Hiked September 13, 2008 by Tim, Valerie and Erich (BlueDog) for Flags on
the 48
Conditions: Weather report was iffy, but we made a game-time decision to try the Lincoln/Lafayette loop. Weather was cool and cloudy when we started, but cleared throughout the day. By the time we got to the Greenleaf Hut, it was downright warm. You couldn't trip on a rock without hitting your head on a fellow hiker today. There were a LOT of people on the trail.
BlueDog was ready for the hike to begin.
The hike up Falling Waters was beautiful. The first mile-and-a-half has all the waterfalls, so we could keep ourselves distracted. Once we left the waterfalls, then it's a long walk to the next milestone.
Our first stop, after the early waterfalls, was Shining Rock. Normally, we wouldn't take the time to take the side-trip, but at this point, we knew the flag for Mt Lincoln was behind us, so no reason to rush. Shining Rock was really very cool.
Once we got to Little Haystack, we were surprised to find a flag here!! Also, many people! We easily spied the flag on Liberty. There was not yet a flag on Lincoln (although it would be raised as we walked over there). We couldn't see the one on Cannon - not sure why. Erich changed his shirt from his 2008 "Seek the Peak" shirt to the 2007. At least one of the hikers that we saw along the trail that day noticed the change and asked about it.
Soon, we headed off towards Lincoln. The flag was stubby when we got there, but pieces of pole kept arriving, and the flag flew higher and higher! We spoke to Chris, one of the event organizers. We offered up our services for future orphaned summits. Tim spied a large water body between Franconia Ridge and Owl's Head - north of the Owl's Head slide. It's not on the maps, so now he's obsessed with it. We'll see it soon enough, I'm sure.
Then we headed off towards Lafayette. The crowds were amazing! Has anyone ever seen so many people on the summit???
As we started down, we spied our next destination - Greenleaf Hut. We could also see Shining Rock for the first time from a distance. Wow, it really seems like it's a long way away!
On the ledges overlooking Walker Ravine, Erich took a bunch of pictures which he'll magically turn into a panorama. He also contemplated Liberty and Flume at the end of the ridge, which he didn't get to visit today. Perhaps on the next trip to NH?
Overall, the day was much more than we ever could have hoped for. This was our (Tim&Val's) first FOT48 where we had any visibility at all. It was great to see the flags flying on so many mountains today.