Date of Hikes 1/7/17 & 1/8/17
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 (4,154 feet elevation gained)
Webster-Jackson Trail: 5.2 miles (2,547 feet elevation gained)
Trip Report:
- On Saturday morning I headed to Franconia Notch for a classic
Franconia Ridge - Lafayette & Lincoln Loop hike with Kyle. However, this trip report will start the
previous Saturday on New Year ’s Eve. On
that day I met Kyle at Lafayette Place for what was supposed to be an easy hike
of the Kinsmans, of which we never made it to the top. Did one of us get hurt? Was it too cold? Was it too tough of a hike??!! None of the above! We actually never set foot on the trail because
Kyle got his car stuck in the snow!
Lafayette Place Campground has a parking lot for hikers off 93 South,
when you turn off the highway there is a parking lot on the left and on the
right. In the winter the lot on the left
becomes a snowmobile trail and you have to park in the lot on the right. Unfortunately, Kyle forgot that this was the
case and pulled into the summer lot and got his car stuck…big time! There are small orange signs warning hikers,
“no highway vehicles allowed” to stay out, but on this morning the signs had
been covered in rime ice so Kyle drove through and got himself in a real
pickle. (see drawing and pics below)
- A few snowmobilers tried to
help Kyle out with a pull to no avail, although they got his car to at least be
aligned in the right direction, but he was off the hard packed snowmobile track,
and was now stuck even worse.
- Next, about a dozen hikers
tried helping him out of the jam for the next half hour, we were able to get
the car going but it was veering for a
boulder so that lead nowhere too. It was
really nice to see hikers come by and want to help out, in fact other than one
crotchety old hiker who tried to ridicule Kyle asking if he could read,
everyone understood it could happen to anyone.
- After a couple of hours the tow truck arrived and hooked up the cable
to Kyle’s car, but again his car was veering towards that boulder, even worse the tow truck was
now stuck too, albeit only a few feet from the pavement.
- Finally, a second tow truck came along and they figured out a way to
pull Kyle’s car without dragging his car into the boulder. Instead of having a direct line to his car
they swung it around a tree about fifty feet off to the right so it would pull
his car away from the rock and up onto the snowmobile track, where they then
unhooked from around the tree and hooked back on a direct line to safely pull
his car out. Oh yeah, this all happened
while tow truck #2 was hooked into tow truck #1 who was hooked to Kyle’s car!
- And that my friend is how Kyle and I spent New Year’s Eve morning,
which was also Kyle’s 27th birthday.
Happy Birthday, Kyle, one I’m sure you’ll never forget!!
- Anyway, a week later we were back to the scene of the crime, parked
safely across the street. We started
our hike at 9AM, it was about five degrees out but with no wind we were able to
heat up quickly and enjoy a beautiful hike up old Bridle Path and Greenleaf
Trail. Except for some minor wind drifts
along the Franconia Ridge the trails were all packed down solid and built for
speed.
- The forecast called for sunny skies but that wasn’t the case as an
overcast loomed above us all day. There
were blue skies to the northwest, and some thin clouds hoovering around Little
Haystack with the sun brightly shinning behind it but not through it.
- It was amazing how calm the
weather was above treeline, there are not too many days where you can shuffle
along the Franconia Ridge in January when there is zero wind and enjoy the
views even as the weather struggles to reach ten degrees.
- Our descent down Falling Waters Trail was a speedy one as all the
rocks and roots were buried beneath a few feet of snow. When we reached the last water crossing we
veered off the trail to take a peek at the NH Outing Club cabin which is used
by hikers and climbers (permit use only).
The cabin seems like it’s out of place in the middle of nowhere but I do
believe the original cut of the Falling Waters Trail used to head up from the
old Route 3 right past it. It was pretty
neat to take pictures of the outside of the cabin before finishing a great day
up on the ridge. J
- On Sunday I had to head to RI in the afternoon but I wanted to get in
some strength training and a quick hike before heading south. I got up early and hit up the local fitness
center before heading to Crawford Notch for another cold but easy hike.
