Hiking in the White Mountains: Little Haystack

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Another Hike on the Franconia Ridge

Date of Hike: 4/14/12

Falling Waters Trail: 3.4 miles
Franconia Ridge: 1.6 miles
Greenleaf Trail: 1.1 miles
Old Bridle Path: 2.9 miles
Bald Mountain/Artist's Bluff Loop: 1.2 miles
Total Miles: 10.2 (4,500 elevation gain)
Click here for Trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- Last Saturday I was able to get up to Franconia Notch and hike the 'Classic Franconia Ridge Loop.' Skies were sunny and temperatures were well above freezing with winds around 10-15 mph.
- It had snowed two days earlier so I wasn't surprised to see snowshoe tracks past the last river crossing above the falls all the way up to the ridge above treeline. Luckily I was on the trail earlier enough were the snow was still firm and held my weight so I was able to speed up with microspikes on.
- I overpacked for this hike, I brought snowshoes and crampons which stayed on the pack the entire hike, after Saturday's hike and the recent weather (I'm writing this a week after the hike) those will no longer be needed.
- I had the entire Franconia Ridge and the amazing views to myself, ararity for a Saturday. I took my time going across the ridge looking down into the Pemi at places were I might try and explore this summer or fall.
- I find hiking from north Little Haystack to Lincoln-Truman-Lafayette tougher than coming over from Lafayette but I like the views descending Lafayette better than ascending it.
- On Mount Lafayette's summit I got out of the wind and had lunch while sitting in the snow and taking in the views before heading down to Greenleaf Hut.
- As soon as I started descending I ran into the first of a couple of dozen hikers I would pass on the way out. I took a break at the hut before taking off my microspikes and continuing on, I immediately took two nasty falls and decided not to be an idiot and put back on my microspikes until the ledgey outlooks and then it was back to barebooting down the mountain.
- Towards the end at one of the switchbacks I continued strait and followed the original path for the Old Bridle Path, it was still well worn down and easy to follow as I've seen the hut crew use this path before, it probably saves a couple of tenths of a mile if that.
- Back at the trailhead I jumped into the car and headed over to the Bald Mountain / Artist's Bluff Loop Trail for a quick hike before heading home. This little loop is a great hike for beginners with incredible views of Cannon Mountain, Franconia Notch, Echo Lake, and Mount Lafayette.

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

View from Bald Mountain

Stairs Falls

Mount Lincoln

Franconia Ridge Trail

Mount Lafayette

Eagle Lake and Mount Lafayette

Winter Classic Franconia Ridge Loop

Date of Hikes: 2/3/12

Old Bridle Path / Greenleaf / Franconia Ridge / Falling Waters: 8.9 miles (3,900 elevation gain)
Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- Friday's forecast was for partly sunny skies, temps in the teens, and some wicked winds of 50 mph plus out of the north west. It was an iffy day to be above treeline but I decided to give it a go hoping to catch some views along the way.
- I arrived in the parking lot and not more than a minute later another guy drove by got out of his car and warned us about the weather, "You going up there? I hope you know the winds will be 50 mph and rising, probably not a good idea, do you know what you're doing." I simply smiled and said, I know, it's ok, I've done this before, don't worry I know what I'm doing, thank you." Unfortunately for that guy he missed out on one hell of a day!
- I took off up the Old Bridle Path passing only three other hearty souls along the way having fun in the winter wonderland of Franconia Notch.
- I made good time to Greenleaf Hut and took a few stops to take in the awesome views from the outlooks through Agony Ridge.
- At the Hut I changed into dry layers and put on crampons for the one mile exposed hike up to Mount Lafayette. At first the winds weren't to bad but that all changed in the last half mile push to the summit. They came whipping out of the northwest, it wasn't to bad at first but they kept getting stronger plus to make things a little more interesting a thick blanket of clouds descended upon us.
- When I reached the summit I was still in the clouds and I snapped just a couple of pictures put my camera away and kept on trucking.
- Dropping down off the summit got me out of the wind for maybe about one minute. The trail isn't hard to follow but there are a few sections that go through scrub which in the winter fill with snow so if you're not careful and go off trail you end up in spruce trap hell, luckily I was just in post-hole hell for a few steps but there was no point in switching to snowshoes as there was not enough coverage to warrant them.
- The push over the sub summit Mount Truman and the final push up to Mount Lincoln were semi difficult, the wind was knocking me around a little, I had to crouch down a few times before moving ahead which was a cool experience as at the same time the ridge was quickly clearing off.
- I took a few pictures but my main focus was getting over to Little Haystack and down below treeline where I could enjoy being out of the wind on Falling Waters Trail into the woods.
- The hike down to the falling Waters Trail was awesome as always, it takes on a much different look in the winter, the falls are mostly frozen over and the trail itself is easier to hike with all the rocks burried beneath the snow making for a perfect finish to a hike.

