BIGEarl
Well-known member
August 1, 2007: Lafayette, Lincoln, Liberty, and Flume (plus the lesser summits of Truman and Little Haystack)
Trails: Old Bridle Path, Greenleaf Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Osseo Trail, Wilderness Trail
Distance – Elevation: 14.6 miles, 4,800 feet
The day started early with a meeting time of 6:30am at Lincoln Woods. RLC (Bob) and I met there to leave a vehicle and then drive to our start in Franconia Notch on the Old Bridal Path. The plan was to hike a traverse of Franconia Ridge under ideal conditions (at least that was the weather forecast). Meeting at Lincoln Woods at 6:30am required me to be on the road around 4:30am, work backwards from there to find the alarm clock target (early, but I’m a morning person). We met as planned and headed for the start of our trek.
The hike started with agony, which meant it could only go up! Sorry, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. The Old Bridle Path follows Agony Ridge starting a short distance from the trailhead to the junction with the Greenleaf Trail, which is also the location of the AMC Greenleaf Hut. We started out with only enough water/Gatorade to reach the hut. We were planning to top everything off, including filling of a couple additional empties, there before heading for the summit of Lafayette. It wasn’t long before we developed and understanding why it was named Agony Ridge. There are a number of steep sections, any of which could cause great pain with a wrong step. Along the way we met several other hikers, all heading out (down). In one group there was an injured 12-year old boy that slipped and fell on the rough trail. His hand was badly cut and being tended to by his father. The Old Bridle Path has a number of viewpoints providing great photo opportunities. Approximately half-way to the Greenleaf Hut we noticed the sky had turned grey and appeared quite threatening.
Approximately 9:30am we stepped into the Greenleaf Hut. The Hut Croo was busy cleaning up after the breakfast period and preparing to haul waste materials out for disposal. I assume they will return later in the day with additional supplies. All guests were out for the day. We loaded up with water as planned, I drank and made more Gatorade, and we both enjoyed a snack before the final climb of Lafayette.
Soon, we left and headed through the final section of spruce before several hours above the treeline on Franconia Ridge. As we cleared the treeline, the sky was clearing of clouds. To the north we could see improved conditions on the way. The remaining clouds helped keep the temperature down while we made our way to the summit and then quickly left us in beautiful hiking conditions.
We stayed on the summit of Lafayette for only a short time. The place was infested with flies, and a few hikers. Not biting but annoying just the same (the flies – of course). We found a windy place on the summit that helped keep them away and then decided to simply head out for our next target. From here we hiked the Franconia Ridge Trail (FRT) down the ridge, N-S.
The hike to Lincoln is only 1 mile but there’s a bump in the middle called Mount Truman. This isn’t a significant peak but added 300 feet to the elevation gain total for the day. We cruised over Truman and continued on to Lincoln. The cloud problem was gone, we had a nice breeze from the North, the humidity was down, the temperature was comfortable and we were generally having a great day! Little Haystack was roughly the mid-point of our hike and it is a short distance south of Lincoln. We decided to enjoy the clear, breezy, bug-free conditions on Lincoln for our lunch spot. I can’t imagine a place where you can get better views over lunch. We leisurely worked our way through the feedbag stop and then loaded up to continue our trek to the waiting truck in Lincoln Woods.
The trip from Lincoln to Liberty is mostly downhill or flat. We cruised over Little Haystack, continued to drop elevation until we were back in the spruce, worked our way through some steep and rough descent sections, and finally found the trail to open a little and start the climb to Liberty. First, we passed the FRT – Liberty Springs trails junction. From here it is only .3 miles and 200 feet in elevation to the summit of Liberty. We had quick refreshment and headed for Liberty.
In no time we managed the final hike to Liberty. When we arrived another hiker was sitting on a high spot waiting for us. Dave (aka blackcoffee) was considering joining the hike from the start but ended up hiking the Flume Slide Trail and then across to Liberty. I had previously hiked with Dave last January. He knew we were coming through and decided to stick around to see us. We visited for a while but couldn’t stay for very long because we still had nearly seven miles to go. We invited Dave to join us offering to drive him back to his car. He wanted to see some new territory and decided the Osseo Trail was new territory he had an interest in learning about.
