BIGEarl
Well-known member
April 24, 2010: Franconia Ridge Loop (sort of)
Trails: Franconia Notch Recreation Trail, Old Bridle Path, Greenleaf Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Liberty Spring Trail
Summits: 4K’s - Lafayette, Lincoln, Liberty, Flume, Speed Bumps - Truman, Little Haystack
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
The distance from The Basin to Lafayette Place isn’t very far so we decided to have our Start/Finish line at The Basin and use one vehicle for the hike. To allow for the added hike distance at the start we arrived a little earlier than usual for this hike but a little later than planned. We intended for the hike to take all day and a half hour either way didn’t really matter. It didn’t take long to get our things together and set off.
First, we hit the Franconia Notch Recreational Trail for our hike to the trailhead for Old Bridle Path. This low elevation walk is roughly 1.7 miles and gains approximately 200 feet – a small price to save driving a second vehicle, and a nice warm-up for the day. We reached Lafayette Place, crossed to the OBP-FWT trailhead and started making our way along Old Bridle Path (OBP) to the AMC Greenleaf Hut.
The lower part of OBP is clear of snow and ice, and relatively dry. There are a few blowdowns but none represent a problem. Soon, the climb got steeper and we started to approach Agony Ridge. This section that ends at the Greenleaf Hut is a terrific part of the hike. Along the way are many great viewpoints, mostly over Walker Ravine. Roughly half way up Agony Ridge we started to encounter patches of snow and ice. Soon the trail was completely covered and there was a solid monorail. The snow and ice was soft enough to allow bare booting the hike without any problems. Looking back, we probably could have moved a little quicker and worked a little less with light traction – MicroSpikes. We arrived at the hut and decided to take a quick break for some refreshment. There was no wind and no clouds – it would have been easy to stay for too long but we had some hiking to do.
With the snack out of the way we were soon back into the climb to Lafayette. We’re still on a monorail with several feet of snow on either side as we made our way through the scrub leading to the treeline. Once we broke out of the scrub the snow and ice diminished and we stopped being concerned with staying on the monorail. The final climb to Lafayette was clear sailing. At the summit there were a number of people already lounging and enjoying the conditions. Sue and I stayed long enough to briefly enjoy the views, get some summit pictures, and head south on Franconia Ridge Trail (FRT).
As we left Lafayette the trail seemed to have a deeper amount of snow and ice. Eventually we stopped to pull out the MicroSpikes. That small added traction made a big difference and we were able to hike without any real concern over poor footing. There were lots of people out hiking the Lafayette – Lincoln loop in one direction or the other. Along the way we met Una dogger (Sabrina and company hiking the LL Loop CCW). We stopped to visit for a while but were soon back to our planned hike. The trail conditions remained fairly consistent all of the way over Lincoln and on to Little Haystack.
Once we passed Little Haystack the snow depth really increased, especially after moving back into sheltered areas. I estimate the snow depth on the south part of the FRT over Liberty and on to Flume to be generally four feet plus. Stay on the monorail and everything is fine. A slight error to the right or left will result in a very deep posthole. The trail was in good shape. On the way to Liberty we started to encounter a pretty good number of blowdowns, some completely blocking the trail and requiring a bypass. Hiking the northern part of Franconia Ridge is terrific on such a day, but the crowd was huge from Lafayette to Little Haystack. After we left Little Haystack the crowd was also left behind. This was a nice change.
We continued south and soon passed the FRT – Liberty Spring trails junction. With only .3 miles to go we were soon on final approach to Liberty. In the course of the day a few high, thin clouds developed but they only made for nicer pictures - we still had unlimited sun. We made the final climb to the summit and stopped to enjoy the views and get the usual summit pictures.
Soon, we took off for Mount Flume, our final target for the day. At first we were on bare ground leaving the summit of Liberty but the sheltered conditions returned a short distance down and so did the deep snow. We decided MicroSpikes would help in hiking the monorail and made the change. The trail on the hike from Liberty to Flume was completely snow covered and deep with a few blowdowns along the way. Roughly half way we made the necessary stop for Sue to build a snowman – and a very nice one. A couple pictures of her masterpiece and we were on our way to Flume.
The summits of Liberty and Flume are terrific places to be late in the day with the conditions we were enjoying. The low sun really lights up places like Bondcliff and the afternoon shadows enhance the views. Ridges on some of the mountains that were never seen before jump out with the late-day shadows. Sunrise is a great time of day but if you’re in the mountains the back end of the day can be just as special. We reached Flume and were treated to great late-afternoon views over the Pemi.
We stayed for a while to enjoy the views, take lots of pictures, I phoned home to report we were running a little late but everything was otherwise fine, and a quick refreshment. Eventually, it was time to go. Our exit for the day was back over Liberty. We made the u-turn and headed for our re-climb of Liberty. Along the way we stopped to say Hi! To a snowman and were soon climbing to the bare summit. I got some final late-day pictures and we continued to Liberty Spring Trail and out trip down.
The remaining hike out was uneventful. We used MicroSpikes past the Liberty Spring Campsite and on to roughly half way down to the Liberty Spring - Flume Slide trails junction where we reached bare ground. From there it was an easy cruise with the usual mud pits already in place. We passed the trail junction and soon left the trail for the bushwhack shortcut to the Franconia Notch Recreational Trail. Back on the trail we made the turn and completed the final short walk back to The Basin.
We started a few minutes later than planned and that was how we finished. In between we had a terrific day on Franconia Ridge.
