A Day Hiking Mooney Falls and Beaver Falls
On our second day at the Havasupai Reservation we planned to do both Mooney Falls and Beaver Falls. We all woke up at a regular hour and ate breakfast. Some had MRE’s of eggs and bacon using a backpacking stove and pot, others had peanut butter and crackers, trail mix, etc. We were quickly joined in the morning by our new dog friend Dusty and another camp dog we decided to call Kumquat. Kumquat got his name because Josh had carried a bag of the fruit in the canyon with him. We all tried it with various reactions, most considering it a strange fruit to chose to carry choice (except I liked it).
Mooney Falls
When hiking down to the campsite from the reservation you pass Havasu Falls, the campground sites then run along Havasu Creek between Havasu and Mooney Falls. To get to Mooney Falls you follow the campground trails to the end and have your first view of the falls from above. The hike is anywhere from a few hundred feet to 3/4 of a mile depending on where you camped. (Note: there are no bathrooms outside the campground)
To get down to the bottom of the falls involves climbs through some old tunnels and down several ladders with chains to help you. It’s a bit of a challenging descent and the later in the day you go people will be traveling both directions and it takes longer to get there.
The view from below looking up the ladders shows you a bit of this descent. The old ladder on the right shows you how this climb would have been even more rickety in the past.
Mooney Falls is the tallest of the 5 major waterfalls on the Havasupai reservation at a 200 ft drop. You could spend an entire day here swimming or hanging in a hammock.
Hiking Havasu Creek to Beaver Falls
We spent a bit of time here but were eager to see Beaver Falls which is about a 3 mile hike from Mooney. The path began up to the left by where we had descended. Marking for the trails don’t exist, they are obvious paths but at times split leading to view points or other areas which can be confusing. The trail to Beaver Falls follows the Havasu Creek much of the way and crosses it 3 times, water shoes proved very useful for these parts if you had good ones.
The trail itself is so beautiful it’s hard not to stop frequently to take photos, enjoy a quiet moment, or a bite to eat.
We stopped for a group photo when we found this small cave in the canyon walls. Here we found a picnic table and began to wonder how picnic tables had been set up along the trail when the descent from Mooney is the only place to begin. We later found out, when speaking to some tribe members, that during flooding some had been moved from their original locations and others taken down by boat.
Here I also paused to take photos of the cascades which are so numerous along the trail. As the water in Havasu Creek flows it deposits minerals with create the travertine rock formations that are so common here, these formations become visible as floods change the stream bed.
From here we crossed the creek again, but this time by pieces of wood and careful stepping instead of wading through.
At one point you enter a sea of green on the canyon floor, you can’t even see the path from above just little heads of people on the trail.
Sometimes you are traveling directly next to the creek, sometimes above the creek, and yet other times crossing over it on wooden planks or wading through. Experiencing the changing environment from different altitudes was awe inspiring. Information about Havasu online will often feature the waterfalls but the journey between these two falls is like nothing else.
Beaver Falls
When we finally reached Beaver Falls, after climbing up rocks and all kinds of ladders we had to climb down a few more to reach the lowest tier of this cascading waterfall. You can swim in all the tiers and find other cascades and tree and plant life around it as well.
While at Beaver Falls we met a ranger from the reservation who checked group bracelets and made sure everyone left the area by 4:30, because of the 3 miles hike back to Mooney Falls where you then have to climb the ladders they want you back with plenty of time before sunset. He shared one story of an injured self proclaimed avid hiker with us:
There is a trail along the canyon wall called the Mesa trail, to get to this trail or get off this trail at Beaver Falls there is a rope to help you down. This woman, either wishing to jump in the water or tired from her hike had decided to let go of the rope. She fell and badly broke her leg. Due to poor weather the helicopter couldn’t get there and she was forced to wait by the falls with a ranger and one friend until the next day to be airlifted out. Each time they have to use the helicopter to bring someone to the hospital it costs the reservation a minimum of $10,000.
While at Beaver Falls the wile squirrels got into our bags to steal trail mix.
