Franconia Ridge

This weekend I went hiking with a neighbor on Franconin Ridge, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. This was by far the most demanding hike that I have ever been on. Starting at 9:00 am we hiked up the Bridal Path (2000 ft) about 3 miles to the AMC Greenleaf Hut (4070 ft) I ended up shedding a few layers and hiking in shorts and a long sleeve shirt. By the time we made up to to the hut the temperature had dropped from about 60 degrees to 40 degrees. A relatively sunny day at the parking lot had turned into to a foggy day at the mountain top, with strong gusting winds.

From Greenleaf (4070 ft) we set off to the top of Mount Lafayette (5260 ft) one mile away. This stretch was the most difficult of the hike. After being drenched in sweat from the previous leg of the hike, the cold and the wind went through your skin. Visibility at parts was reduced to about 50 yards. Needless to say it's disappointing when the only view from the top of the mountain is fog. At this point we began to ask each other, why are we doing this?

From Mount Lafayette (5260 ft) we hiked along Franconia Ridge, stopping at Mount Lincoln (5089 ft), and proceeding on to Little Haystack (4840 ft). Just before we reached Little Haystack the fog began to break up and we could see into the Franconia Valley. Beautiful, this is why we were there.

While on the ridge, we were able to watch as the fog would roll in from the west, travel up the mountain slope, over the peek an swirl around on the eastern side of the mountain. Then it would be clear for about 5 minutes and the it would repeat it's self giving us fleeting views of the mountains beyond. Although a clear day is by many, ideal conditions for hiking, that day we got a unique perspective that many don't get to see.