LRiz
New member
I had just arrived in Lincoln when I received the call from Drew...
Where are you? Change of plan. We're now doing Lincoln, Lafayette, and Garfield. Can you be at the OBP trailhead by 8:30?
It was 6:00am. Although I knew that we'd most likely be changing our hiking plans last minute (given the suddenly stellar weather forecast), I'd decided to err on the side of caution and had given myself plenty of time to drive up north. Our original aim had been to tackle the Wildcats/Carters/potentially Moriah... and while the thought of bagging six whole peaks in one day did sound hugely appealing to me, the fact that we were now going to head above treeline... I was more than a little excited. 2.5 hours to kill? No problem... I hopped back into my truck and went on a minor coffee/Red Bull escapade. The moon was low on the horizon as I barrelled my way up 93, its peculiar orange glow fading ever-steadily as the first rays of sunlight crept up over the mountains. By the time that daylight had broken, it was clearly apparent that we'd made the right decision. Other than the glorious undercast that swathed the Cannon cliffs, there was not a single cloud in the sky. Time ticked by with unusual rapidity, and by 8:20am I was in Cath's truck, heading towards route 3 to pick up Drew and Eric and set up a car spot.
The temperatures were in the negative when we set off up the Falling Waters trail. Despite the cold and a recent achilles injury, I was in an especially upbeat mood... and was very happy to be in the company of my hiking friends after a long week at work. I'd always been told that Falling Waters was a difficult trail to ascend in the winter due to ice, and was rather taken aback at the smoothness of our ascent. The trail itself was lovely and covered in a fresh coating of snow (mostly broken out), which made for excellent snowshoeing for the entirety of the climb to Little Haystack. The water crossings, which I'd found to be extremely tough back in the early summer, were each capped by a solid ice bridge (much to my delight). It was also a treat to see Cloudland Falls in the winter, partially frozen yet still roaring beneath an undercoating of ice.
Surely but steadily we climbed. The tree cover dwindled and gave way to brilliant, brilliant deep blue skies. Reaching the treeline, my excitement gave way. Once Little Haystack was in sight, I bounded up the remainder of the trail and snapped a few pictures as Eric, Drew, and Cath made their way towards the summit:
I was surprised by how windy it was, especially given the relative calm we'd experienced in the woods. We all added some additional layers and (with the exclusion of Eric who remained in snowshoes) switched to microspikes before beginning our journey to Lincoln. Eric was full of energy and instantly took the lead. Still in awe of the stunning scenery surrounding us, I decided to linger towards the back and take pictures... which must have been quite frustrating for the rest of the group seeing as I simply wouldn't stop! The contrast between the whiteness of the rime-coated rocks and the richness of the splendid blue sky simply had me captivated.
Even the kissing rocks were out in full force:
After stopping for a quick snack (during which we chatted with another hiker making his way down the ridge), we made the final push up Lincoln. Upon reaching the summit, we all made sure to wave to Tim and Caveman across the Pemi, who were both in the midst of a Presi Traverse. Our next two targets - Lafayette and Garfield - were visible in the distance:
It was a little lonely being all the way at the back, so I made my way up front... and continued to take pictures! Thank goodness for glove liners...
Other than the occasional gust of wind, it was for the most part peaceful on the ridge. I remained in a constant state of awe and wonder all the way up to Lafayette, where once again my summit fever overwhelmed me and I sprinted right up to the top, hollering the entire time. Crazy, crazy girl. Another hiker was kind enough to snap a summit shot of our group, and I calmed down enough to let Eric take a picture of me by the trail signs:
...and on to Garfield we went.
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). Reaching the sign, we bumped into no other than MEB, Little Sister, Juniper, Gillian, and Ferrisjrf, which was a very pleasant surprise! After chatting for a while, we parted ways and continued along the Garfield Ridge trail. Phenomenal views surrounded us in every direction:
