Peaks - Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Lafayette, Mt. Garfield (37-39/48; 39-41/100)
Trails - Falling Waters Trail; Franconia Ridge Trail; Garfield Ridge Trail; Garfield Trail
Companions - Dorothy and Sonsie
I set off from Boston early on Saturday with Dorothy and Sonsie to head up and try a 2-day-1-night traverse of the northern Franconia Ridge and Garfield, and Galehead, with a plan to leave our car at Lafayette Campground and hitchhike from Rte. 3 back after the hike. Leading up to the hike, the forecast was predicting little to no chance of rain so I thought it would be a great weekend for Dorothy's first back-country overnight in the Whites. Wrong.
By Saturday morning the forecast had changed to 40-50% chance of thunderstorms, predicted to commence around 6 p.m., if at all. I definitely did not want to be up on Franconia Ridge when and if lightning arrived, but I figured we would have plenty of time to get up and back below tree line on Garfield Ridge before 6, so we decided to go for it. I had been up Old Bridle Path once before for some back country skiing but never made the top of either northern Franconian, nor had I hiked that area in the summer.
Parked at Falling Water Trailhead and started heading up the steep ascent. The trail was simply beautiful, and apparently that's no secret, as there was more than a few others hiking along with us. I tried to keep count for a while but lost track somewhere around 60, and am pretty sure we ended up seeing around 150 by the time we reached the peak. Plus about 5 or 6 other dogs.
And then came the rain. Sometime around 1 it started to drizzle and then eventually picked up to almost a downpour, but then stopped just a quickly, in time for us to reach the ridge. Hadn't heard any thunder so felt comfortable going for it. And so we did.
Crazy rock, eh?
As usual, Sonsie had no trouble. So much so that she found her frisbee in my bag as soon as I sat for a break at the top and demanded to play fetch. First through caught a stiff White Mountains breeze and I was pretty sure it was going to land at the base of Owl's Head, but luckily it dropped somewhere in the bushes off the ridge and eventually she came back with it. After a quick snack and photo opp, off we went towards Lafayette.
Looking toward Lafayette from Lincoln.
Cannon and the Old Man site were visible but hazy, and eventually, somewhere around the approach to Lafayette the rain began again. Enough this time around to merit Sonsie's favorite outfit. Dumb as it looks, she really seems to like wearing it and it helps abate the soaking wet dog for purposes of sharing a tent later.
Destination for the night was Garfield Pond. I had seen a few stray posts here and there and an old image of a map on Google indicating there was actually an old shelter that doesn't appear on my waterproof mapadventures trail map (this one was marked as separate than the Garfield Ridge Campsite). From the top of Lafayette we could see the little nub before Garfield beyond which lay the pond, and despite the distances on the map, it didn't look like too much of a hike to get there. The rain, the weight of the overnight gear (including a full tent, some wine because why not, and a full 24 oz can of corn because I'm an idiot), and the wearing need to watch every step on the slippery rocks, however, led the hike to sap all of our energy. Eventually we reached the pond but not a moment too soon, and found two other fellas already pitched to camp across from it. Unfortunately, there was no shelter to be found and they had never heard of it. Does anyone know whether this rumored shelter exists? Anyways, quickly set up the tent and dried off and had dinner inside. Easy mac, cajun sausages, and some wine. Refilled the water and then passed out hard.
Next morning, awoke to what sounded like a downpour on the tent. Was able to check the high summit forecast from where we were and the outlook was dismal. Micro thunderstorms throughout the day with possibilities of pea-to-golfball sized hail? With that as a risk we decided to just tag Garfield then head down the Garfield Trail to cut the day off a little early. And I don't mind leaving Galehead for now as both Ted and I have that and Owl's Head to do, so we may be able to combine them into an aggressive two-day trip later this year. Only time will tell. Anyways, as I said, we tagged Garfield ...
Then headed down. Definitely a long trail with all the switchbacks, but really not bad, particularly after the first quarter of it. In fact it was shallow enough to make me wish I was either mountain biking or running it. Also always nice to be walking alongside some water.
Charlotte.
Gathering of butterflies.
And then we made it. Sort of. Had to walk to Rte. 3 first, hoping that when we got there someone would be kind enough to pick up two smelly hikers with a wet dog in tow. Luckily we came across Sean, who hikes with CHAOS, who took us aboard and dropped us back at our car. Next time, hopefully, we can pay it forward.
Stopped for some Nacho's Mexican food (arguably) in Lincoln and followed it up with some roadside ice cream. The food was decent but I'll boost the joint to an A- because they let Sonsie sit with us outside and even brought her a dish of water, which she gladly accepted.
Gear Recommendations: Waterproof boots and rain gear. this rain is getting to be obnoxious.
What I Didn't Bring But Wish I Did: Belt
What I Didn't Bring But Wish I Did: Belt
What I Brought But Didn't Need: See above re giant can of corn.
Lesson Learned: There ain't no shelter on Garfield pond. At least not that I could find.
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