with s few showers, decent views along Franconia Ridge, in the clouds on Kinsman Ridge.
- The Flume slide is one of my favorite trails, it's a very easy hike for the first 2.6 miles until you reach the slide where you ascend 1,400 feet in .7 miles. The trail basically becomes huge sections of steep rock slabs that are mostly wet, sometimes difficult, but most of all a ton of fun.
- Once above the Slide I hopped on the Franconia Ridge Trail and made good time over to Little Haystack, along the way I ran into a group of three doing a Pemi Loop.
- From Little Haystack to Mount Lafayette the clouds began to roll in and out above 5,000 feet but views where still decent into the Pemi Wilderness and across to the Kinsman Ridge.
- At Mount Lafayette Summit I ran into a White Mountain Forest Ranger who was researching the flowers in the Alpine Zone and she warned me that the weather forecast called for a chance of Thunder Showers, bummer!
- The hike down to Greenleaf hut went fast as usual and I had lunch and warmed while watching the darker clouds come in from the west.
- My original Plan was to hike down the Greenleaf Trail and then head up the Kinsman Ridge Trail from the Cannon Mountain Tramway. With the weather being iffy I decided to go down Old Bridle Path and then once at the Lafayette Campground Ascend Cannon Mountain via the Hi-Cannon Trail so it would be easy to bail out if I started to hear Thunder.
- The hike up to Cannon was steep and it was starting to rain but luckily there was no thunder and there would be none, however now the higher elevations were 'socked" in and there where no views to be had.
- I thought about bailing out the Lonesome Lake Trail but said screw it, I've come this far bring on the hike through the Cannon Balls!
- This is a stretch of pretty miserable hiking, really rough footing, about five or six annoying up and downs, and everything was soaking wet and slippery
- Along the way I ran into Steve and Steve who recognized me from a spring time hike in the snow where we saw a guy tumble down a couple hundred feet above Madison Springs Hut in icy conditions. They were both doing a Kinsman Ridge Traverse, it was great to run into you guys again!
- The hike from Kinsman Junction out and back to North and South Kinsman wasn't difficult except the rain had made for some very slippery spots up to North Kinsman and with no views to be had I missed out on the exceptional views of the Franconia Ridge from South Kinsman's summit
- The final stretch down the Kinsman Pond and Cascade Brook Trails were pretty awful. The Kinsman Pond is pretty cool and the shelter looks brand new, so that was cool but the rest of the trail is mostly rough and rugged and you're walking in a stream rock hopping for about a half mile!
- The rain started to intensify for the last two miles and I was soaked head to toe, covered in mud, sweaty, smelled like "Phys Ed" but was thrilled when I finally reached the car, and in the pouring rain I raised my hands up and had an "Andy Dufrense" moment.
- It was a great hike that I probably will never do again!

Pictures: Click here for all pics

Flume Slide

Franconia Ridge Trail

Hiking towards Mount Lafayette

View into Franconia Notch

from Hi-Cannon Trail

Kinsman Ridge Trail between

North and South Kinsman

Where I was throughout the day

One Day Presidential Range Traverse (North to South)

