Wednesday, December 21, 2016

#1, #2, #3 & #4 Franconia Ridge w Ripper Steve H

7:02 AM on Wednesday, December 21, 2016

First day of winter and already hiked 1/12th of the 48 four-thousand footers that I'm going to hike before the spring equinox. If only all the peaks were so conveniently located and every day was blue sky and moderate wind. At 4 peaks per day, statistics project I'll finish on Jan 1, and statistics don't lie.
  • We met a couple at Greenleaf Hut. They left Boston at 11:30pm, started hiking at 2:30am, and waited an hour on Mt Lafayette to witness the winter solstice at 5:44am. After sunrise (7:19am), they decided it was too windy to cross the ridge and hiked back down.
  • We met two young guys at the Bridle Path trailhead. We headed up and across the ridge; they drove to the Basin and climbed up the very steep Flume Slide. Many hours later we met them between Liberty and Flume. An hour and 2 miles later, we were surprised catch up with them a quarter mile from where we last saw them. They had run out of food and Will was seriously bonked. We plied them with cookies and energy bars. Once Will looked normal again we continued down and walked a couple mikes back to our car.
Stats
  • Peaks: Mt Lafayette, Mt Lincoln, Mt Liberty, Mt Flume
  • Weather: clear but windy; forecast gale force winds (45mph) and 14F
  • Parked: across from Lafayette Campground on I-93 N
  • Trails: Old Bridle Path, Franconia Ridge Tr, Liberty Springs Tr, Franconia Notch Bike Path
  • Time: 9h36m, 7:02am-4:38pm
  • Distance: 14.3mi
  • Track: GaiaGps
An overview of my Single Season Winter 48 with links to all the trip reports is here.










On top of Lafayette






On top of Lincoln












On top of Liberty


On top of Flume


Walking 2.5 miles on the Franconia Notch Bike Path back to the car at Lafayette Campground.


Stopped at the Woodstock Inn for a burger and beer. In 2014, I finished my single season summer 48 with a 4000 Footer IPA on top of Moosilauke. It seemed fitting that I start my single season winter 48 with another 4000 Footer IPA. I also had a Frosty Goggles Red Pale Ale because I liked the name.


The Notch Hostel in North Woodstock is a great place to stay. The owners, Serena and Justin, make you feel at home. The other guests are interesting and adventurous.

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