Outdoor Diversion: Lafayette and Lincoln and Little Haystack via Skookumchuck Trail

Summits: Mount Lafayette (5,260'), Mount Lincoln (5,089'), Little Haystack Mountain (4,780')
Trail route: Skookumchuck Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Falling Waters Trail
Trail conditions: A wet Skookumchuck Trail, dry Franconia Ridge Trail and a very slippery Falling Waters Trail
Weather: Cool morning with a cold wind blowing across Franconia Ridge then warm afternoon temps at lower elevations
Total miles: 10
Total time: 8.5

I would be joining Larry and Marty for a hike up to Franconia Ridge and over Lafayette, Lincoln and Little Haystack. Only Lafayette and Lincoln count toward the 4,000 footer list. Our plan was to ascend the Skookumchuck Trail, a new trail for me that I have never hiked before, then hike across the ridge and down the Falling Waters Trail. The weather forecast was calling for mostly sunny with windy conditions on the summits.

I packed my warm clothing after reading trail reports from yesterday. The gloves, wool hat, fleece, and puffy down jacket all got put in the pack. It was a cool early morning with no wind when I left the house but I knew that would probably change at the higher elevations. As I drove toward Franconia Notch I could see the high summits were in the clouds. Before pulling into the trailhead parking lot I went a little further down the road and got an amazing photo of the moon setting behind Artist's Bluff.

Larry and Marty met at the Lafayette Place parking area and spotted a car before meeting me at the Skookumchuck trailhead parking lot. It was a very pleasant hike up the Skookumchuck Trail with its moderate grade and beautiful forest along the way. There was some easy rock scrambles just before reaching the trail junction. We added some layers before moving above the treeline. The clouds were clearing as we made our way across the Garfield Ridge Trail.

As we reached the summit of Mount Lafayette the last remaining wispy clouds moved off and it remained clear for the rest of the day. There were lots of hikers as expected. A strong, cold wind blowing had us move down off the summit to take a break and eat lunch. We actually lingered and basked there for awhile, it was nice to be out of the wind and the sun felt good. The break was nice but we had to get moving again, there were more miles to go.

It was a great hike across the ridgeline. We had to wait several times to let hikers pass by coming from the other direction. The views were spectacular! We stopped long enough on Mount Lincoln to capture a few photos before moving on. Little Haystack Mountain had the same crowd of hikers and we were there for just a moment before starting our final descent.

The Falling Waters Trail was very slippery and we took our time carefully placing our feet on the slick rocks as we went down. Two years ago I slipped and had a nasty fall on this trail. My head hit a rock and I ended up in the emergency room with a concussion after getting myself down to the parking lot with some help from my hiking companions. I did not want a repeat of that today!

There was lots of water flowing over the numerous waterfalls on the way down. We all made it down without any mishaps. The temperature had warmed up and it was a nice ending to the hike! We jumped into Larry's car for the ride back to the Skookumchuck parking lot.

Our initial plan was to hike up Skookumchuck Trail to Garfield Ridge Trail to Lafayette over to Lincoln on the Franconia Ridge Trail then back to Lafayette and down the Greenleaf Trail. Because of the forecast of high winds we decided to continue on with the wind at out backs rather than turn around and hike into the wind. We all agreed that was a good decision. The Skookumchuck Trail is a great approach to the Franconia Ridge and Mount Lafayette. I will be adding this to my favorite trails list!

Enjoy the photos and videos!