Thanks Sue.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
8)
Trails: Franconia Notch Recreation Trail, Old Bridle Path, Greenleaf Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Liberty Spring Trail
Summits: 4K’s - Lafayette, Lincoln, Liberty, Flume, Speed Bumps - Truman, Little Haystack
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
The distance from The Basin to Lafayette Place isn’t very far so we decided to have our Start/Finish line at The Basin and use one vehicle for the hike. To allow for the added hike distance at the start we arrived a little earlier than usual for this hike but a little later than planned. We intended for the hike to take all day and a half hour either way didn’t really matter. It didn’t take long to get our things together and set off.
First, we hit the Franconia Notch Recreational Trail for our hike to the trailhead for Old Bridle Path. This low elevation walk is roughly 1.7 miles and gains approximately 200 feet – a small price to save driving a second vehicle, and a nice warm-up for the day. We reached Lafayette Place, crossed to the OBP-FWT trailhead and started making our way along Old Bridle Path (OBP) to the AMC Greenleaf Hut.
The lower part of OBP is clear of snow and ice, and relatively dry. There are a few blowdowns but none represent a problem. Soon, the climb got steeper and we started to approach Agony Ridge. This section that ends at the Greenleaf Hut is a terrific part of the hike. Along the way are many great viewpoints, mostly over Walker Ravine. Roughly half way up Agony Ridge we started to encounter patches of snow and ice. Soon the trail was completely covered and there was a solid monorail. The snow and ice was soft enough to allow bare booting the hike without any problems. Looking back, we probably could have moved a little quicker and worked a little less with light traction – MicroSpikes. We arrived at the hut and decided to take a quick break for some refreshment. There was no wind and no clouds – it would have been easy to stay for too long but we had some hiking to do.
With the snack out of the way we were soon back into the climb to Lafayette. We’re still on a monorail with several feet of snow on either side as we made our way through the scrub leading to the treeline. Once we broke out of the scrub the snow and ice diminished and we stopped being concerned with staying on the monorail. The final climb to Lafayette was clear sailing. At the summit there were a number of people already lounging and enjoying the conditions. Sue and I stayed long enough to briefly enjoy the views, get some summit pictures, and head south on Franconia Ridge Trail (FRT).
As we left Lafayette the trail seemed to have a deeper amount of snow and ice. Eventually we stopped to pull out the MicroSpikes. That small added traction made a big difference and we were able to hike without any real concern over poor footing. There were lots of people out hiking the Lafayette – Lincoln loop in one direction or the other. Along the way we met Una dogger (Sabrina and company hiking the LL Loop CCW). We stopped to visit for a while but were soon back to our planned hike. The trail conditions remained fairly consistent all of the way over Lincoln and on to Little Haystack.
Once we passed Little Haystack the snow depth really increased, especially after moving back into sheltered areas. I estimate the snow depth on the south part of the FRT over Liberty and on to Flume to be generally four feet plus. Stay on the monorail and everything is fine. A slight error to the right or left will result in a very deep posthole. The trail was in good shape. On the way to Liberty we started to encounter a pretty good number of blowdowns, some completely blocking the trail and requiring a bypass. Hiking the northern part of Franconia Ridge is terrific on such a day, but the crowd was huge from Lafayette to Little Haystack. After we left Little Haystack the crowd was also left behind. This was a nice change.
We continued south and soon passed the FRT – Liberty Spring trails junction. With only .3 miles to go we were soon on final approach to Liberty. In the course of the day a few high, thin clouds developed but they only made for nicer pictures - we still had unlimited sun. We made the final climb to the summit and stopped to enjoy the views and get the usual summit pictures.
Soon, we took off for Mount Flume, our final target for the day. At first we were on bare ground leaving the summit of Liberty but the sheltered conditions returned a short distance down and so did the deep snow. We decided MicroSpikes would help in hiking the monorail and made the change. The trail on the hike from Liberty to Flume was completely snow covered and deep with a few blowdowns along the way. Roughly half way we made the necessary stop for Sue to build a snowman – and a very nice one. A couple pictures of her masterpiece and we were on our way to Flume.
The summits of Liberty and Flume are terrific places to be late in the day with the conditions we were enjoying. The low sun really lights up places like Bondcliff and the afternoon shadows enhance the views. Ridges on some of the mountains that were never seen before jump out with the late-day shadows. Sunrise is a great time of day but if you’re in the mountains the back end of the day can be just as special. We reached Flume and were treated to great late-afternoon views over the Pemi.
We stayed for a while to enjoy the views, take lots of pictures, I phoned home to report we were running a little late but everything was otherwise fine, and a quick refreshment. Eventually, it was time to go. Our exit for the day was back over Liberty. We made the u-turn and headed for our re-climb of Liberty. Along the way we stopped to say Hi! To a snowman and were soon climbing to the bare summit. I got some final late-day pictures and we continued to Liberty Spring Trail and out trip down.
The remaining hike out was uneventful. We used MicroSpikes past the Liberty Spring Campsite and on to roughly half way down to the Liberty Spring - Flume Slide trails junction where we reached bare ground. From there it was an easy cruise with the usual mud pits already in place. We passed the trail junction and soon left the trail for the bushwhack shortcut to the Franconia Notch Recreational Trail. Back on the trail we made the turn and completed the final short walk back to The Basin.
We started a few minutes later than planned and that was how we finished. In between we had a terrific day on Franconia Ridge.
Thanks Sue.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
8)
Last edited:
