Date: 2015-08-17
From: Rt 3 Franconia Notch

To: Garfield Ridge
Miles today: 10.5

There is nothing like waking up at 3:30 and realizing you better pay the credit card bill while you have wireless access. So that was the start of my day. After getting up at 4 am (Heather's normal weekday wake up time, mind you!) and a quick breakfast of tea and cinnamon raisin toast (homemade, naturally), we left for the drive back to New Hampshire. It was dark and foggy at first, it was like driving in winter. Except not like winter in Vermont because there was no snow! Heather dropped me off at the parking lot and we said goodbye. Thanks again for a great nero day! I was back on the AT at 6:43.And it immediately went up. And up. And up some more. But, it was all actual hiking trail (though rocky trail for sure), not a rock scramble. After three miles I reached the Liberty Spring camp site and stocked up, on water because I was about to walk the ridge where there is none.Not long after the camp site came the turn onto the Franconia Ridge Trail but to my disappointment, there were no immediate views. For that, I needed to climb some more!Once I got above tree line though, the views were spectacular. 360 degrees, with mountains all around. First I got up and over Little Haystack and Haystack Mountains. I ran into Winston (the paying thru-hiker from Lonesome Lake hut) and she pointed out that we could see the lake and the hut far below and across the valley.After the Haystacks came Lincoln, and to get there you walked the completely exposed ridge line with views all around. I had lunch on either Lincoln or Haystack, I can't remember, and it must be one of the prettiest lunch spots of the hike!The big mountain today was Lafayette, which was next after Lincoln. Unfortunately it was really crowded at the summit, like Springer Mountain in Spring. There was a group of college age girls who started singing as a choir. I'm sure some people like it, but I did not appreciate it particularly. And it was nice music, I semi-recognized it as a choral piece I hear around, so I assume it is a religious piece. I just don't come to a trail or a mountain to hear music of any kind and I find it quite off-putting to run into. I didn't like the crowd at Lafayette, so I didn't stay long. On the way down, I was passed by Boris, a thru-hiker I had never met before, even though we only started 8 days apart.It was still only 11:30 and I only had 3.9 miles to go to Garfield Ridge, so I started giving some thought to maybe shooting for Galehead hut, another 2.5 miles further. But, grown wise (ahem) by my previous hiking days in the Whites, I decided I should just get to Garfield and go from there.That turned out to be a good thing because the descent from Lafayette was long and slow. I was also hoping to go for a swim in Garfield pond, envisioning it as a smaller version of Kinsman pond, but nothing could be further from the truth. I had already been warned to that effect by a local by the time I reached the pond, but it was still disappointing to see a marshy pond with no trail access at all.I decided to have a break anyway, before pushing the final mile up and then down Mt. Garfield to the shelter side trail. The climb was fairly short, but reminiscent of Kinsman (i.e. very rock scrambly), but again the views from the top were awesome. On one side I could see the entire ridge I had walked earlier today. On the other, in the far distance, I could see Galehead hut and determined that I was definitely not going there today. This shelter is one of the fee based ones. I'm supposed to pay 8 bucks, which I actually don't really mind, but the caretaker wasn't in. If she's not there when I go check one more time, I'm not sure what happens, since I'm planning to go to sleep early!Today was pretty much the way I expected the Whites to be: tough hiking, but still doable, and spectacular views as a reward. The weather has been fantastic and I hope it holds (probably not, the weather is famous for changing quickly and nastily here). At a rate of ten miles a day, it's going to take me another week to finish the Whites and I think the hardest parts are still to come.But if I get views, it's all good!Open map in new windowWant to add a map to your journal?