Greenleaf Hut and Mount Lafayette

Unbroken Greenleaf Trail

Hiking along the Franconia Ridge

Cannon Mountain, Lonesome Lake, and North and South Kinsman

Heading to Little Haystack with Liberty and Flume in the background

Another Classic Franconia Ridge Loop

Falling Waters Trail: 3.4 miles
Franconia Ridge Trail: 1.7 miles
Greenleaf Trail: 3.4 miles
Pemi Bike Bath: 2.0 miles
Total Miles: 10.5 (3,900 elevation gain)
Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- My friend from my days at the "College of the Quinnipiac University" Tom Diaz came up for his second annual two day hiking trip in the White Mountains.
- With great weather forecast for the weekend it was the perfect opportunity to do one of the best hikes in the White Mountains, the classic Franconia Ridge Traverse!
- We got on the trail early to beat the crowds and had a fun hike up the always fun Falling Waters Trail with a pit stop along the way to check out Shining Rock.
- Once breaking above treeline we were greeted with some pretty gusty winds that were a blast to hike in and knocked us off balance on top of Lincoln for a few seconds.
- As we approached the summit of Mount Lafayette a pretty cool undercast came rushing in making for some pretty killer views.
- On the summit of Lafayette we got out of the wind and took a nice long break to have had lunch while a group of teenages above us set up a tarp, played some music, had an inflatable pool float, and some had pajamas on. Don't know what they were up to but they were having a fun time!
- The hike down to Greenleaf Hut went pretty fast and as we descended towards the undercast it passed through and everything was clear below us again, perfect timing!
- At the hut we decided to continue along the Greenleaf Trail instead of Old Bridle Path. Greenleaf Trail is lightly used compared to Old Bridle Path so it's a quieter hike but other than a small section that passes under Eagle Cliff there are no views.
- With about a half mile to go on the Greenleaf Trail we left the trail and dropped down to the bike path to cut off about a mile worth of hiking and then enjoyed the nice smooth walk back to the car along the Pemi Bike/Walking Trail.

Click here for all pictures

Stairs Falls

Diaz holding onto his hat in the high wind

Classic Franconia Ridge shot!

Mount Lafayette Summit

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: 9/26/09

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:
- Solo hike, left RI at 5:30am on trail at 8am, summited Lafayette at 10am, Little Haystack at 11:15, finished at 12:45

- Hiked at quick pace (3,550 elevation gain in 2 hours) to beat the crowds but more importantly get back home to RI before 5pm to take care of the dog!

- Temps 35 degrees at start warmed up to 50's on the ridge and around 60 descending. Clear day with 100 plus miles visibility and absolutely no wind!
- The early start on the trail had me well ahead of the traffic of everyone taking advantage of a perfect weather day. Only passed about 12 people on way up Old Bridal Path (1 coming down) not many people on the ridge either, around a dozen or so. Once I got to Little Haystack it turned into a zoo! lost count somewhere around 200 people when coming down Falling Waters trail

-The Franconia Ridge from Lafayette, Lincoln, and Little Haystack is still one of my favorite hikes.

- Forgot how awesome the views are hiking up Bridle Path and Greenleaf trail

- Would have hiked the whole Franconia Ridge and down Flume Slide trail but with no one to look after my dog I had to book it back home

Pictures: Click here to view all pictures

Mount Lafayette Trailhead

Greenleaf Hut and Mount Lafayette

Greenleaf Trail

Franconia Ridge to Mount Lincoln

Mount Liberty and Flume from Lincoln Summit

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: