Jonni
Member
Trail(s) Hiked: Old Bridle Path, Greenleaf Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail & Falling Waters Trail
Date Hiked: 8/7/2007
Distance Hiked: 9.1 miles
Special Equipment Required: None
Report: A beautiful Tuesday warranted a nice hike above treeline and I felt that the Franconia Ridge was going to be the best bet for above treeline viewing outside of the Presidentials. Lincoln and Lafayette seemed to be the best choice for today as I figured that the trail may not be as busy today as it would be on a weekend, and the weather itself was great.
Arriving at the trail around 9:30 or so I found the parking lot to be relatively empty, comparatively speaking to the size of the parking lot. 15 minutes later I found myself on my way. I opted to ascend the Old Bridle Path and descend the Falling Waters Trail as being unfamiliar with this hike I had heard that there are more opportunities for water along the Falling Waters Trail. Following the Old Bridle Path as it gently meanders its way up the side of the notch I began to make some good time. Then as I was walking up a relatively tame section of the trail maybe about a mile into the hike I encountered a moose.
This was not just a little moose, but more like 1,200 pounds of full grown adult moose with full rack looking back at me. Remembering that the one thing that you don't want to do is to startle a moose, I just stood there and watched. He more or less did the same staring at me for the next 5 minutes or so. During this time a pair of hikers was heading down the trail toward me and they noticed him. Then as things couldn't get any more interesting the moose began to approach me. He Leisurely walked down onto the trail and looked down on me eye to eye about 6 or 7 feet in front of me.
Now I don't usually get too nervous when there is something that cool close by to watch and when watching a moose I adapt the "if you don't bother them, they won't bother you" mindset. But this time, Bullwinkle was staring down at me basically face to face. My head (I'm about 6 foot tall) was to his shoulders. Needless to say I was now to the point of being bonified scared. Then he slowly turned away and made his way off the trail to munch on some leaves. The whole encounter probably lasted about 20 minutes or so, and it's definitely an experience that I won't soon forget.
Continuing on up the trail I found that it followed a relatively easy grade until beginning the climb up the ridge, then getting to point of being difficult in places with minimal rock scrambling and climbing in one or two places. Making good time I reached the Greenleaf hut quickly and was on my way to Lafayette without much trouble. Hoping to find the summit to myself I was greatly mistaken when I found almost 30 people up there.
Views were excellent and I got my first really good view of the mountains and valleys of the Pemi wilderness. After a 20 minute stay at the summit or so, I began to make my way across the ridge to my next two summits. The best part of this whole hike was without a doubt the Franconia Ridge (other than close encounters of the moose-like kind). I can understand why this hike is popular as the views and the terrain are awesome. Quickly and easily I summited Lincoln and Little Haystack where I began my descent down the Falling Waters Trail.
The Falling Waters Trail is probably the most rugged trail that I've hiked to date. Losing elevation quickly within maybe 0.7 miles I found myself down below 4000 feet and encountering my first bouts of water falls. This trail becomes very scenic as it winds its way down the mountain and reaches the different falls. Cloudland falls was definitely the highlight of the trip. The trail is also very rugged above the falls where footholds became more and more interesting as the decent continued. Once the last crossing was reached however, it was a very simple, almost jog back through the woods to where the trail rejoins the Old Bridle Path back to the trailhead.
Overall hike time was 6 hours and 40 minutes. I'll definitely be doing this one again at some point as the views and terrain are some of the most spectacular that I've ever seen.
Date Hiked: 8/7/2007
Distance Hiked: 9.1 miles
Special Equipment Required: None
Report: A beautiful Tuesday warranted a nice hike above treeline and I felt that the Franconia Ridge was going to be the best bet for above treeline viewing outside of the Presidentials. Lincoln and Lafayette seemed to be the best choice for today as I figured that the trail may not be as busy today as it would be on a weekend, and the weather itself was great.
Arriving at the trail around 9:30 or so I found the parking lot to be relatively empty, comparatively speaking to the size of the parking lot. 15 minutes later I found myself on my way. I opted to ascend the Old Bridle Path and descend the Falling Waters Trail as being unfamiliar with this hike I had heard that there are more opportunities for water along the Falling Waters Trail. Following the Old Bridle Path as it gently meanders its way up the side of the notch I began to make some good time. Then as I was walking up a relatively tame section of the trail maybe about a mile into the hike I encountered a moose.
This was not just a little moose, but more like 1,200 pounds of full grown adult moose with full rack looking back at me. Remembering that the one thing that you don't want to do is to startle a moose, I just stood there and watched. He more or less did the same staring at me for the next 5 minutes or so. During this time a pair of hikers was heading down the trail toward me and they noticed him. Then as things couldn't get any more interesting the moose began to approach me. He Leisurely walked down onto the trail and looked down on me eye to eye about 6 or 7 feet in front of me.
Now I don't usually get too nervous when there is something that cool close by to watch and when watching a moose I adapt the "if you don't bother them, they won't bother you" mindset. But this time, Bullwinkle was staring down at me basically face to face. My head (I'm about 6 foot tall) was to his shoulders. Needless to say I was now to the point of being bonified scared. Then he slowly turned away and made his way off the trail to munch on some leaves. The whole encounter probably lasted about 20 minutes or so, and it's definitely an experience that I won't soon forget.
Continuing on up the trail I found that it followed a relatively easy grade until beginning the climb up the ridge, then getting to point of being difficult in places with minimal rock scrambling and climbing in one or two places. Making good time I reached the Greenleaf hut quickly and was on my way to Lafayette without much trouble. Hoping to find the summit to myself I was greatly mistaken when I found almost 30 people up there.
Views were excellent and I got my first really good view of the mountains and valleys of the Pemi wilderness. After a 20 minute stay at the summit or so, I began to make my way across the ridge to my next two summits. The best part of this whole hike was without a doubt the Franconia Ridge (other than close encounters of the moose-like kind). I can understand why this hike is popular as the views and the terrain are awesome. Quickly and easily I summited Lincoln and Little Haystack where I began my descent down the Falling Waters Trail.
The Falling Waters Trail is probably the most rugged trail that I've hiked to date. Losing elevation quickly within maybe 0.7 miles I found myself down below 4000 feet and encountering my first bouts of water falls. This trail becomes very scenic as it winds its way down the mountain and reaches the different falls. Cloudland falls was definitely the highlight of the trip. The trail is also very rugged above the falls where footholds became more and more interesting as the decent continued. Once the last crossing was reached however, it was a very simple, almost jog back through the woods to where the trail rejoins the Old Bridle Path back to the trailhead.
Overall hike time was 6 hours and 40 minutes. I'll definitely be doing this one again at some point as the views and terrain are some of the most spectacular that I've ever seen.
