TMax
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- Feb 12, 2005
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THE PLAN: 42 miles, 10,500 feet of elevation gain, 9 peaks... 
THE REALITY: 38 miles, 9500 feet of elevation gain, 4 peaks...
Started out bright and early Saturday (Oct. 7) morning from the Lincoln Woods TH where the cars were frost covered! Hefted on my 50 pound pack, moaned, and headed out. Goal 1 was to hit Owl's Head then head up to 13 Falls for the night. The ease of the trail and the quickly warming day lulled me into a sense that this trip would be a breeze! Even with my monster pack I made excellent time. Turning onto Franconia Brook Tr the trail condition deteriorated a bit but was still no problem. Turning onto Lincoln Brook Tr was a different story! The "brook" crossings were more like river crossings. At the first one, I initially took off boots and attempted to barefoot it. Between the coldness of the water, the slipperiness of the rocks, the swiftness of the current, and the weightiness of my pack, I quickly decided this was a poor choice and turned back. I attempted to walk up river a bit to look for a better spot when I happened upon another hiker. He had gotten lost when he attempted to work his way around a beaver dam on the Franconia Brook Tr. He sure seemed happy to see me and I pointed him back in the right direction. This did little to bolster my enthusiasm, but on I went. I put my boots back on, unclipped my pack and walked straight through that "brook"! Second crossing was only a little better, the third almost as bad! The trail was rocky, rooty, and muddy. I commented more than once "I am NOT having fun!" Got to the base of Owl's Head, dropped my big pack and headed up. Now that was fun! What a great climb up the slide. And without the weight of my pack I felt like I was flying. Ran into a few people coming down but had the summit to myself until another female solo hiker joined me. Quick trip back down and put that heavy pack back on. The trail north of Owl's Head deteriorates tremendously. It felt like someone's sadistic attempt at humor! 13 Falls had very few people there considering the holiday weekend and great weather. I set up camp and was in my tent shortly after dark.
My initial plan was to hike up to Guyot the next day bagging Garfield, Galehead, the Twins, and Zealand along the way. HA! Instead, I opted to leave the heavy pack at 13 Falls and take a lighter weight, more mellow hike. Up to Garfield in perfect conditions! As I attempted to climb up onto the summit rock, some dude was talking loudly on his cell phone while his dog nipped at my arm to prevent my ascent! I couldn't believe my dumb luck! Once the guy promised me the dog just wanted to play, I settled in for a nice view from the top! What an excellent day. I decided then to slow down my pace and just enjoy myself. Peak bagging could wait. After a leisurely snack and lots of photos I headed off for Galehead. The walk over was more arduous than I believed it would be with many ups and downs and lots of mud. I stopped at every viewpoint and just enjoyed! Once at the hut, I hung out on the porch and visited with folks for quite awhile. Eventually, I put my boots back on and made the quick trip up Galehead. Then a nice woods walk down the Twin Brook Tr back to 13 Falls. Checked out the falls (what a beautiful place!), made dinner and got to bed early again.
Monday morning made the promise of another beautiful day. I packed up my gear and hiked out the Franconia Brook Tr. I was a little concerned about the beaver dam that the guy I saw on Friday got lost trying to go around, and a group of guys who were at 13 Falls also reported getting lost for over an hour trying to go around. I even had a dream about it. But what a pleasant surprise the trail was, even with my monster pack! The footing was great with very little mud. There were a couple sketchy stream crossings, but my agility improved with each one. When I got to the beaver dam, I made the decision to cross right over the dam. It is a big one, but I made it across without one mishap. At the bridge crossing near the Franconia Brook and Wilderness Trail intersection, I ran into a large group that had also had a major mishap trying to go around the beaver dam. The walk out the Wilderness Trail became more and more surreal as I got closer to the trailhead. There were large numbers of "walkers" (as opposed to "hikers") and I increasingly felt like my three-day-old hiker funk was preceding me on the trail. I made the 8 mile hike with my full pack in just about 3 hours (take that JayH). Being a little disappointed in falling very short of my original goal, I decided to head over to Crawford Notch and grab Willey. After sitting in traffic (really bad accident at the Arethusa Falls TH) for over an hour to cover about 6 miles, I got to the Ethan Pond TH. What a FANTASTIC hike. I loved the steepness of the climb and the 11 ladders!!!! The view of the Presi's from the outlook was nothing short of breathless. Not a cloud in the sky! Half an hour on top and then a wonderful hike back down.
