Lincoln and Lafayette

Total trip duration: 5:23:17
Distance: 8.9 miles
Hikers: Vance and Quinn
4000 footer completion count: Lincoln #22 (5,089 feet),  Lafayette #23 (5,260 feet)

I've been really looking forward to the Lincoln and Lafayette traverse with Quinn.  It's such an amazing hike and today's adventure really lived up to expectations.  This hike is extra special in winter and was certainly our favorite trip to date.

Our route today was Old Bridle Path > Falling Waters trail > Franconia Ridge trail > Greenleaf trail > Old Bridle Path.

Falling Waters here we come!

There were some tricky river crossings but we managed to stay dry.  We've had a good deal of precipitation recently and the water was really flowing in places.

Behold the ice bristle toothbrush!

 Gorgeous waterfalls heading up Little Haystack.

The trail from top to bottom was largely a hard pack of ice and snow.  We wore our spikes for the duration of the trip and they did a terrific job!

Quinn tells me he's ready to take up ice climbing!

Feeling pretty small compared to those icicles! 

The sun comes shining through!

Quinn says "Little Haystack isn't so little!"  After a steep climb, we take a well deserved tea break.

 Our minds were blown as we left treeline to see an explosion of frozen beauty.

The Franconia Ridge trail is just spectacular and enjoying it in winter was a real privilege.

The sun came shining through to 360 views all around.  We felt so alive!

Enjoying the views with a frozen Lonesome Lake in the background.

It was definitely cold up on the ridge but after looking over at Mt. Washington, we guessed we were living in the tropics comparatively.

 

On top of Lincoln with Lafayette at our backs.

The signs were too frozen to read!

 

We didn't run into too many hikers but fortunately there was a hiker on top of each peak to capture pictures for us (and crazy enough to take off his gloves to do so).  We felt like we were on top of the world looking down from Lafayette.

Quinn found a cool little frozen bunker to kick back in.

Looking down on the ski slopes of Cannon Mountain.

Heading toward Greenleaf Hut.

The sun and blue skies became more and more vibrant as the day went on.

The bench at Greenleaf that was sitting perfectly in the sun was quite a delight.  We had some more tea, cleared out the ice in the hydration pack, had a few Sour Patch kids and enjoyed a great chat with a fellow hiker.

Somehow between Greenleaf and the following photo, I lost my sunglasses.  This is becoming a recurring theme (lost another pair heading up the Star Lake trail on Mt. Adams not too long ago).  I guess I need some Chums; taking on and off hats and hoods etc. for cold weather hiking is feeding a bad habit!  Anyway, I hope they're useful to another fellow hiker :)

Amazing looking back at the clearly defined snowline below the peaks!

We both felt an incredible amount of gratitude upon finishing this hike. We really, really had a special day.  The weather was excellent, the terrain was varied and challenging and the views were magnificent.  Here's to more great hiking in 2015 - A Happy New Year to all!

Quinn's Take

The hike began with a small wooden bridge crossing.  The trail had hard packed snow.  In some places there were holes that we needed to be careful not to step in.  We came across gigantic icicles!  There was one that looked like a toothbrush. For Christmas I got a new thermometer that hooks onto my coat.  When we started our hike it was 18 degrees.  At the top it dropped to 10 degrees and it was very windy making it feel much colder!  The mountain peaks and the ridge were very icy.

My favorite part of the hike was reaching the top of Little Haystack because the views were so beautiful!  We saw mountains, snow, rocks, trees.  Mt. Washington, Mt. Liberty, Owl's Head, Mt. Garfield, the Bonds were all in the distance.

Once we got to Lincoln, the clouds cleared and we could see Mt. Lafayette.  It looked closer than it really was.

On Lafayette, we took a video and had our picture taken.  There was a square rock formation that looked like it was made by man, kind of like a bunker. 

When we reached Greenleaf hut we had some lunch, tea and sour patch kids.  We then headed down the trail to finish the hike. I loved butt sliding down the trail.

I would rate this hike a 10.  It is my favorite so far!  Happy Trails!