eddie
New member
Our group of four opted to do the Franconia Ridge loop today due to the superb weather forecast - 90 in the valleys but 70s on the ridge. The winds were blowing up to 35 mph but they were actually refreshing.
Our group of 4 included my 14 yr old son, my brother-in-law and his 12 yr old son. My son and I have are veteran peakbaggers after finishing the ADK 46 and we started on the 48 last summer. But now we have other family members hiking with us
We started on the Old Bridle Path in a fog and clearing skies but anticipated a sunny day that was delivered. Reaching Agony Rodge was magical with the up-close views of Laf and Linc. The Greenleaf Hut was a welcome respite for snacks and lemonade (Madison Hut lemonade is still the best!) and topping off our camelbaks. As I was approaching the summit, I noticed I had some big sweat soaking my back then I realized my camelbak was leaking. Upon further inspection, I did not properly replace the camelbak cap. My ass was soaked and I lost 1 1/2 liters of the three liters I carry. Oh no, possible dilemma with low water on the ridge?!? It turned out to not be a problem at all but it really pissed me off at the time. Also soon after leaving the summit, we saw our first hiking Yorkshire Terrier! The owner said that this tough little dog did all of his own hiking - wow! We pushed on up to the Lafayette summit and again were awe-struck but the amazing views - across to Cannon and the Kinsman Ridge, the other way was the Pemi Wilderness and the magnificence of it all. And then an inspection down the ridge to check out our goal. Mid-week on a beautiful day on this ridge is the only way to go, we saw probably 40 - 50 hikers all day.
The traverse to Lincoln was quick and easy and different perspectives on the same wonderful views. The black birds (species unknown to me) were fun to watch as they rode the winds coming up the westerly slopes, almost as if they were showing off!
The trek over to Liberty took more effort than expected but again gave us a different take on nature's overwhelming backdrop. At the Liberty Springs Trail junction, we saw this grouse-looking bird walking around making noises as if it were actually begging for food. Has anybody else seen this goofy bird?? Of course we gave it a few morsels. Strangly, we ran into a different type of begging birds on Tom and Field the other day - white & grey birds but you could actually feed them from your hand! The White Mtn bird petting zoo!?
Due to the recommendation to NOT descend the Flume Slide Trail, we made the round-trip from Liberty to Flume and back. Flume was actually the most enjoyable summit to me because of the lack of other hikers and also because the afternoon sun lit the entire ring of mountains surrounding the Pemi and really gave us a great perspective on this massive playland. 13 hour RTs hiking/running this loop? Good if you're into it but we took our time to soak it all in! The hike back up to Liberty was an effort, probably more of a mental challenge than physical.
The descent on the Liberty Springs trail was quick and uneventful. I refilled my camelbak with the chilly and extremely refreshing water at the campsite. Once we got down to the bike path, we cut onto the Pemi Trail to get back to the parking and we were shocked to see a smaller, young (I guess) moose! By time I got the camera out, it had disappeared into the woods. What a way to cap a perfect day!
Total time round trip was 11h30m, at least 2 to 2 1/2 hrs of summit daydreaming.
We are all hooked!
Our group of 4 included my 14 yr old son, my brother-in-law and his 12 yr old son. My son and I have are veteran peakbaggers after finishing the ADK 46 and we started on the 48 last summer. But now we have other family members hiking with us
We started on the Old Bridle Path in a fog and clearing skies but anticipated a sunny day that was delivered. Reaching Agony Rodge was magical with the up-close views of Laf and Linc. The Greenleaf Hut was a welcome respite for snacks and lemonade (Madison Hut lemonade is still the best!) and topping off our camelbaks. As I was approaching the summit, I noticed I had some big sweat soaking my back then I realized my camelbak was leaking. Upon further inspection, I did not properly replace the camelbak cap. My ass was soaked and I lost 1 1/2 liters of the three liters I carry. Oh no, possible dilemma with low water on the ridge?!? It turned out to not be a problem at all but it really pissed me off at the time. Also soon after leaving the summit, we saw our first hiking Yorkshire Terrier! The owner said that this tough little dog did all of his own hiking - wow! We pushed on up to the Lafayette summit and again were awe-struck but the amazing views - across to Cannon and the Kinsman Ridge, the other way was the Pemi Wilderness and the magnificence of it all. And then an inspection down the ridge to check out our goal. Mid-week on a beautiful day on this ridge is the only way to go, we saw probably 40 - 50 hikers all day.The traverse to Lincoln was quick and easy and different perspectives on the same wonderful views. The black birds (species unknown to me) were fun to watch as they rode the winds coming up the westerly slopes, almost as if they were showing off!
The trek over to Liberty took more effort than expected but again gave us a different take on nature's overwhelming backdrop. At the Liberty Springs Trail junction, we saw this grouse-looking bird walking around making noises as if it were actually begging for food. Has anybody else seen this goofy bird?? Of course we gave it a few morsels. Strangly, we ran into a different type of begging birds on Tom and Field the other day - white & grey birds but you could actually feed them from your hand! The White Mtn bird petting zoo!?
Due to the recommendation to NOT descend the Flume Slide Trail, we made the round-trip from Liberty to Flume and back. Flume was actually the most enjoyable summit to me because of the lack of other hikers and also because the afternoon sun lit the entire ring of mountains surrounding the Pemi and really gave us a great perspective on this massive playland. 13 hour RTs hiking/running this loop? Good if you're into it but we took our time to soak it all in! The hike back up to Liberty was an effort, probably more of a mental challenge than physical.
The descent on the Liberty Springs trail was quick and uneventful. I refilled my camelbak with the chilly and extremely refreshing water at the campsite. Once we got down to the bike path, we cut onto the Pemi Trail to get back to the parking and we were shocked to see a smaller, young (I guess) moose! By time I got the camera out, it had disappeared into the woods. What a way to cap a perfect day!
Total time round trip was 11h30m, at least 2 to 2 1/2 hrs of summit daydreaming.
We are all hooked!
