White Mtn Foliage Hikes on a Misty Saturday

Becca M · Sep 30, 2012

Sept 29, 2012

I had wanted to hike a bunch of trails I had never been on, and, given the rainy forecast I wanted to stay low in elevation and see the foliage. Then I thought a bit longer and realized maybe the water in various falls would be higher so I decided to hit some waterfalls. So, in all, I did four separate small hikes and was pretty tired at the end of the day. Also, I threw several changes of clothes in the car in case I got wet. I didn’t plan to wear a rain shell but I carried one on me.

The nice thing about a lot of small hikes in a day is that you are never far from food and provisions/clothes/etc and you can adjust between hikes. Plus, you don’t have to carry lunch. At times I did run the trails, but, for the uphills I just hoofed it and made good time. The foliage was awesome. I never needed a change of clothes and never wore the rain shell.

The agenda: Georgiana Falls, then on up the road to loop over Mt Pemigewasset (Indian Head) with some extra trails thrown in. Then, a drive up to hike Mt Martha via Cherry Mountain Trail. From there, I decided I had enough time to loop up around Arethusa Falls via Bemis Brook Trail and Frankenstein Cliff Trail. It was a fun day!!!!

It isn’t long before you meet the falls all along the trail

You can even see the highway from this vista

Some pretty reds along the way

I just happened to look down and see this design someone left in the wet leaves… I love fall too!!!!

Looking down river

A wider look at the same downstream… the reds were outstanding!

From there is was on to Mt. Pemigewasset. Views were mostly clouded in but still, pretty neat. I looped down to Route 3 and walked the road back. Here’s some undercast from the summit:

Mt Martha was also pretty socked in. Here’s the only view I’ve ever had from its summit:

And then I drove to Crawford’s Notch and started up the Arethusa Falls Trail. But I first “had” to loop down the Bemis Brook Trail – lots of outstanding cascades like this one

The iconic Arethusa Falls picture – dwarfs us tourists!!!

(cont.)

Becca M · Sep 30, 2012

From there it was further than I expected up and down to the cliffs. From here you have a good view of the river and the highway parallel to each other

The foliage and the cliffs

Another view of the same cliffs. By the way, you do have to be careful because the trail goes RIGHT next to the dropoff!!!!

Then, it was on down to the Frankenstein Trestle – larger than life, seriously!!!

And, from under the walkway under the trestle – looks rather ominous but VERY imposing

I hope you enjoy!!!!

Fisher Cat · Sep 30, 2012

Nice pics Becca! We were wondering how things were developing. We did the Georgiana Falls last year at the same time and comparing it with our pics (a lot of similiar angles) it appears that there was a bit more green than we would have expected. So we are HOPING that when we head up for trail work we'll get some nice shots too! Thx for sharing!

The Unstrung Harp · Oct 1, 2012

Love this weather - looks like great hikes. And I love that you stumbled across someone else's leafy art. I wonder who made it and what they were thinking about.

Becca M · Oct 1, 2012

Fisher Cat said:
Nice pics Becca! We were wondering how things were developing. We did the Georgiana Falls last year at the same time and comparing it with our pics (a lot of similiar angles) it appears that there was a bit more green than we would have expected. So we are HOPING that when we head up for trail work we'll get some nice shots too! Thx for sharing!

Thanks!!! Also, thanks for the trailwork!!!! It is a beautiful area!!!!

Becca M · Oct 1, 2012

The Unstrung Harp said:
Love this weather - looks like great hikes. And I love that you stumbled across someone else's leafy art. I wonder who made it and what they were thinking about.

yeah, it was pretty neat to see that... I wondered what the story was, too!!!! Pretty cool!!!!

John in NH · Oct 1, 2012

A nice set of hikes, thanks for posting! It's good to see how the foliage is progressing. I did the exact same loop of Frankenstein cliffs Arethusa falls including bemis loop a week ago after a Jefferson hike. Judging from your shot from the cliff looking back towards the waterfall, things have really progressed, as there were a lot more greens. It's a more rugged loop than you might expect from all the tourists around, especially all the slick muddy sections between the trestle and the cliffs. The coliseum falls right by the steep drop off of the bemis loop is a gem I didn't expect to find too.