Hiked by: Lee, Christine, Tim and Valerie on September 1, 2007 - via Signal Ridge Trail
Conditions: Very cloudy and overcast as we drove up Franconia Notch and then back down through Crawford Notch. We had to start the day just hoping that the clouds would break up/burn off before we got to the ridge. We got to the Signal Ridge trailhead around 9:30AM.
The first couple miles were flat and easy. We made quick time to the intersection with the Carrigain Notch Trail at 1.7 miles. That's our only landmark until we get to the ridge. So, then it's just up, up, up over the rocks and through the woods. The brook crossings were all easy with the water being low. We got a couple quick views of the scars on Mt Lowell through the trees, as well as Stairs Mountain in the distance. We were happy to see that the skies were clearing quickly.
We reached the ridge and the wind was blowing very hard. We stopped just inside the treeline to put on dry clothes and jackets. Even gloves and hats. Views were fantastic and we could see our destination - the viewing platform on the summit!
Once we crossed the ridge and dove back into the woods, we had to *remove* all the extra clothes that we had just put on, as we were out of the wind and climbing again. Off, On, Off, On. Lastly, ON, as we made it to the summit and climbed the observation tower! Lee and Christine were happy for the chance to see the views. When they had climbed this for their NH48, it had been completely socked in with clouds. Today, we could see all our friends... the Bonds, Owl's Head, Franconia Ridge, the Twins, Zealand, Tom/Field/Willey, and the southern Presidentials (Mt Wash was still in clouds).
We could also see back down Signal Ridge at the trail we'd just come up.
We came down off the tower and ate lunch with quite a crowd on the rocks - probably 15 people or so, and a couple beautiful dogs. It was a great day to be out and hiking. Cool, clear, breezy.
The trip down went fine. It's rocky, but nothing technical. The skies continued to clear as the day progressed. By the time we got to the car, there wasn't a cloud anywhere.
Overall: 7 hours including lunch on the summit. 10.0 miles, 3250 ft of elevation gain.