Spectacular weather was in the forecast for this weekend. High clouds, warm temps and low humidity for Saturday with warmer temps and clearer skies for Sunday. Both days were a winner. I had some work to do around the house on Sunday so I would be joining Brian and Jill for a hike to Mount Garfield (4,500') today. This is one of my favorite hikes. It's a gradual 4.8 climb to the Garfield Ridge Trail then a short steep climb to the summit for a 10 mile round trip hike.
Our meetup time was 8:00 AM and I got to the Garfield trailhead a little early. There was a steady stream of hikers arriving. The parking area was already full and hikers were parking along the dirt road. I got a parking spot on the road. Jill and Brian were carpooling and arrived shortly after I got there. We got on the trail just after 8:00.
It was a cool, dry morning and it felt great after the past couple of weekends that were warm and steamy. The trail was dry and the water crossings were low. There were hikers passing us in both directions. There were also a lot of dogs with their hikers and everyone was enjoying the hiking conditions today. We reached the Garfield Ridge trail junction and took a short break.
The final 0.2 mile is a steep climb to the summit ledges. I was actually surprised that there were so few hikers when we arrived. I knew that wouldn't last and I got my panoramic video and summit photos before there was a crowd. We then went down to a lower ledge that looked out over the Pemigewasset Wilderness and ate lunch while enjoying the views.
It was a great day for basking on the summit. There was a high thin cloud cover and a ring around the sun. A cool breeze had me putting on a long sleeve shirt. Another bonus was the lack of biting bugs, they were nowhere to be found. When we stood up and turned around the summit was covered with hikers. They were sitting everywhere and we wound our way up and around and through the crowd. A few more photos and we started our descent.
It was a quick trip down and we passed many hikers that were coming up. Back at the parking area there were many more vehicles parked up and down the road on both sides. I was expecting a lot of people to be hiking to the top of this popular summit. It's an easy hike and it was a beautiful summer day for the end of July. I'm sure all the popular trails were experiencing the same large crowds. It was fantastic weather, great trail conditions, spectacular views and fun hiking companions. We all agreed that this was a perfect day of hiking!
Enjoy the photos!
The hike starts here
Easy water crossing
Mushrooms were out
Another easy water crossing
My favorite mushrooms of the day
The final 0.2 mile to the summit
Brian and Jill peeking
Franconia Ridge behind me
Galehead and the Twins behind me
Brian enjoying the views and the cool breeze
Summit wildflowers
Lunch with views into the Pemigewasset Wilderness
Galehead, Galehead Hut and South Twin
Zooming in on Galehead Hut
Ring around the sun
Zooming in on the summit of Galehead Mountain
Hikers on South Twin
Looking over North Twin to the summit of Mount Washington
Hikers on Bondcliff
Mount Guyot
Owl's Head
Mountain cranberry
Mount Lafayette from Mount Garfield
Franconia ridge
Starting our descent
Moss
Water levels are very low
This mushroom looked like black velvet
Last easy water crossing for this hike
Back at the trailhead after 10 miles
Having Fun in the Great Outdoors!
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