Well, I'm not an astronomer, but - I'd be a little skeptical of claims you could see the ADK's from the Franconia Ridge. They're about 125 miles away, and given their relatively low height, the curvature of the earth and the Green Mountain Range in between - I'm not sure they're visible.
According to Steve Smith and Mike Dickerman in
The 4000-Footers book, the Daks can be seen from the high Franconias, Moosilauke, Washington and the high Presidentials, among others, on "exceptionally clear" days. I was able, through binoculars, to see Mt. Washington from Mt. Greylock, approximately 130 miles distant, on super-clear September days twice in September 2010. When I told a ranger at the Visitors Center before the second hike about the first viewing, he told me we got lucky, that there are only a few days a year in-season (when the VC, summit buildings and auto roads are open) that that is possible.
Someone told me, but I've never bothered to verify it, that the curvature of the earth becomes an issue for viewing significant objects from a high location at about 130 miles. In my own mind, I consider certain highly prominent or high elevation peaks as being in a sort of "club": they can see each other from distances where other, lower points can see neither. They each benefit from their high elevations, if you will, in the scramble to get a view of each other.
Peakbagger's assessment was shared by Chris and me: faint though they were, those were the Daks we were looking at to the west, just barely visible on an
A-visibility day. Not A+, like those days on Greylock, but close.
OOPS: Didn't see the second page posts, which mostly cover my points.
