Date of Hike: 4/21/13
Old Bridle Path: 2.9 miles / Greenleaf Trail: 1.1 miles / Franconia Ridge Trail 1.7 miles / Falling Waters Trail: 3.2 miles
Total Miles: 8.9 (3,900 elevation gain)
Trip Report:
- Every April as the temperatures start to warm and the snow slowly starts to melt I head up and do a quick 'Classic' Franconia Ridge Loop hike. Conditions are a little whacky in the spring and you still need to bring along the snowshoes as there is lots of snow higher up in the woods where the sun doesn't penetrate. Luckily on Sunday we only needed to use our microspikes and had a fun hike with killer views!
- We decided to start late since the weather was improving as the day went on. Along the way we passed a bunch of hikers and saw lots of dogs running around in the snow as we made our way up to Greenleaf Hut. The trail to Greenleaf hut only has one steep section, a short hundred foot burst but other than that is has moderate grades with a few incredible outlooks along the way.
- The Greenleaf Hut is getting a new roof so it was cool to see the progress that has been made and we took a break before hooking onto the Greenleaf Trail. From the hut to the Mount Lafayette's summit is 1.1 miles and is almost all above treeline exposed to the elements. The trail becomes a little rougher but still is never too steep. I went ahead of Alton and Kelsey so I could take a bunch of pictures of Franconia Notch and the Kinsman Ridge. I made it to the summit pretty quickly and found a spot to hide from the wind as it was pretty cold up above 5,000 feet.
- Next we headed south along the Franconia Ridge Trail and views were phenomenal as they always are between Mount Lafayette and Little Haystack. It's 1.7 miles of above treeline hiking along one of the most beautiful sections of ridge hiking in the northeast. We ran into more and more hikers and more and more dogs. It must have been dog day on the ridge today as they seemed to come from every direction!
- Between Lafayette and Little Haystack you hike over Mount Truman, a sub peak between Lafayette and Lincoln. Mount Lincoln is another official 4,000 foot mountain and it's above 5,000 feet. The wind had started to die down around Lincoln but it was still cold enough that we booked it down from the summit and headed to the 'Gargoyles', which is a gothic looking knifes edge off to the side of the trail. We took a nice long break here and took in the views before heading over to Little Haystack.
- Once we reached Little Haystack we headed down the Falling Waters Trail. The upper section of the Falling Waters Trail is steep followed by switchbacks, it's 1.5 miles or so of in the woods hiking with nothing too exciting. However, the rest of the trail is fun and beautiful as the trail descends and snakes around Cloudland Falls, Swifwater Falls, and Stairs Falls. Cloudland Falls is the highest falls and the most spectacular.
- We took a bunch of pictures at Cloudland Falls and relaxed before we enjoyed the rest of the hike back to the cars. The weather ended up being perfect for one of the best loop hikes in the White Mountains!
Trailhead
Old Bridle Path
Dogs on Old Bridle Path!
Old Bridle Path
Old Bridle Path Outlook (Mount Lincoln in the background)
Shining Rock
Spring hiking = knee high socks!
Mount Lincoln
Alton meets a new friend
Lonesome Lake and North and South Kinsman
Greenleaf Hut and Mount Lafayette
Greenleaf Hut
Eagle Lake and Mount Lafayette
Greenleaf Hut
Greenleaf Trail
Mount Moosilauke
Fracnonia Ridge
Cannon Mountain
Cannon Mountain Ski Area
Cannon Mountain
Greenleaf Trail
North Lafayette
Frosted Cairn on the Greenleaf Trail
Mount Lafayette Summit
Mount Garfield
The Twin Range
Mount Washington
South Twin and Mount Washington
Presidential Range
Franconia Ridge
The Bonds
South Twin
Alton on the Franconia Ridge Trail
Dogs on Lafayette!
Alton makes another new buddy
and another!
Classic Franconia Ridge shot
Mount Lafayette
Mount Lincoln
Owlie - Owl's Head
Cliffs of Bond
South Twin and the Presidential Range
Mount Washsington and Monroe
Lonesome Lake with North and South Kinsman
Last pitch to the summit of Mount Lincoln
Mount Lincoln's Summit
Greenleaf Hut
Hancocks
Little Haystack, Liberty and Flume Mountains
Cannon Mountain
The Bonds
Hancock's
Twinway with the Presidential Range
Mount Lincoln
Relaxing by the Gargoyles
Relaxing by the Gargoyles
Alton and Kelsey with the Pemi Wilderness behind them
Relaxing!
Greenleaf Trail
Cannon Mountain, North and South Kinsmans
Cannon Mountain and ski area
Cannon Mountain
Lonesome Lake with North and South Kinsman
Falling Waters / Franconia Ridge Trail Junction
Falling Waters Trail
small falls above Cloudland Falls
Kelsey running down the Falling Waters Trail
Cloudland Falls
Alton at Cloudland Falls
Cloudland Falls
Kelsey enjoying the falls
Stairs Falls
Kelsey jumping across the Dry Brook
First off, I love the new look to your blog! Looks refreshing! Second, awesome pictures, you guys have so much fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks 4-Eva!!! ;)
DeleteI like the new look too. The old one was nice but it became to standard looking.
It was a beautiful blue-sky day on Sunday! I hiked to Lonesome Lake and one of the Cannonballs that day and was thinking about the great views you hikers must have had over on the Franconia Ridge. Fantastic photos!!
ReplyDeleteHere's some pics lookin' back at ya!
http://outdoordiversion.blogspot.com/2013/04/lonesome-lake-and-northeast-cannonball.html
Hi Don, I like your pictures, especially the first one of the Franconia Ridge from Lonesome Lake. Also I like the bent tree on the Lonesome Lake Trail! Glad you had a great hike as well!
Delete-Chris
Chris, Awesome photos! Looks like you a had an awesome day and lots of fun. Heading up to the ridge this weekend - its looking real thin up on top.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dana, glad you like the photos! Have a blast up there this weekend, the weather looks phenomenal!!
Delete