BIGEarl
Well-known member
July 12, 2014: Lafayette & Lincoln Loop
Trails: Old Bridle Path, Greenleaf Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Falling Waters Trail
Summits: Lafayette, Lincoln
Hikers: Solo
I was in the area from the previous day and planned on hiking one of a couple different choices. The forecast was too good to skip some above-the-treeline hike time. The classic loop of Franconia Ridge was my Plan A for the day. I decided to ascend Old Bridle Path and descend Falling Waters Trail. This makes two weeks in a row that I have descended Falling Waters Trail and two weeks in a row that I have left my tripod at home. Oh well, I’ll improvise. Terrific conditions plus a weekend should mean a huge crowd.
Right from the start the day was warm and a little humid. I didn’t have an extremely early start but the crowd seemed slow to develop. I parked at Lafayette Place in the hiker lot on southbound I-93 instead of the OBP-FWT trailhead lot. A short walk through the tunnel that runs underneath I-93 and I was on-trail. I saw one other hiker at the start, and then one more just below Agony Ridge; I was thinking not bad, and very unusual. I generally hiked non-stop at a relaxed pace to the first viewpoint on Agony Ridge. As I started up Agony Ridge my right hearing aid was displaying strange behavior so I decided to stop and check it out. One of the sound tubes needed cleaning (I did both and was soon back to the climb).
Roughly half way through the climb to Greenleaf Hut I started to meet a significant amount of traffic. I assumed the people all stayed at the hut the previous night and were now on their exit hike. Thinking back, there were a lot of people and probably too many for the hut. I made my way to the hut and stopped for a quick break and some water.
After some refreshment I was on the climb of Greenleaf Trail to the summit of Lafayette. Along the way there was relatively light traffic but I could see to the ridge and knew a huge increase was coming. Roughly a half mile below the summit I saw a familiar face; it was “mtnpa”. We stopped for a short visit. He got an early start and was on his way back out to spend the day getting close to his to-do list. Soon we were both on our way. I continued at my slow and steady pace and was soon standing at the summit of Lafayette.
When I arrived to Lafayette there were only a few people already there. I got a couple summit selfies and some view shots. Then, the crowd started to grow. It was clear; I needed to get moving south. By the time I left the summit the crowd went from roughly ten to over thirty and growing fast. I headed south on Franconia Ridge Trail, enjoying the day and the terrific views, but thinking about Little Haystack and the turn onto Falling Waters Trail.
After leaving Lafayette it was a matter of stop and step to the side allowing on-coming traffic to pass; over and over and over all the way to Little Haystack. Occasionally I was the on-coming traffic and the other folks allowed me to pass. Everybody was courteous and most of the dog owners kept their pets on a leash. I was able to maintain a good pace all the way to Lincoln before the traffic jammed up. On the summit of Lincoln there was a couple with a large Labrador Retriever not on a leash. Another couple approached from the south with a “large” lapdog, also not leashed. The retriever decided it was time for lunch and went after the poor little lapdog. Both couples moved quickly enough to limit the show to only noise. After the dust settled the folks with the retriever helped me with a summit picture and I was soon on my way.
By this point in the hike progress has really lowed. I found myself stopping a lot due to trail traffic. I slowly approached Little Haystack, got a few pictures, and headed down Falling Waters Trail. The upper section leading to Shining Rock Spur was a constant stop and go. The trail in the area of Shining Rock Spur was completely blocked by people lounging on the rocks. Once I made my way past this blockage the traffic again became more courteous. There were many interesting and amusing sights on the trail. The one that seems to stick with me most is that of an older woman, dressed in office attire, with sneakers, and carrying a large purse. She was a short distance below Shining Rock Spur when we passed. Funny!
Once I shifted my perspective to one of humor the heavy traffic became less frustrating. Still, I wanted out! I hiked through the switchbacks and got into the area of the falls. I was able to get some nice pictures at Cloudland, Swiftwater, and Stairs Falls (even without a tripod). After finishing with Stairs Falls I was on my final exit mission.
Soon I passed the OBP-FWT split and new the trailhead was nearby. I reached the trailhead, stopped to visit for a while with the N.H. State Police that were gathered there, and headed through the tunnel to a relatively quiet Lafayette Place hiker lot.