Date of Hike: 6/19/10

Airline/Airline Cutoff: 3.7 miles
Osgood Trail: 1.0 miles
Gulfside & Loop Trails: 6.2 miles
Crawford Path & Loop Trails: 5.8 miles
Webster Cliff Trail: 3.9 miles
Webster-Jackson Trail: 2.3 miles
Total Miles: 23 miles (9,100 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- Third annual Presidential Traverse with my dad helping me out with a car spot and the weather for the second strait year was phenominal!
- On trail at 5am, fisnished at 5:30pm, temps above 60 degrees with a light breeze, visibility of 75 + miles
- Hiked the Airline for the first time and enjoyed the great views into King Ravine and was pretty amazing to see the RMC Crag Camp building perched high above on the ridge across the ravine.
- At Madison Springs Hut and up to Madison's summit I ran into several hikers doing a one day traverse as well, some came up Valley Way, some the Watson Path, and another group from Howker Ridge.  Most people I ran into were doing the regular traverse which ends at Mount Pierce, but a couple of groups were doing the full traverse to Mount Webster. While most of the day the trails were packed with hikers going every which way and enjoying the great weather I was actually all by myself for the most part heading up to Adams all the way to Mount Clay.
- The hike from Thunderstorm junction to Edmands Col is one of my favorite stretches as the Great Gulf and Mount Washington looms in front of you every step of the way and the views are incredible.
- The hike up from Edmands Col to the Jefferson Loop trail gets pretty steep but there's still a snowfield left which makes it fun, it's only about one hundred feet across but it's perfect for building a mini snowman! (click here for pic)
- The hike down from Mount Jefferson passes through the Montecillo Lawn which is an almost level grassy plateau and is one of the very few spots where you're not hiking over boulders and rough terrain.
- At the summit of Mount Clay I ran into a few people doing a full traverse and hiked back and forth with them up to Mount Washington.  One of the guys (Cullin) I ended up hiking the rest of the way with, we hiked at a good pace as he is a marathon runner and in excellent shape and chatted it up about the mountains along the way.  Great hiking with you Cullin!  Click here for his pics!
- The Road Race up Mount Washington was taking place as we summited and there were runners everywhere, some looked exhausted others looked like they could have done it again.
- The hike down to Lakes of Clouds was great and from here on out with the exception of section between Monroe, Franklin, and just before Eisenhower we ran into hundreds of people and lots of dogs all enjoying the above treeline hiking.
- The summit Carin on Mount Eisenhower is still swarming with big bad ass hornets, I should have brought my Raid!
- As we lost elevation and were still above treeline the temperature was getting real hot and the sun was starting to take a toll but luckily once past Mount Pierce you're in the woods and out of the sun which was a relief. 
- At the Mizpah Hut we took a short break and filled up on water and prepared for the final stretch up to Mount Jackson and over to Mount Webster.
- There are two awesome spots hiking along the Webster Cliff Trail to Mount Jacskon, there's the alpine meadow with very well placed bog bridges with incredible views From Mount Pierce all the way to Washington, and the last tenth of a mile to the summit of Jackson is very steep with fun rock ledges.
- At Mount Jackson's summit Cullen's girfriend (Gina) was there as she had hiked Mount Pierce, Eisenhower, then hiked back and over to Jackson and she then headed down to 302 via the Webster-Jackson Trail.
- The Gray Jays were out looking for handouts and one of them flew and ate a tiny piece of granola right out of my hand which always amazes me!
- The hike over to the summit of Mount Webster and down to Crawford Notch went fast and was easy except the hundred feet you have to hike up right after Silver Cascade is a kick in the you know what!
- My dad was waiting for me at the Highland Center, we then drank some cold beers and talked about hiking for hours and it was a perfect ending to what is one of my favorite hikes in the White Mountains!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Airline Trail

Mount Jefferson, Clay, and Washington

Gulfside Trail Snowman!

Cog crawling up to Mount Washington

Lakes of the Clouds

Mount Monroe Loop Cross Cairn

View from Mount Pierce

Where I was throughout the day

Deep in the Dry River Wilderness

Date of Hike: 6/13/10

Saco River Trail: 1.8 miles
Dry River Trail:4.7 miles
Mount Eisenhower Trail: 2.7 miles
Crawford Path: .2 miles
Mount Eisenhower Loop: .8 miles
Crawford Path: 1.2 miles
Webster Cliff Trail: 7.3 miles
Total Miles: 18.7 miles (4,650 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- On Trail at 6:30am, finally above treeline at 10:45am, finished at 3:30pm. Temps were above 60 degrees all day, no wind, cloudy but pretty good views.
- The first 9 miles of this hike were brutal! The Dry River Trail has one spot with a great view into the Oakes Gulf up to Mount Monroe, Washington, and the Boot Spur but other than that once you get past the Mount Clinton Trail junction it's a rugged, wet mess, with numerous small blowdowns which become very annoying after the fifteenth one!
- The Mount Eisenhower Trail although easy was a struggle, the last mile of this trail has not been trimmed back in years and you have to just slog through all the tiny fern branches, plus the trail "Corridor" is very low so if you are over six feet tall you may get your eyes poked out!
- Once I finally popped up above treeline I was rewarded with some of the best views looking down into the Dry River Wilderness up to Mount Isolation and the Davis Path.
- From here the hiking was alot of fun as usual, I ran into dozens of hikers of all kinds coming from Mizpah Hut heading to Mount Pierce and Eisenhower.
- The large summit cairn on Mount Eisenhower has been taken over by huge nasty-ass wasps that were probably going to start stinging if aggrivated in any small way...watch out!
- At Mizpah Hut I relaxed for a little bit and had the greatest coffee cake ever (take that Drakes coffee cake!)
- On the Way over to Mount Jackson and Webster I finally had great views from both summits after two previous clouded in hikes.
- The hike down Webster Cliff was phenomenal! The views down into Crawford Notch and the close up view of Mount Willey were incredible. The hike along the ridge on the Webster Cliffs is tremendous and made the last stretch of the hike alot of fun!