Off we went to Flume, our final target. The hike from Liberty to Flume is an easy 1.1 miles with an elevation gain of 450 feet in the final steep climb to the summit. We quickly moved from Liberty to Flume with a couple necessary stops on the final climb (it’s late and I’m running low on everything). Eventually, we were on the summit. I enjoyed a quick snack, drank a liter of Gatorade, and transferred the final liter of water from a nalgene bottle to my water bladder. After a few pictures we were ready for the final downhill hike out via the Osseo and Wilderness trails.
We left the Flume summit and quickly cleared the FRT – Osseo – Flume Slide trails junction. The first part of the Osseo Trail is a mild descent with a large generally flat section. After clearing this section there are a few bog bridges and then the ladders. The Osseo ladders offer quick elevation loss. Along the way are viewpoints where more pictures were snapped while continuing down. Eventually the ladders end and the trail continues in a series of switchbacks dropping more elevation. Some of these are quite rough but the footing is very good. After the switchbacks comes a hard left turn where the trail is on the side of a ridge above a brook. It follows the brook all the way to the Wilderness Trail. It is a little difficult knowing exactly where you are on this final run out but once the trail reaches brook level you’re nearly at the wilderness trail.
We reached the wilderness trail at the brook. Bob decided he needed to soak his feet and stopped to dip them in the cool water. Dave and I continued for the Lincoln Woods suspension bridge. I don’t care what anybody says, the Wilderness Trail is a pain at the end of a long day. All you can do is swallow hard and get through it. Dave and I carried on a conversation covering a few topics and eventually found ourselves at the suspension bridge at Lincoln Woods. After a while, Bob came down the trail with various “Wilderness Trail” comments.
We crossed the bridge, headed for the parking lot, retrieved the truck, and headed for the Basin Lot where Dave’s car was waiting. Then, it was off to the OBP-Falling Waters trailhead lot and Bob’s waiting car.
What a great day in the mountains. Around the AMC Greenleaf Hut it looked like our weather forecaster friends had guessed wrong (again) but everything was as advertised for the day.
Bob, thanks for the hike. Dave, it was good to see you again.
I've posted some pictures from the day.
Straight to the Slideshow.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Trails: Old Bridle Path, Greenleaf Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Osseo Trail, Wilderness Trail
Distance – Elevation: 14.6 miles, 4,800 feet
The day started early with a meeting time of 6:30am at Lincoln Woods. RLC (Bob) and I met there to leave a vehicle and then drive to our start in Franconia Notch on the Old Bridal Path. The plan was to hike a traverse of Franconia Ridge under ideal conditions (at least that was the weather forecast). Meeting at Lincoln Woods at 6:30am required me to be on the road around 4:30am, work backwards from there to find the alarm clock target (early, but I’m a morning person). We met as planned and headed for the start of our trek.
The hike started with agony, which meant it could only go up! Sorry, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. The Old Bridle Path follows Agony Ridge starting a short distance from the trailhead to the junction with the Greenleaf Trail, which is also the location of the AMC Greenleaf Hut. We started out with only enough water/Gatorade to reach the hut. We were planning to top everything off, including filling of a couple additional empties, there before heading for the summit of Lafayette. It wasn’t long before we developed and understanding why it was named Agony Ridge. There are a number of steep sections, any of which could cause great pain with a wrong step. Along the way we met several other hikers, all heading out (down). In one group there was an injured 12-year old boy that slipped and fell on the rough trail. His hand was badly cut and being tended to by his father. The Old Bridle Path has a number of viewpoints providing great photo opportunities. Approximately half-way to the Greenleaf Hut we noticed the sky had turned grey and appeared quite threatening.
Approximately 9:30am we stepped into the Greenleaf Hut. The Hut Croo was busy cleaning up after the breakfast period and preparing to haul waste materials out for disposal. I assume they will return later in the day with additional supplies. All guests were out for the day. We loaded up with water as planned, I drank and made more Gatorade, and we both enjoyed a snack before the final climb of Lafayette.
Soon, we left and headed through the final section of spruce before several hours above the treeline on Franconia Ridge. As we cleared the treeline, the sky was clearing of clouds. To the north we could see improved conditions on the way. The remaining clouds helped keep the temperature down while we made our way to the summit and then quickly left us in beautiful hiking conditions.
