Lafayette to Garfield?

[MTNRUNR]

Doubt this section is traveled very much. For those that have done it, what hike would you say it is most similiar to? Is the trail fairly easy to follow in the winter, if it hasn't been traveled?

Thanks

 

[Jkrew81]

ouch

never done it in the winter but the in the summer it was painful. It is constant ups and down on rocky and in some parts steep. Could be a good challenge in the winter though. Please note though that the last time I did this was a few years ago when I would tote 40-50 lbs on a single night trip. I am guessing that had alot to do with the misery as well. As far as comparing it to another trail, none come to mind, but approaching Lafayette from that side is rather mind numbing as there are several false summits along the way to the true top.

 

[HAMTERO]

That can be a tough section depending on how much snow there is. In a big snow year the trail can be hard to follow. It is the AT so the blazes are white and they get buried by the snow also.
This year it might not be too bad. After you get to Garfield pond the trail is easier to follow but a steep climb up to Garfield.

 

[nartreb]

I've done it in spring with a four-day pack and a good amount of snow remaining on the trail (hadn't bothered to bring snowshoes, unfortunately). A little slippery on the descent from Lafayette, lots of short ups and downs after that. I don't think the bumps were as big or as steep as the Cannon Balls (which I did in winter a long time ago) but I can't think of other multi-bump trail sections to compare it to. I'm surprised by Hamtero's comment about the trail being hard to find: I remember dense fir/spruce with the trail as the only visible route through.

 

[dr_wu002]

Go the other way... Garfield to Lafayette. I think it's a super easy trip, easier in my opinion than going up to Lafayette on Old Bridal Path. Like someone else said, up until treeline you're in dense spruce so the trail is easy to follow. I went on it in late winter or early spring with Neil and I thought that part of the hike was real easy. Beautiful hike... One of my favorites.

-Dr. Wu

 

[Neil]

Go the other way... Garfield to Lafayette. I think it's a super easy trip, easier in my opinion than going up to Lafayette on Old Bridal Path. Like someone else said, up until treeline you're in dense spruce so the trail is easy to follow. I went on it in late winter or early spring with Neil and I thought that part of the hike was real easy. Beautiful hike... One of my favorites.

-Dr. Wu

He's right. Awesome (this overused adjective fits here) hike. Great views of Lafayette from Garfield. Then very cool views of Garfield later in the day from Liberty and Flume. It was one of the best hikes I've ever done in the Whites. Don't expect the trail to be broken out if you do it in winter.

 

[RoySwkr]

For those that have done it, what hike would you say it is most similiar to? Is the trail fairly easy to follow in the winter, if it hasn't been traveled?

I've only done part in winter but all in summer, I'd say it's similar to the rest of Garfield Ridge in that it's scrubby with lots of steep little ups and downs.

If I recall, Mr. Seaver investigated this segment for his one-day winter hut traverse and decided to make a special trip to break it out in advance.

 

[Tim Seaver]

The view of Lafayette as you begin the drop from Garfield

Right you are Roy, Cath and I did some recon on the route before the first hut traverse, going from Garfield to Lafayette and down. Not that our piddly little steps did much on this relatively untouched section to make the H2H any easier, I still had to wear snowshoes on the solo trip and Cath and I also needed them on the following H2H two weeks later. ( She was the mysterious "Hiker X", of course)

There is one section, I believe a bit south of Garfield Pond with "open" woods where drifting can obscure the trail a bit, but it's pretty manageable. The other area where it's not crystal clear is just as you break out of treeline before the Skookumchuck jct, where the trail makes a few zig zags around a bouldery section.

It's also fun going the other way!

 

[MTNRUNR]

Thanks!

I'd done the ridge to Garfield in non-winter in '75. Remember thinking a lot went on between the map contours, lots of not to big ups/downs.

Thinking of going from Lafayette because it most likely has unbroken snow and there's more downhill in that direction...so long as you can find where the trail gets into the woods. As Tim mentioned going the other way it gets a bit tricky near treeline, so seems it would be even trickier going from the open into the woods(?).

Anyway, thanks for all the good info, I really appreciate it!!!

 

[Snowflea]

Hi Fred!

I've done Lafayette to Garfield a few times in winter and don't recall route finding ever being a problem. It's a beautiful hike. The difficulty, of course, depends on how much snow is up there. There are a couple of interesting (read: FUN) scrambles but nothing to get anxious about IMO. You're correct in assuming that not too many folks venture across that trail in winter.

Have fun!