Leading on Lafayette

Friday returning guest, Alex from Pennsylivania, accompanied us on a tour up Mts Eisenhower and Pierce, hitting Ike first and breaking trail the whole way. A tough slog but they did it. Yesterday Alex was back out there again, this time being led by Redline Guide Álvaro Marques — the one and same Álvaro that was guiding [and feeding members of] a snowshoe hike up Mt Hedgehog yesterday (busy weekend). This time their goal was the northern half of the much adored Franconia Ridge.

After coordinating their plans, Álvaro met Alex at the Old Bridal Path trailhead. At this point a direction wasn’t fully decided, but being that Alex put a priority on the 5260-foot Mt Lafayette and that the weather up there was iffy, a clockwise loop made the most sense. They would get one peak at least, that was the hope anyway. As it turns out that is what they would accomplish — decided shortly after leaving the hut where they stopped twice for self-care, a brief respite, hydration, and feeding.

Speaking of feeding, it should be noted, due to a lack of early coordination, Álvaro wasn’t able to bring and prepare foods to share with Alex as he’s been known to do. That said, Alex brought venison sausage from Pennsylvania that Álvaro loved. The day, gastronomically-speaking, was a complete success. Based on the feedback we got the day went extremely well in all regards, despite not completing the whole thing. They did safely get The One he came for. Here are some photos of the trip.

Well done you two. Another terrific lead, Álvaro!