ctsparrow
New member
My goal of the day was to have no goals!! Since i needed as much sleep as i needed fresh air, i began my day late, but was well rewarded. So after awakening in the Canaan area around 9am, it was off in the car by 10am, my destination Lafayette Parking for a nice saunter in the woods in the direction on Lonesome Lake Hut. It was already in the 40's when i left Canaan, after a stop in Lincoln, i was finally heading to the notch. As i approached, as always, the mountains were making their own weather. I listened to my weather radio on the way in and knew there was 60 - 70 mph up high on Mount Washington, so i was watching the beautiful white clouds moving as fast as they could to some unknown destination. At the far north end of the notch, the coulds were thick, heavy and dark..i began to wonder if i should not have left my pack cover at home.
Upon arriving at Lafayette parking, i finally hit the trail by 11:45am. It has been since August of 2006 that i have walked the Lonesome Lake Trail, and one other time in the winter a year or so before that. I pretty much had it to myself through the campground, but soon came upon a large (i heard AMC group later) group of young adults and their leaders. Some looked very relieved to be near the end of their journey...teenagers...gotta love 'em. After that there seemed to be a steady stream of one or two person parties heading down.
The day started in the mid-30's. The dark clouds never materialized any kind of threat and the sky began to break into brilliant blue with bright sunshine. The layers quickly started to come off on the way up. A couple sledders were trying to enjoy gravity on the trail. The trail was well travelled and packed, but you definitely didn't want to step off trail without snowshoes on, soft and deep!
Got to the corner of the Lake and headed out onto the ice, descending hikers assurred me the ice was fine. It was soooooo sunny and bright, that i stopped about 100 feet on it to dig into my pack just for my sunglasses! There is mushy slush on top of the lake in spots, but it was an after thought considering the scenery. (No i didn't have a camera on me...this one was for the brain) I got near the hut and half expected to have it to myself considering how many people were descending...boy was i wrong. An incredible group of kids and their parents were enjoying lunch at the hut. When they finished, the kids had an impromptu butt sliding session on the hill by the hut...wish i was eight again!
After a brief rest and lunch stop for myself, i circled the lake north than east instead of crossing the lake. The view of Franconia Ridge across the lake was stunning, breathtaking, picture post-card incredible!! The brilliance of the blue sky contrasting the snowcapped ridge and just the right touch of white blowing clouds over the ridge was spectacular. Lincoln was clear, Lafayette mostly hung up the clouds, but i could also look south down the ridge and see the detailed craggy face of Liberty. Some unfortunate soul, travelled this boggy part of the trail snow shoeless...there were post-holes that approached groin-busting depth!!
The trip out was faster as always in the winter, and the blue skies continued. This will be my last winter hike as minor sugery is going to limit my activities for the next couple weeks and winter will officially be over by then.
It was a perfect non-technical, get some fresh air and sunshine, sweat alittle kind of non-goal oriented day....and now i gotta go change my clocks!!
CTSparrow
Upon arriving at Lafayette parking, i finally hit the trail by 11:45am. It has been since August of 2006 that i have walked the Lonesome Lake Trail, and one other time in the winter a year or so before that. I pretty much had it to myself through the campground, but soon came upon a large (i heard AMC group later) group of young adults and their leaders. Some looked very relieved to be near the end of their journey...teenagers...gotta love 'em. After that there seemed to be a steady stream of one or two person parties heading down.
The day started in the mid-30's. The dark clouds never materialized any kind of threat and the sky began to break into brilliant blue with bright sunshine. The layers quickly started to come off on the way up. A couple sledders were trying to enjoy gravity on the trail. The trail was well travelled and packed, but you definitely didn't want to step off trail without snowshoes on, soft and deep!
Got to the corner of the Lake and headed out onto the ice, descending hikers assurred me the ice was fine. It was soooooo sunny and bright, that i stopped about 100 feet on it to dig into my pack just for my sunglasses! There is mushy slush on top of the lake in spots, but it was an after thought considering the scenery. (No i didn't have a camera on me...this one was for the brain) I got near the hut and half expected to have it to myself considering how many people were descending...boy was i wrong. An incredible group of kids and their parents were enjoying lunch at the hut. When they finished, the kids had an impromptu butt sliding session on the hill by the hut...wish i was eight again!
After a brief rest and lunch stop for myself, i circled the lake north than east instead of crossing the lake. The view of Franconia Ridge across the lake was stunning, breathtaking, picture post-card incredible!! The brilliance of the blue sky contrasting the snowcapped ridge and just the right touch of white blowing clouds over the ridge was spectacular. Lincoln was clear, Lafayette mostly hung up the clouds, but i could also look south down the ridge and see the detailed craggy face of Liberty. Some unfortunate soul, travelled this boggy part of the trail snow shoeless...there were post-holes that approached groin-busting depth!!
The trip out was faster as always in the winter, and the blue skies continued. This will be my last winter hike as minor sugery is going to limit my activities for the next couple weeks and winter will officially be over by then.
It was a perfect non-technical, get some fresh air and sunshine, sweat alittle kind of non-goal oriented day....and now i gotta go change my clocks!!
CTSparrow
