Matt Drayer
Got up early Saturday morning, threw the pack in the Jeep and headed
North with my buddy Art to get some winter hiking in. The weather
report was extremely favorable (25 deg. F, light variable wind), so we
set our sights on the loop that takes hikers up to Little Haystack Mtn,
over Mt. Lincoln, and to the top of Mt. Lafayette. Based on distances
and times reported in my AMC book, we estimated the entire trip to take
roughly 6-1/2 hours.
We got started at about 9:15am from the Lafayette Place parking lot.
Heading up the Falling Waters Trail, we crossed several sections of
running water and saw some spectacular frozen waterfalls. Decided it
was time to put on the crampons when the terrain started to become
unmanageable due to ice and ended up keeping them on for the rest of the
trip. Man, what a difference they make!
I kept a close eye on my heart rate during the ascent to the summit of
Little Haystack. If I started to push too hard, I would back off until
my heart rate dropped back into my aerobic zone. I found that I wasn't
moving as quickly as I was used to, but I was stopping less and staying
warmer. Seems like common sense -- and of course, it is -- but being
able to know exactly how hard to push and when to back off was extremely
helpful.
Getting to the top of Little Haystack, we could see the entire Notch, as
well as much of the surrounding land. Talk about a beautiful view!
There were some clouds floating in, but overall the weather report was
right on. We headed along the ridge to Mt. Lincoln, where we stopped in
a sunny spot out of the wind for a quick bite and to change out some
soggy layers.
Popping over the top of Mt. Lincoln and seeing Mt. Lafayette before us
was a sobering experience. Even being up on the ridge, the mountain
still looks enormous, and I took a good look behind us in the clouds'
direction. Lafayette, like Washington, is notorious for sudden bursts
of inclement weather. I remembered looking across to Lafayette from the
top of Canon last March and seeing the upper half absolutely swarthed in
clouds and snow, hoping that no one was on the summit. Unfortunately,
two people were indeed trapped there.
But today the weather was being cooperative, and we pushed onward.
About thirty feet below the summit, I found myself in a small section of
powder and craggy rocks and for just a couple seconds, with my crampons
digging into the ice, my poles planted, the wind whistling by my head,
and the peak in sight, I was fully immersed in the experience. It was
an absolutely amazing feeling.
Art and I reached the top and stayed just long enough to take a timed
shot of the two of us. Standing on top of a 5200-foot mountain was fun,
but it was freezing!!! We headed on down toward Greenleaf Hut, enjoying
the unbelievable views across Franconia Notch and commenting on how
lucky we had gotten with the weather. There was a lot more snow and ice
on this side of the mountain, and our crampons were very helpful in
maintaining traction on the steep slope.
We passed the closed-down Greenleaf Hut and picked up the Old Bridle
Path trail, which led us down along a ridge which offered great views
back toward the mountains. We stopped to take a couple pictures and
then picked up the pace. Coming back to the parking lot, we realized
just how tired we were. We were so into the hike all day long that our
adrenaline had really kept the fatigue factor to a minimum. I started
up the Jeep and changed into warm, dry clothes. Looking at my watch, I
realized that we had completed our trip in 6:38 -- right on the money.
Talk about a PERFECT day in the mountains!
Matt
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