Franconia on my mind

If I have to lie, 
let me lie down in the Whites.
If I have to steal,
let the sight of the Whites steal my breath away.
If I have to cheat, 
please God, cheat me of my sorrows in the Whites.

The day of our Franconia Ridge hike was warm, warmer than the mornings recently experienced in New Jersey and with crystal clear visibility. While driving up to the hotel the previous night, I saw the outline of the endless mountain ranges stretched around us as we drove, with the Sun setting on our left and was waiting eagerly to see them the next morning in daylight.

Our hike on this sunny May day was perfect for hiking unless the weather Gods suddenly decided to change their mind that is. We all reached the trailhead on time – just before 8 am. We all got busy gearing up. I was glad to see the parking lot was big and paved and there were a handful of cars already parked. We walked over to the trailhead where a Ranger stood at a makeshift table. He asked us where we had come from and what our plan for the day was. Karthik spoke to him and some of us took the paper maps he was handing out. ‘Please make sure to keep crampons with you’, he said.

The trailhead is the starting point for two different trails – Falling Water and the Bridle Path. Falling Water trail is wooded and takes you up the Little Haystack mountain whereas the Bridle Path is clockwise and you can see the entire Franconia Ridge clearly as you hike up through this trail.

We were going up anti-clockwise via the Falling Water trail. What a beautiful name I thought, almost Native Indian.  I said a little prayer in my mind asking to the Mountain Gods to keep us all safe and soon we were off. We could all hear the noise of the gushing and clear water as it came rushing down the mountain almost tripping over itself. It was hard not to stop and take pictures but the lure of the Ridge kept me going. The waterfall along the way was pretty and we did stop for some pictures, but the walk up was almost akin to being in a Secret Garden. The densely wooded trail wound up slowly but steadily and at each curve was a tantalizing new possibility.

Snow was still melting on the ground and a couple of patches along the way were still icy and snow covered and the crampons were a big help. There is a 0.1 mile offshoot on the way up where you can go and see the ‘Shining Rock’, but the entire trail was water logged and we came back to the main trail and kept on climbing steadily.

The trail though not crowded was well populated and we ran into a family of five with a little girl, Scarlet, who was also five. Her grandparents who were with her, were from the White Mountain Search and Rescue team and we all had fun talking to Scarlet.  A lot of people were on this trail and at a certain point near the top, the trail became steep and you could start seeing the tops of the trees. We are coming up the tree line I thought and sure enough a pleasant vista opened up in front of us. We were almost there on top of Little Haystack!  

The vegetation around us changed, the pine trees were all below us now and suddenly you are surrounded by red, stubby and clingy alpine vegetation which was covering most of the rocks and ground in soft mounds. From Little Haystack, our first mountain, we could clearly see Mt. Lincoln and the ridge winding its rocky way past the lichen covered green rocks. After taking a breather here and marveling at the clear visibility which allowed us a clear 360 degree view of the White Mountain Ranges we were all hyped to start on our 1.7 mile ‘Ridge Hike’. 

The visibility allowed us to see the snow covered peak of Mt. Washington too. We met a great number of like minded people all along the trail and met the little girl, Scarlet, and her family who were also on their way to Mt. Lincoln. It was so beautiful that I could not resist looking back from time to time to stare at the meandering path behind me. How could a place be so beautiful, so serene and majestic – all at one time.  How many feet had already walked the path that I was now walking? Will my child one day follow me here or maybe his children, I wondered?

We were soon at Mt. Lincoln and as this was my first Presidential Mountain ascent, I was deliriously happy. Mt. Lincoln sits between Little Haystack and Mt. Lafayette. From Little Haystack you can only see Mt. Lincoln and not Mt. Lafayette, so we were all under a misapprehension about the length of the hike. Once you reach Mt. Lincoln you can see the the ridge continuing all the way to Mt. Lafayette and beyond. So we still had some way to go!

We had our lunch on top of Mt. Lincoln and ran into our little hiker, Scarlet, again. She came over and took some pictures with us and seemed taken with our entire group. I don’t know what I ate, the beautiful views stretching as far as the eyes could see had our complete attention. We were soon brushing off the crumbs off of us and were on our way to our final destination – Mt. Lafayette. While eating lunch at Mt. Lincoln, Karthik had shown us the Greenleaf AMC hut which we would pass on our way down. It was so far away and such a tiny speck that I started wondering how could we make it that far.

Soon, we were ascending Mt. Lafayette from the ridge and oh my! what a great feeling it was. The top is expansive and open on all sides. The mountain ranges surrounding it in all colors of green gracefully crested and troughed like emerald sea water around us. The white clouds on the pure blue sky, the verdant lush green mountains and for a moment it seemed that finally you were at peace with the Universe. There was very little wind and everyone who summitted around us had the same glazed look in their eyes. Some moments stay with you for a lifetime and the feelings they evoke drench your mind anew every time you revisit them. This was one of them.

Everyone started taking pictures. We met Scarlet here again and the entire family was soon on their way down. As the day was nice, we all spent more time than necessary on the top of Mt. Lafayette. Karthik made tea, which a Russian father with his  3-year old daughter, Mila, was more than happy to wait for. Mindy offered her Aloo Parathas to every passerby and three students from Boston (and a Bengali Babu) took her up on her offer. We stood talking to them for some time laughing at their New Jersey jokes. These are the memories which will remain etched in my mind.

It was hard to leave Mt. Lafayette, but we had to, else we would face darkness on the way down. The perfect weather made it impossible to leave but possible for us to enjoy a leisurely descent. Again, once we reached the tree line we hit some icy patches but the crampons came handy. We were all headed down the Greenleaf trail and soon reached the AMC Greenleaf Hut. From this spot and all the way down, you can see all three peaks and the ridge clearly behind you. As I said earlier, it was difficult not to keep looking back and marveling at the other end of the loop that you had climbed up. We even clearly saw the Shining Rock whose glimpse we had caught but could not go closer to it.

From the AMC Hut is was another 3 miles of winding and steep, rocky descent to the Parking Lot. There are a lot of viewpoints and I could just imagine how it would look in the Fall with all the colors dotting the mountains.  Before 7 pm we were all in the Parking Lot and on our way back to the Hotel. So what did I learn today? Same as on all other hikes – Yes, I can do it and being in a group of like minded people makes all things possible. And second that there is no amount of money in the world that can buy you the sense of accomplishment, amazement and peace that climbing a mountain does.

A big thanks to Karthik for planning and leading this hike. I really can’t thank you enough for introducing me to the beauty of the White Mountains. Happy Hiking everyone!

Posted By: Anagha Yerande

Date: May 15, 2021

Mountains Climbed: Little Haystack, Lincoln and Lafayette

Weather Conditions: Sunny with Temps from 55-65 degrees; Great visibility; Wind (~10 mph)

Trail: Falling water to Little Haystack; Franconia Ridge Hike to Mt. Lafayette and down GreenLeaf Trail to AMC Hut and then down the Bridle Path to the Parking Lot.

Fellow Hikers: Mona, Mindy, Srini, Karthik, Dayana, Manu, Anagha (me)

More Pics by Karthik: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FUQgFGJDuc2XBhpm9

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