Hiked by Tim and Valerie on July 7, 2006 - As part of a loop from Falling Waters to Franconia Ridge to Greenleaf/Old Bridle Path
Conditions: It was a glorious day to be on the ridge. Started up the Falling Waters trail at about 7:45am. Climbed to the summit of Little Haystack before stopping for a snack break. At the summit, we donned dry (and warmer) clothes, including the hats and gloves that we packed. Wind was blowing about 40mph (we're guessing), but the sun was shining nicely. Everyone on the summit was just so happy to be there that day.
Started across the ridge. We could see Mt Lincoln, but Lafayette was hidden behind it. We really dawdled across - Tim was taking lots of pictures and we were trying to determine which mountain was which in every direction. At the top of Mt. Lincoln, there was just one other man there at the time. We spoke briefly and he headed off. He was traveling in the opposite direction that we were.
As we neared the top of the Mt Lafayette, Valerie's ears were plugging and she was starting to use the "thin air" excuse for her tiredness. That excuse doesn't hold much water with Tim - haha. On the top, we huddled down in the remains of a building foundation and ate our snacks again. We were now about 5 miles into the almost-9-mile loop. And as one man on the summit said "It's all downhill from here".
We walked the 1.1 miles down to the AMC Greenleaf Hut, where we *ate again*, but this time at a nice table inside the hut. We used the bathroom and spoke to a nice couple who had done a larger loop than we had that day. They were veterans of the AT.
The walk down to the car was rough for awhile. The boulders are just so tough on the knees, and it was starting to get warm, so the blackflies were coming out in force. But, it did flatten out as we got closer to the bottom and the trail was quite pleasant by the end. We could make decent time. We got back to the car about 3:30pm.