The night prior to this event we stayed at Notch Hostel in Lincoln. Unfortunately there was a person who was a heavy snorer. I had swimmer’s ear plugs in as well as a fan directly next to me. It didnt matter. The next morning we started at 0530. The temperature was 37(F). The small group would end up being very fast & strong hikers, which made managing/leading much easier. The screening for this event was fairly selective, but fewer people signed up than expected.
The first day the weather could not have been much better. We ate lunch about a mile away from the summit of little haystack around 11am. We knew the ridge would be mobbed with the weather, time of year, & fact monday is a holiday for many. By the time we were on the ridge the overnight freeze was largely melted other than rime ice scattered. There was a fridging wind coming from the North once we came off Lafayette approaching garfield.
We took frequent breaks, mostly at or around each summit the first day and made it to Galehead hut about an hour before dinner. As the sun went down around 615pm this was just enough time to set up sleeping arrangements and change into clothes for sleeping in. At night a 20 degree bag was more than sufficient and i ended up hainvg to unzip at the end of the night with how warm i was.
The second day was warmer & we got a start just after 0730. There were much less people and the skies were not as clear, but it was still an excellent day. We ripped through the day in under 8 hours & made it to north woodstock just before dinner. The traffic all the way back to southern NH was crippling.
All in all this was an excellent experience with a solid group. I am sure i am forgetting information i would have liked to add but I favor brevity.
Near North Lafayette, Two seasons in one picture
Franconia ridge from summit of garfield
second day looking out off of bond
Strong & fast group that was loving the last few miles
day 2 stats minus an out and back to galehead
day 1 stats moving pace was faster, for backpacking this is knee replacement speed in my opinion, it ended up being fine
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