We stayed on the summit of Lafayette for only a short time. The place was infested with flies, and a few hikers. Not biting but annoying just the same (the flies – of course). We found a windy place on the summit that helped keep them away and then decided to simply head out for our next target. From here we hiked the Franconia Ridge Trail (FRT) down the ridge, N-S.
The hike to Lincoln is only 1 mile but there’s a bump in the middle called Mount Truman. This isn’t a significant peak but added 300 feet to the elevation gain total for the day. We cruised over Truman and continued on to Lincoln. The cloud problem was gone, we had a nice breeze from the North, the humidity was down, the temperature was comfortable and we were generally having a great day! Little Haystack was roughly the mid-point of our hike and it is a short distance south of Lincoln. We decided to enjoy the clear, breezy, bug-free conditions on Lincoln for our lunch spot. I can’t imagine a place where you can get better views over lunch. We leisurely worked our way through the feedbag stop and then loaded up to continue our trek to the waiting truck in Lincoln Woods.
The trip from Lincoln to Liberty is mostly downhill or flat. We cruised over Little Haystack, continued to drop elevation until we were back in the spruce, worked our way through some steep and rough descent sections, and finally found the trail to open a little and start the climb to Liberty. First, we passed the FRT – Liberty Springs trails junction. From here it is only .3 miles and 200 feet in elevation to the summit of Liberty. We had quick refreshment and headed for Liberty.
In no time we managed the final hike to Liberty. When we arrived another hiker was sitting on a high spot waiting for us. Dave (aka blackcoffee) was considering joining the hike from the start but ended up hiking the Flume Slide Trail and then across to Liberty. I had previously hiked with Dave last January. He knew we were coming through and decided to stick around to see us. We visited for a while but couldn’t stay for very long because we still had nearly seven miles to go. We invited Dave to join us offering to drive him back to his car. He wanted to see some new territory and decided the Osseo Trail was new territory he had an interest in learning about.
Off we went to Flume, our final target. The hike from Liberty to Flume is an easy 1.1 miles with an elevation gain of 450 feet in the final steep climb to the summit. We quickly moved from Liberty to Flume with a couple necessary stops on the final climb (it’s late and I’m running low on everything). Eventually, we were on the summit. I enjoyed a quick snack, drank a liter of Gatorade, and transferred the final liter of water from a nalgene bottle to my water bladder. After a few pictures we were ready for the final downhill hike out via the Osseo and Wilderness trails.
We left the Flume summit and quickly cleared the FRT – Osseo – Flume Slide trails junction. The first part of the Osseo Trail is a mild descent with a large generally flat section. After clearing this section there are a few bog bridges and then the ladders. The Osseo ladders offer quick elevation loss. Along the way are viewpoints where more pictures were snapped while continuing down. Eventually the ladders end and the trail continues in a series of switchbacks dropping more elevation. Some of these are quite rough but the footing is very good. After the switchbacks comes a hard left turn where the trail is on the side of a ridge above a brook. It follows the brook all the way to the Wilderness Trail. It is a little difficult knowing exactly where you are on this final run out but once the trail reaches brook level you’re nearly at the wilderness trail.
We reached the wilderness trail at the brook. Bob decided he needed to soak his feet and stopped to dip them in the cool water. Dave and I continued for the Lincoln Woods suspension bridge. I don’t care what anybody says, the Wilderness Trail is a pain at the end of a long day. All you can do is swallow hard and get through it. Dave and I carried on a conversation covering a few topics and eventually found ourselves at the suspension bridge at Lincoln Woods. After a while, Bob came down the trail with various “Wilderness Trail” comments.
We crossed the bridge, headed for the parking lot, retrieved the truck, and headed for the Basin Lot where Dave’s car was waiting. Then, it was off to the OBP-Falling Waters trailhead lot and Bob’s waiting car.
What a great day in the mountains. Around the AMC Greenleaf Hut it looked like our weather forecaster friends had guessed wrong (again) but everything was as advertised for the day.
Bob, thanks for the hike. Dave, it was good to see you again.
I've posted some pictures from the day.
Straight to the Slideshow.
BIGEarl's Pictures
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