Hiking in the White Mountains: Greenleaf Hut

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Spring & Summer on Mount Lafayette & Lincoln. . . In February

Date of Hike: 2/21/18

Old Bridle Path: 2.9 miles / Greenleaf Trail: 1.1 miles / Franconia Ridge Trail: 2.0 miles / Greenleaf Trail: 1.1 miles / Old Bridle Path: 2.9 miles
Total Miles: 10.0 (4,527 feet elevation gained)

Trip Report:
- It was "Wacky Wednesday" in the White Mountains! With weather above treeline on Franconia Ridge approaching sixty degrees I decided to head up for an anomaly of a hike for February.
- Conditions below treeline resembled April, soft snow and rapid melt. Conditions above treeline were almost summer like, except for a few patches of wind drifted snow in scrub sections the Greenleaf Trail and Franconia Ridge trails were down to dirt and rock.
- It was an odd hike to say the least, luckily the wind was whipping around 30MPH, if it hadn't been I would have sweated five pounds off as it was very warm. I was actually kicking myself for not bringing sunscreen of all things!
- Views were phenomenal, as is the case when the summits are in the clear. As I strolled along the ridge high clouds floated by quickly which were fun to watch. When I reached the summit of Mount Lincoln I decided to double back instead of heading to Little Haystack and down, it was too nice out not to spend more time above treeline.
- As much as I liked the easy one clothing layer hike, I'm hoping for some more snow soon to enjoy a few more winter wonderland hikes before the annual April snow rot begins.

View of the "Agonies" from the Old Bridle Path outlook

Snow was melting fast and the ice was turning to slush

Eagle Lake and Mount Lafayette

Passing by Greenleaf Hut and hiking up Greenleaf Trail

View from treeline on the Greenleaf Trail

The hot sun quickly melting the little ice and snow left on the trails above treeline

Looking at Mount Lincoln from Mount Lafayette

Owl's Head

Mount Lincoln as seen from Lafayette (left) and Truman (right)

Mount Lincoln (left), Mount Lafayette (right)

Mount Lincoln

Cannon Mountain

Little Haystack, Liberty and Flume mountains

Kinsman Ridge, Kinsmans and Cannon mountains

Mount Lafayette as seen from Mount Lincoln

Pemi Wilderness; Galehead, Twins, Guyot

Hiking back down the Greenleaf Trail with Cannon Mountains and the Kinsmans in view

Cannon Mountains Ski Area

The Classic Franconia Ridge Loop

Date of hike: 8/28/10

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:
- One of the most popular hikes in the White Mountains is the Classic Franconia Ridge Loop via the Old Bridle Path, Greenleaf, Franconia Ridge, and Falling Waters Trail. The route travels over the summits of Mount Lafayette, Lincoln, and Little Haystack and a good day the views above treeline in the Alpine Zone are simply amazing.
- Accompanying me for the hike was my friend and old neighbor from RI, Gina, who would be hiking for the first time in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. For this hike she ditched her fashionable Arden B. clothes for comfy outdoor hiking clothes and traded in holding onto her Coach and Dooney & Bourke handbags to holding onto rock slabs and tree trunks as she hiked her way up, over, and down the Franconia Ridge!
- Left RI at 6am, on trail at 9am, finished at 5pm. Temps in 60's and 70's below treeline, in the low 50's above treeline. Mostly clear with fantastic 60 plus mile views with very light wind.
- As with most great weather days on the Franconia Ridge the trails were packed with all kinds of hikers and all kinds of dogs having a blast.
- The hike up to Greenleaf Hut was pretty easy going, I let Gina set the pace as she went up the trail, her two favorite things to say while hiking where "Where do I go...this way??!!" when she got to an undistinguished part of a trail and "I hate you, I'm going to kill you" when she had to climb up a steep ledgey part...I could tell she loved it!
- At the hut we relaxed and refueled on freshly baked cookies made by the hut crew and chewed on some stale trail mix left behind by the hut crew...Gina liked Greenleaf Hut, especially the cookies and she now refers to the hut as "The Cookie Hut"!
- From the hut to the summit of Mount Lafayette is where the views open up and hiking above treeline begins. Once gaining the ridge and summiting we relaxed and had lunch and enjoyed the views. There were two AT thru-hikers with their two dogs that I struck up a conversation with. They started hiking March 29th and had covered over 1,800 miles with just over 300 left with the best yet to come, I offered them some "Trail Magic" but they said they had plenty of food.
- From here we hiked along the Franconia Ridge above treeline over Mount Lincoln to Little Haystack while enjoying spectacular views of Franconia Notch to the west and the Pemigewasset Wilderness to the east.
- Along the way while approaching Mount Lincoln we were greeted by a glider plane quietly soaring about one hundred feet above us as it flew back and forth between Mount Lafayette and Little Haystack.
- Once to Little Haystack we took another long break to have a snack and enjoy the views one last time before dropping back down below treeline on the Falling Waters Trail.
- The hike down Falling Waters Trail was a drag until we reached the part that travels along the waterfalls. From here on out the hike went pretty quickly as we enjoyed the parts of the trail that crossed the river while taking in the views of the waterfalls.
- Back at the car I could tell Gina was really happy to be done hiking and to change out of her sneakers and into her comfy flip-flops. In the end her favorite part of the hike were the waterfalls and hiking along the river, and as far as her first hike in the White Mountains went she did exceptionally well and killed it like a rock star!!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Eagle Lake and Mount Lafayette

