The forecast for fine dry weather was too good to resist today so I headed over to Lafayette Place early this morning. 6:30 AM on a Tuesday looks like it got me the first day hiker slot. As I was heading up the trail I heard a loud group pulling into the lot in several vehicles. I did my normal preferred clockwise hike. The trail crew that reported is working 4 days a week has two areas of concentration. Area is one is not that far past the trail split for Falling waters on the side slope heading north roughly parallel to the parkway. It is some very impressive work; I expect many folks would be honored having a set of the steps on their home. All the steps appear to be cut to size using rock drills. Rise and run of the steps are standard. Its top rate looking work. . The net batch looks to be bit older immediately past the State Park boundary where the RUA starts. They are being careful to "mine" rocks quite far from the trail, but the woods look a bit worse for the wear from all the traffic, nothing a fall and winter will not erase. I passed a set of steps under construction with a tarp set up besides the trail but no one there. I talked to a hiker that started about 20 minutes later and the crew was there.
Given the general neglect of the trail in past years, they have plenty places to work on and they have not hit the steep sidehill that slabs up and then cuts up on the ridge. That will be far more extensive work. I can guess they picked the spots they did based on different funding sources and to pick a lower easy to access section for media and dignitary visits.
Given the standard of work they are doing, this is going to be unlike any trail in the whites. It going to be far more like I would associate with a national park. Therein lies the "rub", unless they mobilize a lot more crews and manpower, getting the OBP rebuilt to this new standard, is going to take decades. There is no evidence of an attempt to triage the rest of OBP and no hint of work on the ridge or Falling Waters. My guess would be that using a more rugged standard like RMC or other groups would use might be quicker and a better use of resources. I remember when the USFS rebuilt the trail between Hermit Lake and the base of the Tuckermans one year and they made a far more natural looking footbed that looked like it would hold up.
The rest of the loop was cool and somewhat uneventful until Haystack. The ridge was in and out of the clouds but seemed to be clearing as I went. When clear, the views were quite far, I could see Camels Hump and the mountains in Evans Notch plus quite far into Northern VT. Quite rare during summer. I stuck with long pants and windblock fleece as there was stiff NW wind.
I could hear some jet traffic in the area at higher altitudes, as soon as I started down Falling Waters, two A-10s started doing high speed runs from the south up Franconia Notch, then banking hard and going up over the ridge. I was in the trees but when I saw them they were well below my elevation. I expect the folks on the ridge got quite a show. This went on almost all the way to the first brook.
The brook crossings looked far better than my last hike this spring.
Given the general neglect of the trail in past years, they have plenty places to work on and they have not hit the steep sidehill that slabs up and then cuts up on the ridge. That will be far more extensive work. I can guess they picked the spots they did based on different funding sources and to pick a lower easy to access section for media and dignitary visits.
Given the standard of work they are doing, this is going to be unlike any trail in the whites. It going to be far more like I would associate with a national park. Therein lies the "rub", unless they mobilize a lot more crews and manpower, getting the OBP rebuilt to this new standard, is going to take decades. There is no evidence of an attempt to triage the rest of OBP and no hint of work on the ridge or Falling Waters. My guess would be that using a more rugged standard like RMC or other groups would use might be quicker and a better use of resources. I remember when the USFS rebuilt the trail between Hermit Lake and the base of the Tuckermans one year and they made a far more natural looking footbed that looked like it would hold up.
The rest of the loop was cool and somewhat uneventful until Haystack. The ridge was in and out of the clouds but seemed to be clearing as I went. When clear, the views were quite far, I could see Camels Hump and the mountains in Evans Notch plus quite far into Northern VT. Quite rare during summer. I stuck with long pants and windblock fleece as there was stiff NW wind.
I could hear some jet traffic in the area at higher altitudes, as soon as I started down Falling Waters, two A-10s started doing high speed runs from the south up Franconia Notch, then banking hard and going up over the ridge. I was in the trees but when I saw them they were well below my elevation. I expect the folks on the ridge got quite a show. This went on almost all the way to the first brook.
The brook crossings looked far better than my last hike this spring.
But I suppose this kind of trail hardening is going to be necessary if popular routes like this are going to survive for future generations. When I first did it circa 1977 (I wasn't even keeping track of my hikes back then) we had company, but I would not say it was crowded by any means.
