Ladies do Lafayette

This past Saturday, Emily and I hiked Mt. Lafayette up by Franconia Notch in New Hampshire. Lafayette is one of the most popular mountains to hike in the Whites, so we had decided to take some lesser-known trails up and down it. Our route was the following: up the Skookumchuck trail to the Garfield Ridge trail, which we would follow to the summit, and then descend via the Greenleaf trail. In order to complete the loop, we would have a 3 mile walk on a bike path back to the car.

The Skookumchuck trail was beautiful and without crowds.

We started out under cloudy skies, as we followed the Skookumchuck Brook gradually gaining elevation. The trees grew shorter as we climbed on, changing from a leafy forest to one of small scrubby pines and birch.

At the junction of the Skookumchuck and Garfield Ridge trails.

It began to clear as we descended Lafayette.

Upon reaching the tree line, we bundled up and followed the trail as it disappeared into the fog. The wind had picked up and was gusting quite strongly without any trees to serve as a windbreak. We made it to the summit, which was quite crowded despite the weather. After a quick snack, which we ate huddled down next to a rocky ledge, we headed down the Greenleaf trail. Despite our quick pace down, our hands were freezing from the damp cold wind and it took a while for us to warm back up.

Looking out: Lonesome Lake, Cannon Cliffs, and the AMC Greenleaf Hut.

Looking south from Franconia Notch.

We made it to the AMC Greenleaf Hut, and treated ourselves to multiple $1 cups of hot tea. We spent a good half an hour warming up, sipping on tea, and snacking to our hearts content. With warm, full bellies, we reluctantly left the hut behind us and continued down the Greenleaf trail leaving the crowds of people behind us.

Eagle Pass was very impressive.

It was a steep and rocky descent to Eagle Pass with it's huge boulders. Some snow had survived in the dark shadows, despite the warmer temperatures at the lower elevations. Soon we were able to hear the sound of the cars. After reaching the road, we followed the bike path as it wound through the notch and lead us back to our car (a most beautiful sight to behold!).

Smarts Mountain Backpacking Trip

This past weekend was the first of several backpacking trips I had planned for this summer. Several friends and I were headed up to Lyme, NH for an overnight on Smarts Mountain, which is south of Mount Moosilauke on the Appalachian Trail.

After distributing the group gear and food, we followed the white blazed trail up the hillside. This trail is known as Lambert Ridge trail, which is also part of the AT. The combination of the heat and high humidity meant that within minutes of setting out we were sweating. The trail climbed up several open ledges from which we could look out onto the dense green hillsides that surrounded us and enjoy the cooling breeze. 

After passing over the final ledges, we entered back into the shade of the forest as the trail gradually continued on until one last final climb to the summit. We were all quite happy to take our packs off at the tent site and let the breeze cool us down. The tent site was situated a little ways off of the Appalachian Trail, complete with a fire ring and a small log bench that overlooked a pond at the foot of the mountain. Despite the wind, the black flies were still vicious. Crafty little buggers!

We had been guzzling water all day, so a couple of us went to check out the water source, which in the guidebook had been noted as not reliable. It wasn't. Due to the lack of rain this spring, we managed to filter out a liter of water from the standing puddle of water. We walked back to the tent site and after finding a somewhat sheltered location for the stove, we boiled water for our dinner of freeze-dried chili and instant potatoes. After dinner, we took a quick trip over to check out the fire tower. Sadly, it was closed for repairs and the potential $5,000 fine was enough to deter us from sneaking up the stairs for a view.

Thunderstorms were forecasted for the evening, so we tucked everything inside the tents or underneath the rainfly before going to sleep. Probably an hour or two after we got ready for bed, the storm rolled in. Gusts of wind rustled through the trees, billowed the tents and shook the rainflies. The rain started out as a drizzle, turned to a light rain, and then quickly escalated to a driving rain that came in waves. Lightning lit up the tents and the thunder rolled on and on as it echoed through the mountains. I don't think anyone actually slept for several hours, but rather we all just lay in our tents hoping we'd stay dry.

The next morning, we emerged dry from the tents to a grey day, as we were socked in by clouds. I walked to the water source and to my delight, it has turned to a small stream overnight. A thru-hiker that was staying the Ranger's cabin at the top of the mountain seemed reluctant to start out on the trail this morning.

We boiled water for oatmeal and all stood around warming our bellies. Taking down wet tents was not ideal, but at least we weren't out here for another night. We took the Ranger Trail down, which for all purposes was a small flowing brook. We slowly slid, slipped, and hopped down the trail, trying to keep our feet dry for as along as we could. Wet feet were inevitable on a day like that.

After a steep descent for the first half of the trail, the second half was a relaxing walk along an old, soggy, logging road. We made it back to the car just as it had started to rain. We were happy, tired, and a little bit damp.