When one starts hiking in the WMNF in mid-winter conditions they don’t realize just how many rocks are under all that wonderfully smooth snow. But one soon realizes it after the snow goes and looks back fondly recalling those gentler ground conditions. When being introduced to the Whites with conditions like that it’s easy to assume it’ll be no different in the non-snowy times of year. An underestimation is natural. And the realization is inevitable. Thanks to all the rocks on our eroded trails, hiking them in the “on season” is a lot more difficult than it is in winter. But people do figure it out soon enough. Such as part of the way up Falling Waters Trail heading to Franconia Ridge. Leading a retuning guest to this conclusion, in this case, was Redline Guide Glenn Van Neil. Glenn provided a brief summary along with the following photos.
It’s a classic for a reason. Great views: check; Hard work: check. The classic Franconia Ridge loop has all the great stuff that’s for sure, it also involves a lot of hiking on varied terrain. Our guest wanted to knock off one of the classic White Mountain loop hikes and we are always ready to deliver. Falling Waters Trail to Franconia Ridge Trail to Greenleaf Trail to Old Bridle Path and out. Around 9 miles. The first 1/3 of the hike is all climbing, the second 1/3 is the ridge between Little Haystack and Lafayette, and then the descent back to the cars. Sometimes the descent is as hard as the climbing. Our guest had watched videos of this hike but was surprised at how rugged and physically demanding it was in reality. She killed it, though, (despite the pain from all those rocks) and this loop has been completed! —Glenn