Pictures: Click Here for all Pics

Dry River Suspension Bridge

Hiking along the Crawford Path (AT)

to Mount Eisenhower

Alpine Meadow on the Webster Cliff Trail (AT)

Crawford Notch from Webster Cliffs

"Ridge of the Caps"

Date of Hike: 6/12/10

Jewell/Boundary Line Trail: 1.3 miles
Jefferson Notch Road: 1.4 miles
Caps Ridge Trail: 2.5 miles
Mount Jefferson Loop: .3 miles
Gulfside Trail: .6 miles
Mount Clay Loop: 1.2 miles
Gulfside Trail: 1.1 miles
Crawford Path: 1.7 miles
Mount Monroe Loop: .6 miles
Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail: 3.1 miles
Total Miles: 13.8 miles (5,200 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- After taking a week off from hiking I was itching to get back above treeline and the Caps Ridge Trail which I had not hiked in over twenty years was the perfect hike to get back to.  Unfortunately the Jefferson Notch Road is still closed so I would have to hike over to the Caps starting from the Jewell Trail to the Boundary Line Trail and walk up the road to the trailhead.  Kind of a bummer but it meant I could try out a pretty cool loop hike up to Jefferson, Clay, Washington, Monroe, and down the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail.
- Left RI at 3am, on trail at 6:30am, Jefferson summit at 8:45, Washington 10:15am, Monroe 11:30am, finished at 1:30pm.  Temps were in the 60's below treeline, mid 40's above treeline, light and steady rain from first Cap on the Ridge of the Caps to Mount Clay Loop.
- The hike on Jefferson Notch Road to the trailhead was uneventful but went quickly, the only highlights were the road signs had all been peppered with bullets.
- The Caps Ridge Trail below treeline is a total mess, numerous blowdowns right from the get go, not as bad as the Six Husbands but pretty nasty.  Also the trail past the link junction is not trimmed and eventhough it wasn't raining yet I was soaked from all the fern branches, luckily it was warm out and had a changed of clothes and a rain/windbreaker if needed.
- I hiked at a pretty quick pace because I was fearful of getting caught above treeline in bad weather and wanted to make it above the minor rock scrambles on the Caps Ridge before it rained.  Of course it started to rain when I was within fifty feet of the first Cap! However the Caps were much easier and smaller than what I remembered and they were lots of fun scrambling up them!
- I figured I was out-of-luck and the rain would get worse and I was going to bail down the Jewell Trail later but when I reached Sphinx Col I decided to hike up the Mount Clay Loop and bail if need be. Within ten minutes the rain stopped and other than a drizzle it didn't rain again until I was below treeline on the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail.
- From then on out the hike was awesome!  Mount Washington was in and out of the clouds, I got lucky and saw the Cog Train chugging over Jacob's Ladder (see pic below), ran into a bunch of hikers coming from and going to Lakes of the Clouds hut, and had great view of Mount Monroe and Lakes of the Clouds hiking down the Crawford Path.
- Along the way I stopped in at the top of Washington to get some food, warm up and change into dry clothes.  I also stopped in at Lakes of the Clouds Hut were they had FREE PANCAKES!!! (Take that IHOP, free pancake combo my A$$!!!)
- The hike down the Ammonoosuc was pretty slippery in spots and still steep as ever, the avalanche that slammed through in the winter snapped thousands of trees in the ravine and is a pretty awesome sight to see.
- The day turned out to be much better than expected and as usual it was another great hike!

Pictures: Click here for all Pics

Caps Ridge Trail

Cog Train at "Jacobs Ladder"

With Mount Monroe and Lakes of the Clouds

Mount Monroe and Lakes of the Clouds

Lakes of the Clouds and Mount Washington