When we got up we went down to the river to see where the peaceful, roaring white noise was coming from last night. The water was moving pretty fast and it was cold and refreshing on the toes. It was a nice thing to see first thing in the morning.
We took a short drive up the highway to the Franconia Ridge loop parking area, checked out the map, got our boots and packs on, and then headed for the trail.
It began rocky much like the Mount Washington hike, climbing up right away. Some of the path had been washed away in the recent rains it seemed, but we were able to get through. We took the split to the right and started on the actual loop, where we encountered a few waterfalls.
This was the biggest fall of the three or so that we went by. They were all pretty different and provided a refreshing cool breeze when we passed.
The trail climbed steeply past the falls and beyond through the woods. It was a tough climb at many points. We took several breaks, wondering how far we were from the top. I think our pace tends to wear us out quicker when we are on steep hikes like this one.
Once we got past the tree line there was still a while to go. Steep ridges and large boulders to climb over were only a couple of the obstacles on the way to the top. Once we arrived however, the view was amazing. Completely worth all of it. We dropped down and grabbed some snacks while talking to a couple who were hiking the Appalachian Trail through. They gave us some tips on doing it and some reality-checks.
After a good rest and refueling, we hopped on the ridge trail, which is the AT. It spans three peaks on the loop before descending and we were only at the first, Little Haystack. The ridge trail took us up (again!) to Lincoln's peak, then down a bit before the final ascent to the peak of Mt. Lafayette.
Lafayette was crowded with through-hikers of the AT, chatting about their experiences hunting animals and how much food they pack on an average day. It was all really interesting and encouraging to see people getting along so well. The friendliness of hikers has always been a favorite of mine. One of the hikers said, "Through all of the beautiful views this trail has, the thing I'll really remember is all the great people I've met along the way." That only makes me want to do it more.
The hike down was long and started feeling never-ending at one point because I was so hungry. It was a nice walk down mostly, with the rocky parts being the only nuisance to quick descent. There were a lot of them. Once we got down we grabbed some dinner and headed on toward Vermont, stopping at the same little campground as I did on the last trip to shower. It felt great to wash the sweat and dirt off of me.
We drove to The Alchemist for dinner, but a sewage pipe burst earlier right in front of the place and they were closed. We found a nearby state park to set up camp (why did I sleep in a parking lot last time??) and had some good food from home when we got there.
1 comment:
mount lincoln is the middle one.
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