Ah, this is nothing but a beat generation: THE FRANCONIA RIDGE 9/1/12

The Franconia Ridge 9/1/12

Walking across the ridge

"All paths lead to nowhere. Therefore, pick a path with heart.".. Carlos Castaneda

And with Carlos's quote in mind we head out to climb The Franconia Ridge. This will be my forth hike of the ridge. Almost to the day 2 years prior, under the watchful eye of Hurricane Earl, my friends Meena and Dan got married on the summit of Lafayette. About 19 of us hiked up to witness the nuptials. Hurricane Earl kept a close eye on the wedding party, darkening and clouding the skies, but sparing us his wrath.

9/4/10: Dan & Meena get hitched on Lafayette while Earl looks on

The other 2 times I've trekked across the Ridge, it has been socked in, no views. So today, the day of my most recent attempt I was thrilled to hear a pristine weather forecast. Bluebird skies and cooler, crisp temperatures. Karen and I pull into the Lafayette Place lot @ 8:00, gear up and are on the trail by 8:15.

We decide to head up the beautiful Falling Waters Trail, walk across the Fanconia Ridge Trail and descend via the Old Bridal Path. Falling waters. This will bring us over 3 peaks, 2 of which (Lafayette & Lincoln) are over 5,000 feet in elevation, while the 3rd Little Haystack, is well over 4,000 feet, standing at 4,840 ft., but due to a weird Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) rule it doesn't count on the club's 4,000 footer list due to it standing less than 200 ft. above the col on the ridge above Lincoln. Yada, Yada, Yada!!! After the hike I relay this information to Karen and she says, "who cares, it counts as a 4,000 footer to me." Touché' !!!

Speaking of Karen, her hiking prowess gets stronger and stronger with each trip. She handled the steep Falling Waters trail like a pro. We were actually passing many folks as the trek progressed!!! Ok, I know it isn't a race, but sometimes it's a nice ego boost to kick a little ass!!!! You are humbled though when a member of the Greenleaf Hut Croo comes charging by with a 100 lb. freight-car container strapped to his/her back and excuses his or herself as they blow by you!!!

Anyway, This hike is truly a New Hampshire classic. Beautiful water-falls, steep/rocky/challenging terrane, a stunning ridge climb that rivals anything in the state and the opportunity to stop at the Greenleaf hut for a rest-bit and fill your water bottles with the coldest, crispest tasting water on earth, chug ice cold lemonade, while sampling the most decadent vegan brownies you've ever tasted or the greatest high-mountain homemade pizza I've ever eaten (I couldn't resist). Thank you Greenleaf Croo!!!

The day itself lived up to the forecast, blue skies and temps in the high 50's to low 70's by the time we returned to the car. I didn't take a ton of pictures, as I was enjoying the trek with my heart. Below are some of the images I came back with. If you've never done this hike and are ok with long, exposed trails, some of which are on the steeper side, I recommend this trip. The Greenleaf hut is 2.9 miles from the parking area and if you go up The Old Bridal path, the route is less challenging then heading up Falling Waters, so it can be done as an overnighter, giving your budding-hiker kids an amazing experience. You have to work to visit some of the world's finer places and in my eyes, The Lafayette Ridge qualifies as one of them.