The Lafayette – Lincoln loop is a relatively short and easy hike with lots of reward for the effort; consequently a huge crowd is the price you pay for doing it on a nice weekend day. It was early-afternoon and I was in no rush to take off. I got my things packed, had some lunch, changed into comfortable footwear, and hit the highway south. Even with all the company I enjoyed the hike; seeing the crowd as entertainment for the final two to three miles definitely helped.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Old Bridle Path, Greenleaf Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Falling Waters Trail
Summits: Lafayette, Lincoln
Hikers: Solo
I was in the area from the previous day and planned on hiking one of a couple different choices. The forecast was too good to skip some above-the-treeline hike time. The classic loop of Franconia Ridge was my Plan A for the day. I decided to ascend Old Bridle Path and descend Falling Waters Trail. This makes two weeks in a row that I have descended Falling Waters Trail and two weeks in a row that I have left my tripod at home. Oh well, I’ll improvise. Terrific conditions plus a weekend should mean a huge crowd.
Right from the start the day was warm and a little humid. I didn’t have an extremely early start but the crowd seemed slow to develop. I parked at Lafayette Place in the hiker lot on southbound I-93 instead of the OBP-FWT trailhead lot. A short walk through the tunnel that runs underneath I-93 and I was on-trail. I saw one other hiker at the start, and then one more just below Agony Ridge; I was thinking not bad, and very unusual. I generally hiked non-stop at a relaxed pace to the first viewpoint on Agony Ridge. As I started up Agony Ridge my right hearing aid was displaying strange behavior so I decided to stop and check it out. One of the sound tubes needed cleaning (I did both and was soon back to the climb).
Roughly half way through the climb to Greenleaf Hut I started to meet a significant amount of traffic. I assumed the people all stayed at the hut the previous night and were now on their exit hike. Thinking back, there were a lot of people and probably too many for the hut. I made my way to the hut and stopped for a quick break and some water.
After some refreshment I was on the climb of Greenleaf Trail to the summit of Lafayette. Along the way there was relatively light traffic but I could see to the ridge and knew a huge increase was coming. Roughly a half mile below the summit I saw a familiar face; it was “mtnpa”. We stopped for a short visit. He got an early start and was on his way back out to spend the day getting close to his to-do list. Soon we were both on our way. I continued at my slow and steady pace and was soon standing at the summit of Lafayette.
When I arrived to Lafayette there were only a few people already there. I got a couple summit selfies and some view shots. Then, the crowd started to grow. It was clear; I needed to get moving south. By the time I left the summit the crowd went from roughly ten to over thirty and growing fast. I headed south on Franconia Ridge Trail, enjoying the day and the terrific views, but thinking about Little Haystack and the turn onto Falling Waters Trail.
After leaving Lafayette it was a matter of stop and step to the side allowing on-coming traffic to pass; over and over and over all the way to Little Haystack. Occasionally I was the on-coming traffic and the other folks allowed me to pass. Everybody was courteous and most of the dog owners kept their pets on a leash. I was able to maintain a good pace all the way to Lincoln before the traffic jammed up. On the summit of Lincoln there was a couple with a large Labrador Retriever not on a leash. Another couple approached from the south with a “large” lapdog, also not leashed. The retriever decided it was time for lunch and went after the poor little lapdog. Both couples moved quickly enough to limit the show to only noise. After the dust settled the folks with the retriever helped me with a summit picture and I was soon on my way.
By this point in the hike progress has really lowed. I found myself stopping a lot due to trail traffic. I slowly approached Little Haystack, got a few pictures, and headed down Falling Waters Trail. The upper section leading to Shining Rock Spur was a constant stop and go. The trail in the area of Shining Rock Spur was completely blocked by people lounging on the rocks. Once I made my way past this blockage the traffic again became more courteous. There were many interesting and amusing sights on the trail. The one that seems to stick with me most is that of an older woman, dressed in office attire, with sneakers, and carrying a large purse. She was a short distance below Shining Rock Spur when we passed. Funny!
Once I shifted my perspective to one of humor the heavy traffic became less frustrating. Still, I wanted out! I hiked through the switchbacks and got into the area of the falls. I was able to get some nice pictures at Cloudland, Swiftwater, and Stairs Falls (even without a tripod). After finishing with Stairs Falls I was on my final exit mission.
Soon I passed the OBP-FWT split and new the trailhead was nearby. I reached the trailhead, stopped to visit for a while with the N.H. State Police that were gathered there, and headed through the tunnel to a relatively quiet Lafayette Place hiker lot.
The Lafayette – Lincoln loop is a relatively short and easy hike with lots of reward for the effort; consequently a huge crowd is the price you pay for doing it on a nice weekend day. It was early-afternoon and I was in no rush to take off. I got my things packed, had some lunch, changed into comfortable footwear, and hit the highway south. Even with all the company I enjoyed the hike; seeing the crowd as entertainment for the final two to three miles definitely helped.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
