A Glorious Day on Franconia Ridge

Gordon and Reuben on Franconia Ridge

By Gordon DuBois

Shining Rock stretched out before us with more than five feet of ice encrusted over the rock slide. In the summer water runs over the sheer granite ledge, 200 feet tall and 800 feet long, and sunlight reflects off the water creating a stunning glow which can be seen from the valley below. Today the ledge was a mass of ice and snow. I approached the base of the ice slab and wandered out on the edge of rock that sits below the humongous slab of granite. The views were magnificent on this crystal clear day. The profile of Mt. Monadnock stood in the far distance. It was a perfect day to be hiking Franconia Ridge, warm sun and little wind with spectacular views waiting for us when we reached ridgeline; no haze, mist or clouds hung in the air. After taking in the views from Shining Rock I turned back from the viewpoint and returned to the Falling Waters Trail with Dave and Karen. After a steep climb to Franconia Ridge we found Sandy waiting for us. She chose to bypass the trail to Shining Rock and instead continued climbing the steep ascent to the ridge.

The day began with the four of us, along with Reuben, squished into Karen’s Subaru with snowshoes, poles, and packs crammed around us. Reuben nestled onto Dave’s lap and seemed content, knowing he would be on the trail again after a long hiatus. I usually abstain from hiking Franconia Ridge because of masses of hikers on the trail. In the summer the Falling Waters Trail experiences an endless line of squawking hikers marching in unison. This scene isn’t for me, but today seemed different. It was a glorious spring day (still winter in the higher elevations) with a bright sun and few cars in the parking lot. A bluebird day in the Whites. 

The week before Nancy and I visited my brother and his wife. They spend their winters at a gated community on the east coast of Florida. For an entire week we were engaged in activities centered on their community’s Spring Fling, a week-long event filled with musical entertainment, pickle ball tournaments, dances, plays, dog shows, swimming and lots of eating and drinking. Three thousand people live in this island community, squeezed together like sardines in a can, reveling in retirement bliss. In the evening I would crawl to bed, worn out and tired, while the rest of humanity on the island community danced and twisted the night away. This wasn’t my thing, but for the snow birds, this was their way of staying healthy and fit. 

Now I was back in my own element: the lakes, rivers, hills, dales and mountains of the Lakes Region. This is where I belong. When I stepped off the plane in Manchester I looked forward to returning to the trail, hiking on the rocks and dirt of the paths near home, not the concrete and macadam of the retirement community, trying to avoid golf carts as they whizzed by me.  What ever happened to people just walking from place to place?

Before we began our eight mile trek of Franconia Ridge we booted-up in Lincoln. While we got ready for our hike, we met a man who had lived his whole life in the White Mountains, near Lincoln. He shared stories about his younger days growing potatoes in the rich soils around Lonesome Lake; exploring the wreckage of the B-18 that crashed on Mt. Waternomee;  looking for relics in the abandoned village of Peeling NH (now Woodstock); walking the Appalachian Trail in 1953 after being discharged from the U.S. Army, and hiking trails that I never knew existed. I could have listened to this man for hours, but we had climbing to do, so we parted ways. As we drove to the trail head I thought about this man, the adventures he’s had and the enthralling nature of his stories. I hoped I would run into him again and gather more stories from his past. It’s so easy in our fast-paced world to cast off the elders of our community as bothersome and an impediment to our hedonistic lifestyle. But here was a man who fascinated me with stories of his past. Stories that I found to be intriguing. Stories that help me to better understand the world of yesterday and the world of today.

We began the day by hiking the Falling Waters Trail, aptly named, as it follows Dry Brook, crossing the brook several times, passing impressive cascades and waterfalls: Stairs Falls, Swiftwater Falls and Cloudland Falls (80 feet high). The trail is steep in sections, offering a challenging climb, but is well worth the effort just to take in the spectacular views of the waterfalls and ice formations stacked on the ledges. After our short visit to Shining Rock we climbed to the summit of Little Haystack and the trail junction with the Franconia Ridge Trail. Here we met Sandy who was waiting for us and another hiker Chris, an old friend of Karen. We teamed up to begin the ridge walk to Mts. Lincoln and Lafayette. Mt. Lincoln was originally called Mount Pleasant, but the named changed to Lincoln in honor of the sixteenth President of the United States. Mount Lafayette was originally called “Great Haystack” due to its resemblance from the valley below as a hay mound and this name appears on Phillip Carrigan’s (NH State Geographer) on his 1816 map. The mountain’s name changed to Lafayette in honor of the French nobleman Marquis de Lafayette who toured the United States in 1824-25. The Marquis is remembered for the important role he played in the Revolutionary War as an officer in the Continental Army and helping to secure the aid of France in the war effort.

After summiting Little Haystack Mountain we continued north on the Franconia Ridge Trail, which runs along the backbone of the ridge. Until we reached the ridge we experienced little wind, but now above tree line we were blasted by wind gusts of 20-30 mph. Under winter conditions this would have been difficult to endure, but we stayed warm with the spring sun shining high in the sky. We reached the summit of Mt. Lincoln, staying well away from the cliffs on the eastern side of the trail, and continued tramping toward Mt. Lafayette.

When we reached the summit of Mt. Lafayette, we were greeted by several other hiking parties enjoying the summit views while being buffeted by the wind gusts.  We spent a few moments at the summit, while Reuben made friends with several other hikers, and then we began the descent to Greenleaf Hut to eat lunch. The hut was obviously closed for the winter, but offered protection from the wind, while the sun warmed our faces and hands. From here it was a quick downhill run back to the Lafayette Place parking lot. As we descended on the Old Bridal Path Trail we took in many great views across Walker Ravine to the Franconia Ridgeline. It was another great day in the mountains of New Hampshire.

This is one of the classic hikes in the White Mountains and most likely one of the most popular because of its close proximity to I-93 and the outstanding views along the entire Franconia Ridge. On any pleasant summer day the Lafayette Place parking lot is usually over loaded with vehicles and the trails filled with throngs of enthusiastic hikers. While walking the ridge it’s important to stay on the marked trail and not wander into the fragile alpine vegetation. One in particular, Robbins’ Cinquefoil, is a rare and delicate plant found only on Franconia Ridge and the Presidential Range. Shoulder season (late winter-early spring) is an ideal time to hike this loop: Falling Waters Trail, Franconia Ridge and Old Bridal Path. This circuitous route of about 8 miles can be completed in a day if you are in good shape. However, the entire ridge is above treeline, and is extremely dangerous to hike in bad weather. Each year people have to be rescued and over the years hikers have been critically injured or perished while attempting to complete this route in perilous conditions. There is still plenty of snow in the higher elevations so you will need light traction and snow shoes. Now is the time to hit the higher elevations of the White Mountains while the snow and ice still blanket the ground.

Sandy and Karen climbing the Falling Waters Trail