It doesn't get much better than this
THE REALITY: 38 miles, 9500 feet of elevation gain, 4 peaks...
Started out bright and early Saturday (Oct. 7) morning from the Lincoln Woods TH where the cars were frost covered! Hefted on my 50 pound pack
, moaned, and headed out. Goal 1 was to hit Owl's Head then head up to 13 Falls for the night. The ease of the trail and the quickly warming day lulled me into a sense that this trip would be a breeze! Even with my monster pack I made excellent time. Turning onto Franconia Brook Tr the trail condition deteriorated a bit but was still no problem. Turning onto Lincoln Brook Tr was a different story! The "brook" crossings were more like river crossings. At the first one, I initially took off boots and attempted to barefoot it. Between the coldness of the water, the slipperiness of the rocks, the swiftness of the current, and the weightiness of my pack, I quickly decided this was a poor choice and turned back. I attempted to walk up river a bit to look for a better spot when I happened upon another hiker. He had gotten lost when he attempted to work his way around a beaver dam on the Franconia Brook Tr. He sure seemed happy to see me and I pointed him back in the right direction. This did little to bolster my enthusiasm, but on I went. I put my boots back on, unclipped my pack and walked straight through that "brook"! Second crossing was only a little better, the third almost as bad! The trail was rocky, rooty, and muddy. I commented more than once "I am NOT having fun!" Got to the base of Owl's Head, dropped my big pack and headed up. Now that was fun! What a great climb up the slide. And without the weight of my pack I felt like I was flying. Ran into a few people coming down but had the summit to myself until another female solo hiker joined me. Quick trip back down and put that heavy pack back on. The trail north of Owl's Head deteriorates tremendously. It felt like someone's sadistic attempt at humor! 13 Falls had very few people there considering the holiday weekend and great weather. I set up camp and was in my tent shortly after dark. My initial plan was to hike up to Guyot the next day bagging Garfield, Galehead, the Twins, and Zealand along the way. HA! Instead, I opted to leave the heavy pack at 13 Falls and take a lighter weight, more mellow hike. Up to Garfield in perfect conditions! As I attempted to climb up onto the summit rock, some dude was talking loudly on his cell phone while his dog nipped at my arm to prevent my ascent! I couldn't believe my dumb luck! Once the guy promised me the dog just wanted to play, I settled in for a nice view from the top
! What an excellent day. I decided then to slow down my pace and just enjoy myself. Peak bagging could wait. After a leisurely snack and lots of photos I headed off for Galehead. The walk over was more arduous than I believed it would be with many ups and downs and lots of mud. I stopped at every viewpoint and just enjoyed! Once at the hut, I hung out on the porch and visited with folks for quite awhile. Eventually, I put my boots back on and made the quick trip up Galehead. Then a nice woods walk down the Twin Brook Tr back to 13 Falls. Checked out the falls (what a beautiful place!), made dinner and got to bed early again. Monday morning made the promise of another beautiful day. I packed up my gear and hiked out the Franconia Brook Tr. I was a little concerned about the beaver dam that the guy I saw on Friday got lost trying to go around, and a group of guys who were at 13 Falls also reported getting lost for over an hour trying to go around. I even had a dream about it. But what a pleasant surprise the trail was, even with my monster pack! The footing was great with very little mud. There were a couple sketchy stream crossings, but my agility improved with each one
. When I got to the beaver dam, I made the decision to cross right over the dam. It is a big one, but I made it across without one mishap. At the bridge crossing near the Franconia Brook and Wilderness Trail intersection, I ran into a large group that had also had a major mishap trying to go around the beaver dam. The walk out the Wilderness Trail became more and more surreal as I got closer to the trailhead. There were large numbers of "walkers" (as opposed to "hikers") and I increasingly felt like my three-day-old hiker funk was preceding me on the trail. I made the 8 mile hike with my full pack in just about 3 hours (take that JayH). Being a little disappointed in falling very short of my original goal, I decided to head over to Crawford Notch and grab Willey. After sitting in traffic (really bad accident at the Arethusa Falls TH) for over an hour to cover about 6 miles, I got to the Ethan Pond TH. What a FANTASTIC hike. I loved the steepness of the climb and the 11 ladders!!!! The view of the Presi's from the outlook was nothing short of breathless. Not a cloud in the sky! Half an hour on top and then a wonderful hike back down. It doesn't get much better than this
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