albee
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I was looking for a short bushwhack to do for early Saturday afternoon. I had been scouting out Eagle Cliff on the map since it looks like a relatively straightforward trip, mostly on trails, and a short BW to the summit from Eagle Pass.
Well, best laid plans don't always work out!
I arrived in Franconia Notch at 11:15 AM, and Eagle Cliffs impressively stood out at the northern end of the notch framed by Cannon cliffs on the west and Mount Lafayette on the east. It looked like such a cool peak to climb! Since I had plenty of time, I just walked into the woods with the general plan of following the Greenleaf trail up to Eagle Pass, and bushwhacking to the summit from the south/southeast side.
As I followed the Greenleaf trail, I came to a pair of cairns on the left approximately 0.3 miles from the trailhead. I also counted 7 large blowdowns on the Greenleaf trail in this short distance, not to mention the trail sign was on the ground at the trailhead. What a poorly maintained area! I decided to follow the herd path beyond the cairns to see where it went, since it seemed to head directly for the ridge and might save me some distance.
This herd path took me directly up to a really interesting rock climbing area. I could even see some bolts in the cliffs for climbers to clip into. I've been thinking of getting into trad climbing, but this cliff looked too scary with a steep gravel slope directly underneath the climbing route. I wouldn't want to fall before I got clipped in, since there was no place safe to land!
The herd path continued up to a col, getting steeper and steeper with lots of loose scree and talus underfoot. This was obviously not an area where a lot of people continued on to. It was a surprisingly rugged, technical route for being only 30 minutes away from the Cannon parking lot. I gained the ridge and headed south through the spruce.
The ridge was quite easy to follow, although it alternated from easy moose trails to thickets of spruce and blowdowns. The whole ridge took me about 40 to 50 minutes to navigate, and the summit area was easy to discern since it was at the southern end of the ridge and it drops off quickly after that. The summit area opens up to an impressive view of the northern flanks of Lafayette just after where the jar is tied to the tree. There are also a pair of beautiful open ledges that face Cannon Mountain. I sat down for a snack and a couple pictures, then headed back.
I initially tried to make my way down to Eagle Pass in order to take the Greenleaf trail back, but it was too thick and steep for my liking. After wasting 15 minutes trying this, I headed back from the way I came. All in all, it took me 1:20 to get up to the summit, and 1:35 to get back, including my misadventures on the summit. If anyone tries this route again, I would recommend staying on the ridge or the western side of it, depending on how thick the blowdowns are on the ridgeline. It is definitely not an open-woods bushwack, but at least it isn't a long distance to cover.
I had fun, but beware of this route in the winter, since the rock climbing area is in an avalanche route. Crampons and an ice axe would be required. Cheers!
Well, best laid plans don't always work out!
I arrived in Franconia Notch at 11:15 AM, and Eagle Cliffs impressively stood out at the northern end of the notch framed by Cannon cliffs on the west and Mount Lafayette on the east. It looked like such a cool peak to climb! Since I had plenty of time, I just walked into the woods with the general plan of following the Greenleaf trail up to Eagle Pass, and bushwhacking to the summit from the south/southeast side.
As I followed the Greenleaf trail, I came to a pair of cairns on the left approximately 0.3 miles from the trailhead. I also counted 7 large blowdowns on the Greenleaf trail in this short distance, not to mention the trail sign was on the ground at the trailhead. What a poorly maintained area! I decided to follow the herd path beyond the cairns to see where it went, since it seemed to head directly for the ridge and might save me some distance.
This herd path took me directly up to a really interesting rock climbing area. I could even see some bolts in the cliffs for climbers to clip into. I've been thinking of getting into trad climbing, but this cliff looked too scary with a steep gravel slope directly underneath the climbing route. I wouldn't want to fall before I got clipped in, since there was no place safe to land!
The herd path continued up to a col, getting steeper and steeper with lots of loose scree and talus underfoot. This was obviously not an area where a lot of people continued on to. It was a surprisingly rugged, technical route for being only 30 minutes away from the Cannon parking lot. I gained the ridge and headed south through the spruce.
The ridge was quite easy to follow, although it alternated from easy moose trails to thickets of spruce and blowdowns. The whole ridge took me about 40 to 50 minutes to navigate, and the summit area was easy to discern since it was at the southern end of the ridge and it drops off quickly after that. The summit area opens up to an impressive view of the northern flanks of Lafayette just after where the jar is tied to the tree. There are also a pair of beautiful open ledges that face Cannon Mountain. I sat down for a snack and a couple pictures, then headed back.
I initially tried to make my way down to Eagle Pass in order to take the Greenleaf trail back, but it was too thick and steep for my liking. After wasting 15 minutes trying this, I headed back from the way I came. All in all, it took me 1:20 to get up to the summit, and 1:35 to get back, including my misadventures on the summit. If anyone tries this route again, I would recommend staying on the ridge or the western side of it, depending on how thick the blowdowns are on the ridgeline. It is definitely not an open-woods bushwack, but at least it isn't a long distance to cover.
I had fun, but beware of this route in the winter, since the rock climbing area is in an avalanche route. Crampons and an ice axe would be required. Cheers!
. There's way more to climbing in New Hampshire than just Crawford Notch and Cathedral/Whitehorse.
