Tim Seaver
Well-known member
Snapshots from Cath's NH48 Blitz - Day 2
Cath emerges from the Lonesome Lake trail
I caught up with Cath and Tim C. at Lafayette Place as they exited from the Kinsmans on Saturday ( Day 2) , the next part of the route being up Flume Slide, across the ridge to Lafayette, and then down the Lincoln Slide to Owls Head and out.
After a short and confusing orientation as to what the hell what actually going on with Cath's ever-changing car-spotting strategy, we zoomed down 93 to the Whitehouse underpass, where Tim dropped us. I still didn't know what was going on, but I hoped to see my van again sometime soon.
Meanwhile, The Other Tim hurtled towards Lincoln Woods, bent on zipping up the Osseo Trail and catching Team Cath on Lincoln for the drop into the sticks. True support heroism in action!
Zoom Across Flume
Soon we had gained the ridge below the Flume, where a mysterious Russian couple eyed us with suspicion. We attempted to put some distance between ourselves and them, but every time we stopped, a KGB-like interrogation would begin. "What is trick to this Leecoln Slide? I try to follow Moose trail there last time and it led to Big Trouble"
Then it all began to come together. Russians. Moose. Big Trouble.
It could only mean one thing...
Summit of Liberty. Have you seen Natasha?
We finally lost Boris and Natasha on the bolt over to Little Haystack, and hoped that we could evade them on the backtrack from Lafayette in case they were still in hot pursuit. Cath led the way, Not Running across the ridge.
Cath Not Running Across Franconia Ridge
I was low on water, so as Cath zipped over to tag Lafayette, I scoped out the approach to the slide, looking for the least painful way to enter. Soon Cath and The Other Tim popped their heads over the summit of Lincoln, and we eased our way to the very tip of the slide, entering the left side.
Descending Lincoln Slide
Skittering down the loose rock, we were soon jumping rocks in and out of the stream bed, finally exiting left at a narrow section just above a drop-off and snaking through some thick growth up a steep bank to more open woods. From here we tried to keep the stream within earshot as we wove through blow-downs and moderately thick sections. We emerged at Lincoln Brook, just below this small cascade:
Cath, a bit taken aback by the nude wildlife frolicking in the falls
A short scramble up the far bank of put us on the skimpy and vague Lincoln Brook trail, where we trundled onwards to the base of Owls Head. As we broke out on to the open part of the slide, we were greeted by two gents:
"Just so you know..." one of them began, perhaps leaning on his trekking pole or stroking his beard, I can't remember which... "it's a 3 hour trip to the top", accompanied by much nodding in awe by his sweaty partner.
Ever the Mountain Diplomat, Cath brought that line of thought to a soul-crushing halt by smiling and asking, nice as pie, "So, is this your first time here? etc. etc.". I can't remember the rest, but it was classic Cath.
Up the slide a bit, we had some fun with the "3 hour trip" theme, incorporating it into the Gilligan's Island theme song as applied to speed hiking the 48 (a three hour tour)
Returning to the base of the slide, we passed the Three Hour Tour Twins sitting on a log, and wished them a good night.
The Lincoln Brook trail was in good nick, and all the river crossings went by without a hitch. Just a few wet feet.
OK now the dull part. The Wilderness Trail. Not much to say. We walked out the damn thing. That's all I got.
Cath emerges from the Lonesome Lake trail
I caught up with Cath and Tim C. at Lafayette Place as they exited from the Kinsmans on Saturday ( Day 2) , the next part of the route being up Flume Slide, across the ridge to Lafayette, and then down the Lincoln Slide to Owls Head and out.
After a short and confusing orientation as to what the hell what actually going on with Cath's ever-changing car-spotting strategy, we zoomed down 93 to the Whitehouse underpass, where Tim dropped us. I still didn't know what was going on, but I hoped to see my van again sometime soon.
Meanwhile, The Other Tim hurtled towards Lincoln Woods, bent on zipping up the Osseo Trail and catching Team Cath on Lincoln for the drop into the sticks. True support heroism in action!
Zoom Across Flume
Soon we had gained the ridge below the Flume, where a mysterious Russian couple eyed us with suspicion. We attempted to put some distance between ourselves and them, but every time we stopped, a KGB-like interrogation would begin. "What is trick to this Leecoln Slide? I try to follow Moose trail there last time and it led to Big Trouble"
Then it all began to come together. Russians. Moose. Big Trouble.
It could only mean one thing...
Summit of Liberty. Have you seen Natasha?
We finally lost Boris and Natasha on the bolt over to Little Haystack, and hoped that we could evade them on the backtrack from Lafayette in case they were still in hot pursuit. Cath led the way, Not Running across the ridge.
Cath Not Running Across Franconia Ridge
I was low on water, so as Cath zipped over to tag Lafayette, I scoped out the approach to the slide, looking for the least painful way to enter. Soon Cath and The Other Tim popped their heads over the summit of Lincoln, and we eased our way to the very tip of the slide, entering the left side.
Descending Lincoln Slide
Skittering down the loose rock, we were soon jumping rocks in and out of the stream bed, finally exiting left at a narrow section just above a drop-off and snaking through some thick growth up a steep bank to more open woods. From here we tried to keep the stream within earshot as we wove through blow-downs and moderately thick sections. We emerged at Lincoln Brook, just below this small cascade:
Cath, a bit taken aback by the nude wildlife frolicking in the falls
A short scramble up the far bank of put us on the skimpy and vague Lincoln Brook trail, where we trundled onwards to the base of Owls Head. As we broke out on to the open part of the slide, we were greeted by two gents:
"Just so you know..." one of them began, perhaps leaning on his trekking pole or stroking his beard, I can't remember which... "it's a 3 hour trip to the top", accompanied by much nodding in awe by his sweaty partner.
Ever the Mountain Diplomat, Cath brought that line of thought to a soul-crushing halt by smiling and asking, nice as pie, "So, is this your first time here? etc. etc.". I can't remember the rest, but it was classic Cath.
Up the slide a bit, we had some fun with the "3 hour trip" theme, incorporating it into the Gilligan's Island theme song as applied to speed hiking the 48 (a three hour tour)
Returning to the base of the slide, we passed the Three Hour Tour Twins sitting on a log, and wished them a good night.
The Lincoln Brook trail was in good nick, and all the river crossings went by without a hitch. Just a few wet feet.
OK now the dull part. The Wilderness Trail. Not much to say. We walked out the damn thing. That's all I got.
