Mad Townie
New member
With winter (at least OFFICIAL winter) fast waning, what's a fella to do when he'd like to finish his winter 4K's before a big birthday? Well, with the weather forecast for St. Patty's Day being nearly perfect, and with all his friends working 
, there's not a much better choice than a solo hike down Franconia Ridge from Lafayette to Flume!
The sun was just coming over the ridge as I started up the Old Bridle Path. (I've done the Bridal Path thing--twice is enough!) In addition to getting out quite a bit this winter, I've been hitting the stair stepper at the gym in an effort to combat the deconditioning effects of desk jockeying and physical decline, so I was ready to see how much good it's done.
OBP is a fine trail. It snakes through the hardwoods for awhile, then it decides to gain altitude. And once it decides . . . .
The reason the "bumps" on the trail are called the "Agonies", I'm told, is to reflect the agonies of the hut croos who have had to hump gigantic loads up to Greenleaf Hut over the years. It's a well-deserved label. After the hiker has worked a bit, the spectacular views are well-deserved, too. The trail skirts the ravine, sometimes only a couple feet from the edge, so as to give a fantastic view of Lafayette, Lincoln, and the spectacular ravine that drops from the ridge toward the valley floor. Microspikes® were the perfect footwear for the often slippery snow and melting ice.
Uphills have always been difficult for me. I wonder if it has something to do with the weight in my pack, the weight on my feet, and . . . the weight around my middle. Anyway, with some effort I soon found myself within view of Greenleaf Hut. Much of the porch was clear of snow, so I took the opportunity for a little calorie loading and dawdling in the sun. Put crampons and sunscreen on, too.
After that it was up the cone of Lafayette, to some of the best views I've seen in all my years of hiking. There were Washington and the Presidential range, arrayed behind the Twins. There were Garfield, tiny little Galehead, Guyot, the Bonds, Carrigain, Owl's Head and, just to the right, my ultimate destination: Flume! Oh, and Lincoln, too. Sometimes I suffer from spectacularity fatigue.
There was very little wind on the Lafayette summit, and the temperature was warm enough to allow for some ice melt. Once again I dawdled and took lots of photos. Who can hurry on a day like that, in a place like that?
Eventually I made my way down the south side of the Lafayette summit cone, and in no time I had covered the mile to Lincoln. There I was rewarded for my efforts with more views, including for the first time Liberty to go along with its colleague Flume. I could see Moosilauke, which was my any season #48 a couple years ago around this time. This day certainly didn't match that one, which featured 60 mph winds, cold, blowing ice particles . . . and quite a few good and new friends.
As much as I'm a social guy, though, there are times when a solo hike, especially a long and challenging one like this, is just what I need. I don't do a whole lot of "deep thinking", I just enjoy the solitude and usually try to get "that song" out of my head. This time it wasn't so bad, because the song was a new one we'll be playing this coming weekend at Unfrozen Caveman's.
Washington and the other Presidentials seemed to track my movements as I hiked along. At first they were behind the Twins, but slowly they moved south relative to the peaks of the eastern Pemi. It was like getting new and different views every time I looked over there. What a treat!
Continued . . .
, there's not a much better choice than a solo hike down Franconia Ridge from Lafayette to Flume!The sun was just coming over the ridge as I started up the Old Bridle Path. (I've done the Bridal Path thing--twice is enough!) In addition to getting out quite a bit this winter, I've been hitting the stair stepper at the gym in an effort to combat the deconditioning effects of desk jockeying and physical decline
, so I was ready to see how much good it's done. OBP is a fine trail. It snakes through the hardwoods for awhile, then it decides to gain altitude. And once it decides . . . .
The reason the "bumps" on the trail are called the "Agonies", I'm told, is to reflect the agonies of the hut croos who have had to hump gigantic loads up to Greenleaf Hut over the years. It's a well-deserved label. After the hiker has worked a bit, the spectacular views are well-deserved, too. The trail skirts the ravine, sometimes only a couple feet from the edge, so as to give a fantastic view of Lafayette, Lincoln, and the spectacular ravine that drops from the ridge toward the valley floor. Microspikes® were the perfect footwear for the often slippery snow and melting ice.
Uphills have always been difficult for me. I wonder if it has something to do with the weight in my pack, the weight on my feet, and . . . the weight around my middle.
Anyway, with some effort I soon found myself within view of Greenleaf Hut. Much of the porch was clear of snow, so I took the opportunity for a little calorie loading and dawdling in the sun. Put crampons and sunscreen on, too.After that it was up the cone of Lafayette, to some of the best views I've seen in all my years of hiking. There were Washington and the Presidential range, arrayed behind the Twins. There were Garfield, tiny little Galehead, Guyot, the Bonds, Carrigain, Owl's Head and, just to the right, my ultimate destination: Flume! Oh, and Lincoln, too. Sometimes I suffer from spectacularity fatigue.
There was very little wind on the Lafayette summit, and the temperature was warm enough to allow for some ice melt. Once again I dawdled and took lots of photos. Who can hurry on a day like that, in a place like that?
Eventually I made my way down the south side of the Lafayette summit cone, and in no time I had covered the mile to Lincoln. There I was rewarded for my efforts with more views, including for the first time Liberty to go along with its colleague Flume. I could see Moosilauke, which was my any season #48 a couple years ago around this time. This day certainly didn't match that one, which featured 60 mph winds, cold, blowing ice particles . . . and quite a few good and new friends.
As much as I'm a social guy, though, there are times when a solo hike, especially a long and challenging one like this, is just what I need. I don't do a whole lot of "deep thinking", I just enjoy the solitude and usually try to get "that song" out of my head. This time it wasn't so bad, because the song was a new one we'll be playing this coming weekend at Unfrozen Caveman's.
Washington and the other Presidentials seemed to track my movements as I hiked along. At first they were behind the Twins, but slowly they moved south relative to the peaks of the eastern Pemi. It was like getting new and different views every time I looked over there. What a treat!
Continued . . .