Franconia Ridge (AT)

Owl's Head and the Pemi Wilderness

Hiking along the Franconia Ridge (AT)

"Cliff of the Bonds"

Hope Springs Eternal (Mount Little Haystack, Lincoln, Lafayette)

Date of Hike: 4/3/10

Falling Waters Trail: 3.4 miles
Franconia Ridge Trail: 1.6 miles
Greenleaf Trail: 1.1 miles
Old Bridle Path: 2.9 miles
Total Miles: 9.0 (4,200 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- I was going to take the week off from hiking but seeing the incredible forcast for Saturday I couldn't pass up a chance to get up to the mountains for a quick hike of one of the most popular loop hikes around...the classic Franconia Ridge Loop
- What a difference a week makes! Last Saturday I hiked in total winter conditions, frigid weather, ice, deep snow, steep slopes, wind etc...this week 60 degrees, slush for snow, powerful sun, no wind, postholing!
- Left RI at 4:40am, on trail just after 7:30am, finished around 1:30pm. Temperature at trailhead were 42 degrees and rising fast, warmed up to about 60-65 degrees on the ridge! Clear skies made for 75 plus miles visibility
- Trail consisted of mud, rocks, monorail snow, postholing snow, chopped up slush snow, rotting snow, slippery snow, and ice snow, every kind of snow except for powder snow!. I brought all my winter traction and ice axe but other than wearing my microspikes up to Little Haystack the other gear never left my pack.
- All the water crossings on Falling Waters trail were running high and slick, every crossing was half rock-hopable half you're going to get your boots wet but not to difficult
- At the second crossing I made it across mostly unscathed and was thrilled, I wanted to take a picture and my camera wasn't strapped to my pack, I had left it about .2 miles down trail at the prevuois crossing...needless to say as I re-crossed the brook my right foot went in up to my knee! My toes got pretty cold but with the warm temps I knew by the time I got into the sunshine on the ridge and a change of socks I'd be fine
- Popping up out of treeline and stepping onto the Franconia Ridge Trail never gets old, the views are some of the best and no matter how many times I've hiked this section of the trail I always find myself stopping over and over again to take in the views!
- The walk across the ridge was great as usual, most of the trail was mud and bare rocks, except for a few sections between Lincoln and Lafayette that had slippery snow with one or two pretty gnarley dropoffs
- I saw about a dozen people on the ridge, all kinds of hikers out and about and as I desceded the Greenleaf trail I ran into two guys, one with ski's one with a snowboard. They were headed to a small, steep, insane vertical looking shute between Lafayette and Lincoln
- The hike from Greenleaf hut to the car was slower than usual because the trail is beat to crap, plus I fell and smashed my upper back into a boulder.
- Ran into three more skiers who had aborted their hike up the mountain, they tried telling me the were going to ski "Tuckermans" as in Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington, wrong guy to try to pull that one over on dudes! I should have responded with "Yeah and I just took a piss off Lunch Rocks!!"
- All in all a great day on a great hike that never gets old!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Mount Lincoln

Mount Liberty and Flume from Mount Lincoln Summit

South Twin Mountain with Mount Washington

Looming in the background

Franconia Ridge

Eagle Lake and Mount Lafayette

Mount Lafayette and Mount Lincoln (#3 & #4)

Date of Hike: 12/24/09

Old Bridle Path: 2.9 miles
Greenleaf Trail: 1.1 miles
Franconia Ridge Trail: 1.7 miles
Falling Waters Trail: 3.0 miles
Total Miles: 8.9 (3,900 elevation gain)

Trip Report
- On trail at 7:45am, finished at 1:15pm. Weather at trailhead was 20 degrees, stayed in the 20's for most of the hike with wind chills in the teens above treeline. Winds were out of the North at 30-40 MPH. Temps rose to mid 30's near the end of hike
- Excellent views to the north, east, and south. Views to the west had an undercast at about 3,000 to 3,500 feet creating a wave of clouds crashing into Cannon Mountain
- Used snow shoes until greenleaf hut, then switched to microspikes, then put crampons and ice axe for last half mile to summit. Kept crampons on until Little Haystack which was an overkill, they weren't needed at all
- My fingers got chilly from hut to summit until I switched over to my mitts which for the second strait day worked wonders!
- Views on ridge were ridiculously awesome, Pemi was snow frosted over above 3,500 feet. View of presidential range rising above the South and North Twin were crystal clear
- Passed three hikers on ridge doing the loop from the opposite direction, one of them (Rocket21) gave me a card for the website New England Trail Conditions (click link to view!) which has trail conditions and much more!
- Descended Falling Waters Trail very qucikly as snow covers all the rocks on the trail that slow you down in the summer
- Forgot one of my mom's old hiking poles at Lafayette summit, not to bummed about it as they always seem to get in the way!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