- Mount Jackson is a five mile round trip, which in the winter when
broken out is actually an easier hike than in snow free months because the footing
on the trail is one of the top five most eroded trails in the White Mountains,
it’s gnarly squared.
- On this morning it was a super packed highway, and for the second
straight day the snowshoes got a free ride on my pack. Unlike yesterday, it was a little breezier up
top and temperatures were struggling to reach zero too. Luckily, I was able to stay warm on the hike
up as the trees shielded me from the wind, which even though it wasn’t windy at
all, maybe 15 MPH, it doesn’t take much to chill a hiker to his/her bones when
the air temp is zero.
- Views from the top were incredible as it was a bluebird day, so I
snapped a few pics and scurried back down below the trees as unfortunately for
me the five minutes I spent up there was during an extended gusty period, and
like I said it doesn’t take much wind to freeze your eyelashes and eyebrows!
- Once back below the trees I motored my way down the mountain and hit
the road just before noon and headed back south, only swearing twice at
clueless drivers through Boston’s Expressway, score!! J
#1 is where Kyle original was stuck, #2 is where a snowmobile dragged him to, Tow Truck #1 got stuck just inside the "no highway vehicle" zone, tow truck #2 hooked onto him, while truck #1 hooked around a tree to move Kyle away from the boulder and back on the snowmobile track, where they could hook up to him using a straight on approach...as you can clearly see from this very detailed drawing!
This is where Kyle's car was stuck when the tow truck arrived
Slowly pulling him out
Pulling him back onto more solid snow pack
The snow where he was embedded
Finally back to just pulling him out with a normal straight on approach
Looking at Cannon Mountain (top) as Old Bridle Path climbs up Agony Ridge (bottom)
Sun trying to shine through the clouds on a frigid morning in the Whites
Cannon Mountain was blowing snow on the slopes so it made a cool effect
Franconia Ridge pano
Greenleaf Hut
Eagle Lake and Mount Lafayette
Greenleaf Hut as seen from the Greenleaf Trail at treeline
Kyle makes his way up the western shoulder of Mount Lafayette
From the pictures it looks like a gloomy day but it really wasn't at all
Looking back down towards Franconia Notch with the Kinsman Ridge across the way
Kyle hikes up a steep snowfield about a quarter mile from the summit
Hiking up into the sun!
A hiker slowly makes his way to the top of the snowfield
Pano from the top of the mini lip
Cannon Mountain Ski Area
Looking across the Pemigewasset Wilderness from Mount Lafayette's summit
Owl's Head with the Bonds behind it and to the left
Twin and Bond ranges
Presidential Range rising high above everything else to the north
Kinsman Ridge
Classic Franconia Ridge shot
Kyle hiking across the ridge
The sun was shining brightly but the clouds were just thick enough to keep it at bay
Mount Lincoln
Pano of the Lincoln Slide buried in snow
Kyle makes his way up to Mount Lincoln's summit
Mount Lafayette's summit cone in the middle of the winter is when it is looking the most majestic!
Hikers descending Mount Lincoln
Looking back at Mount Lafayette
Little Haystack being overtaken by some clouds
The Twinway across the Pemi Wilderness with the Presidential Range off in the distance
Cold but beautiful day up on the ridge
Hiking into the clouds
Cloudland falls mostly buried in snow
The NH Outing Club cabin
Hiking up the Webster-Jackson Trail
Cold morning in the woods, but shielded from the wind
The last half mile push to the summit
Presidential Range
Mount Washington
The Willey Range
Mount Willard, Avalon, Field, and Tom
Great images, both hikes! It is interesting how persistently different this winter is from last in the Whites.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Doug! It has definitely been a better winter so far, lot more snow and beautiful in the woods and above the trees, hopefully it'll stay this way for the next few months!
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