Franconia Notch to Greenleaf Hut (6.4 Miles)

We hiked this section on July 11, 2009.

Friday, July 10th

We ate at Longhorn Palace Pancake house for breakfast. The owner said that this has been a bad season so far because of the rainy weather and the economy. Today was the first sunny day they have seen in weeks.

We went to check out the Liberty Spring Trailhead which is 0.9 miles to the AT. What do you mean it is not on the AT? More miles we can’t count!

We took the tram up to the top of Cannon Mountain. We got to look across to Franconia ridge and see the peaks we will be bagging tomorrow. Oh crap!

Okay we can now officially panic! Did we train hard enough for this hike? Why are our packs so heavy? Do we really need that much food?

“There is a fine line between clever and stupid?” (from “This is Spinal Tap”). Are we going to be Dumb and Dumber once again? As SHOE would politely point out this is only our 4th backpacking trip. Nothing like picking the hardest parts first.

We went to Lahouts to re-think our gear and Python bought new gloves, long underwear, and a tin water bottle. Dirigo bought new gloves and new light weight rain pants.

We took a scenic drive to Littleton and to Crawford Notch and then to the AMC Highland center.

We had to stop for ice cream at the Trail’s End Ice Cream shop. The ice cream shop had a dish called “The day hiker” but we passed because we are section hikers in New Hampshire.

We spent the evening paring down our packs as we do not want to carry a heavy load up the mountain, and kill ourselves on day 1. Let’s wait for day 2 to do that.

The Shuttle Connection will take us to the trail at 6:30 am tomorrow morning. That which does not kill us, will only make us stronger.

Why do we hike? Is all the stress and pain really worth it? First, we hike because it makes us feel alive. Second, we enjoy hiking because of all the bonds we have formed with other hikers. So, Rocky get well soon so you can get out hiking in SNP again. We will miss both Dragonfly and SHOE on this hike. Thanks to B2, Rock Star, 42K, and Pistol Packin Patty for joining us on training hikes this year.

Dirigo hopes that all those early Friday mornings in the gym with Ricky have been worth it. I hope all those hip exercises and lunges that we have done have made my hips, knees and feet stronger. A big thanks to Sarah at Fitness First for all the advice about the Whites, the huts and the wonderful map she brought back from her hike last year and her working out with me to help get me started on this journey.

Python would like to thank Sharon, the best darn personal trainer at Gold’s Gym in Charles Town, for the weekly beat downs. All those crazy ab exercises you made me do on the BOSU ball better help me carry my heavy pack up the mountains!

Saturday, July 11th

Theme song for today is “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus

Total hike time: 9 hours 44 minutes

We were up and ready to hike early and the Shuttle Connection picked us up at the Profile Motel, where we left the car, at 6:30 and dropped us off at the Liberty Spring Trailhead.
We started from the spur trail and actually got on the AT at 7:15. Our packs felt so heavy, and we even took out a lot of stuff last night.

It was a hard hike up the mountain and Dirigo didn’t feel real great so she was sluggish, but Python kept pushing along. There were a lot of rocks, boulder type rocks, not PA rocks. At times the trail reminded us of Maine and the 100 mile wilderness and all the mud.
We got to the Liberty Spring Campsite just after 10:00am.

We met the caretaker who suggested that we get water and we were only 3/10 of a mile from the ridge. That was good news, as it seems like we had been climbing for miles.

We took a break and got water, but we didn’t filter it. Apparently the caretaker doesn’t filter so we thought we would take a chance.
We took some Vitamin I, as Python’s knee was starting to get a little sore, and Dirigo feet were hurting from stepping up on all the rocks.
Dirigo felt much better after the break, and we both visited the tent site to see what it looked like.

We met a thru-hiker named Madelyn when we were hiking up the Liberty Spring trail. We had met her husband in town yesterday as he was looking for a new pack for her. Her pack was a Go-lite and it started to come apart so she needed a new one, so he was picking her up and bringing her to get a new pack.
Our legs felt strong, except for Python’s right knee was a little sore. Thank God for all the work in the gym because this climb up was just the beginning of a lot of climbing.

Yeah, we finally reached the Franconia Ridge, and turned left on the trail. The trail became nice, with leaves and mud to cushion our feet. We were told about the views from the ridge but hadn’t seen anything but trees yet.

Then the boulder scrambling began.

It reminded Python of the climbing we did in Maine last year in the 100 mile wilderness. Lots and lots of boulders that we had to hoist ourselves up over. Dirigo had to take her pack off once because Python had gotten up and over OK, but Dirigo got stuck, so she threw her pack up to Python and kind of went up backwards. It was pretty comical.

Just before we reached treeline, we met an AMC hiking group. We were very tired and beat, and kept thinking we would reach treeline any second, but it just kept putting us off. FINALLY, once we got above the trees, it was so beautiful and breathtaking. Python’s heart was in her throat. Dirigo was in awe.
All the pictures we have seen of the ridge do not do it justice. It is a 365 degree view in all directions.

We were tired but this view gave us a shot of adrenaline to keep pushing on.

We were standing on Little Haystack Mountain, there was nothing little about it, looking at Mt. Lincoln and at this point we could not see Mt. Lafayette yet. Looking off into the distance we could see a lot of day hikers. There were all sorts of hikers up there. Some with packs, some without. Families, friends, and people just enjoying the stunning views. We met a man and woman from Maine with a very beautiful German Shepherd. We talked to many day hikers who had climbed up from the Falling Waters Trail and were heading down the Bridle Path near Greenleaf hut.

As we continued to climb we could see the hut very far in the distance, lower in the valley.

The hut was another 3 1/2 hours away. We took a lot of breaks as you would climb and then descend and then climb again. We took more Vitamin I, and started climbing to Mt Lafayette. This climb was really taking a toll on Dirigo’s feet. Once at the top of Mt. Lafayette the wind was whipping all around us, and sometimes would catch you off guard and throw you off balance.

We took the side trail to Greenleaf hut, and this was not a pleasant hike. Did we mention that the hut was 1.1 miles off the AT?

Yep, 1.1 miles! 1.1 miles that we can’t count!

I believe we both were dreading the ascent back up to the ridgeline in the morning. Every time we thought we were close to the hut, again it appeared so far away. The wind was really beating us up, and Python’s knees were very tired. Our legs were strong but the feet were starting to fail.

As we approached the hut we had to climb up some rock stairs, and those rocks were very slippery from the rain the night before.

Once we got into the hut we both picked bottom bunks in the bunkroom. We got cleaned up and changed into our camp clothes.

Today was a tough day but we made it to our first hut. We were very excited to get here but very tired and ready for bed as soon as we hit the hut.
The hut was pretty much full and very loud. There was a family with many kids who were running all over the place and wouldn’t settle down. Quiet time is at 9:30 but we were both in bed way before that.

Dinner is served promptly at 6:00pm. The croo introduces themselves and dinner is served family style. Dinner tonight was turkey with all the fixin’.
We also ate dinner with 2 very nice guys who were AMC volunteers. Bill was the information volunteer who told us that the next days hike would be the toughest section. GREAT!!!!! We also met Yves who was the Alpine Steward volunteer – he educates people about the fragile alpine vegetation on the mountains.

There was a fierce thunder storm in the night with lightening and driving rain. One clap of thunder woke everyone up and one guy screamed like a girl.

Python’s hike stats: 5,264 calories burned. Min HR 98, max HR 164, avg HR 133. # Vitamin I = 6.

Dirigo’s hike stats: 3,778 calories burned. 30,436 steps.