View from Old Bridle Path

Lonsome Lake, North and South Kinsman

Greenleaf Hut and Mount Lafayette

Undercast wave of clouds crashing into Cannon Mountain

View of Galehead, Twin Mountains, & Presidential Range

Franconia Ridge

Mount Washington

Owl's Head and the Bonds

West Bond, Bond, and Bondcliff

Presidential Range from Little Haystack Mountain

Greenleaf Hut

Mount Lincoln from Little Haystack

Mount Lafayette, Lincoln, Little Haystack

Date of hike: 9/30/06

Old Bridal Path: 2.9 miles
Greenleaf Trail: 1.1 miles
Franconia Ridge Trail: 1.7 miles
Falling Waters Trail: 3.0 miles
Total Miles: 8.7 (3,900 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- Hiked with my college buddy Brandon Blindt and his friend Dan B.
- Clear day, no wind, temps 45-65 degrees
- Frost on rocks past Greenleaf Hut to summit, rime ice on trail signs and on the a few rocks before the sun melted it away
- Glider plane kept flying above ridge and into the valley
- Foliage was about a week from peaking

Pictures:

Eagle Lake and Mount Lafayette

Greenleaf Hut and Mount Lafayette

View into the Pemi Wilderness. Garfield at the far left, with Galehead and the Twins in the middle, and Guyot on the right

Blindt and myself on Mount Lafayette

Looking down at the end of Franconia Notch to the lower ski slopes of Cannon Mountain

Glider plane making a pass over Agony Ridge

Mount Lincoln as seen from Little Haystack

Classic Franconia Ridge Shot

Mount Lafayette (5,260 feet)

Eagle Lake and Mount Lafayette viewed from Greenleaf Hut

Mount Lafayette is one of the most popular mountains in the Whites because of its location and easy access from I-93 in Franconia Notch. Many people do a loop of Lafayette-Lincoln-Little Haystack to take in the views above treeline on the Franconia Ridge. The summit is located at the northern terminus of the Franconia Ridge trail and the southern terminus of the "dreaded" Garfield Ridge trail. Views from Mount Lafayette are some of the best around, the Pemigewasset Wilderness and all it's peaks are on one side and the Franconia Notch with Cannon and the Kinsman's are on the other side. The summit and the approach to the summit is above treeline and exposed so one should use caution if bad weather is fast approaching, and if thunderstorms are barreling in run and hide!

Trails I've Hiked

- Old Bridle Path & Greenleaf Trail: 4.0 miles, 3,550 elevation gain. Located of I-93 at the Lafayette Place parking lot, this trail offers great views into Walker Ravine and the Franconia Ridge especially Mount Lincoln from outlooks as you hike up to Greenleaf Hut (2.9 miles, 2,450 elevation gain). The trail has moderate grades with decent to rocky footing with two pretty cool fun short sloping rock sections. Once you arrive at the Greenleaf Hut you will hook up with the Greenleaf Trail to the summit, the trail is above treeline most of the way and is a steady uphill climb marked with cairns with spectacular views looking up to Franconia Ridge. If weather gets bad the best thing to do is turn back and head for the safety of the Greenleaf Hut which is open from late spring to early fall

- Franconia Ridge Trail (from the south): 1.7 miles, 850 elevation gain, from Little Haystack. One of the most rewarding hikes for views in the White Mountains, the trail is rocky but well defined, not difficult, and extremely fun. Starting from From Little Haystack you will hike up to Mount Lincoln then down and up to Mount Truman, then down and up to Mount Lafayette all the while Owl's head is below you on your right with the Twinway, Guyout, and Bonds rising above past Owl's Head. On your left is Franconia Notch with the Kinsman Ridge and the vertical rock walls of Cannon Mountain. This section of the Franconia Ridge trail is exposed to the elements and can be very difficult and extremely dangerous when the weather turns bad.

Pages

Spring & Summer on Mount Lafayette & Lincoln. . . In February

The Classic Franconia Ridge Loop

Hope Springs Eternal (Mount Little Haystack, Lincoln, Lafayette)

Mount Lafayette and Mount Lincoln (#3 & #4)

Mount Lafayette, Lincoln, Little Haystack

Mount Lafayette (5,260 feet)

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