Heading Back to Camp
Heading back to Mooney Falls on the trail we eventually realize we must have missed a creek crossing (possibly the one I mentioned before). This doesn’t turn out to be a problem we are just following a different way back. We cross at different points in the Creek and see different parts of it which is fun. A few parts of this trail were a little more over grown but it was easy to follow. We ended up in what we came to believe was Ghost Canyon right before returning to Mooney.
The trail up from here was climbing up some sand stone which is a bit challenging. If my fitbit was correct though this way back was a bit shorter.
We didn’t stop for long once we reached Mooney Falls but quickly ascended the ladders and cave tunnels. Back at the campsite we all began to get comfortable when someone noticed a snake. Not sure what kind it was we made sure it exited our area before making dinner. Later we found out it was a common Kingsnake that will actually eat rattlesnakes.
Backpacking into Havasupai Reservation
May 14th the real trek began, the one we had been planning so long for. I could write an entire post about our planning and preparation, and find many others online so for now I’ll just start at the beginning of our day.
We rose early, cold in our cars having gotten maybe two hours of sleep. Havasupai hilltop is a 3-3:30 hour drive from the Grand Canyon South Rim entrance and we didn’t leave until after dinner the night before. We quickly began dressing for the day and more slowly repacking our bags so they had 3 liters of water and everything else we needed.
As we got ourselves together the sun began to come up over the canyon walls, a few dogs trotted over to visit us, and a lone horse passed us by. We made a quick stop at the restrooms at hilltop, a fellow backpacker took a group photo of us with our packs on, and then we began the 10 mile journey to the Havasu Falls campground.
Left to Right standing: Myle, Rachel, Margaret (me!), Alexis (my fiance), Kevin, EJ, Logan.
Kneeling: Josh
I’ll say this now, no matter how prepared you are and how much you practice, unless you are experienced at back packing your bag will likely be heavier than it should be! All our packs were definitely heavier than they should have been, Josh’s may have even been 70lbs! He decided to carry fresh produce we all found out later (I would recommend dehydrated produce only).
It is 7.5-8 miles until you hit the beginning of the Native American Reservation, Havasupai, itself. Then another 2-2.5 miles to the actual campground and whatever amount it takes you to find your campsite. [My fitbit listed 15.75 miles for the day, 38,200 steps total. 10 miles and 24,400 steps being the journey with our packs on]
The beginning of the trail is downhill, 1.5 miles of switch backs to get to the canyon floor. At this point in the journey everyone is together, spirits high, still a bit cold but beginning to shed layers, and excited to reach our destination.
In one of the photos if you look closely on the canyon ridge on the right you can see a little rectangular shape that is at top of the hilltop parking area.
While still on the switch backs, Josh finds the lower half skeleton jaw from a large animal in the remains of an old foundation and poses with it.
Once off the switch backs, at this point mostly on flat land, we see the breath of the Canyon. Being surrounded by red rocks, short green plants, and cactus is a unique experience when my daily life usually consists of large green trees that tower over me and grey rock.
The occasional desert flower, from weeds, wild flowers, and cactus caught my eye as a bit of color in a vast sea of sandy reds and desert greens.
If you research Havasu Falls online you will find many beautiful photos of the 5 major waterfalls but not as many about the journey. I wanted to share more images of the unique landscape that is a huge part of the experience of backpacking the trail to the final destination.
I can’t quite pinpoint in photos where our group split up a bit, but around this point we finished shedding our layers as it was warm out and applying sunscreen. It was our first stop of many along the way, taken so early out of necessity for sunscreen more than rest. Sometime after this the group split up into those walking more quickly and those more leisurely. EJ and I took the lead, choosing to deal with the distance and weight on our backs with speed walking. Each time we stopped we’d wait for the entire group to catch up and then continue.
Along the way we also ran into many other travelers. Backpackers coming into and leaving the canyon, we even ran into two stragglers from one group who were tailing behind because one of them women was hiking with a broken toe! There were also many horse and mule trains carrying belongings to and from the hilltop. We had decided not to use these trains after reading some less favorable reviews about their care and to give ourselves the full backpacking experience. (If you do go on this trip and wish to use the mules you do need a reservation in advance!)
As you might see in some of these photos, the trail is often made up of walking on sand, beds of little rocks, and sand stone. It makes for difficult footing causing the backpacking trek to be even more challenging.
Despite what you may assume there is actually a decent amount of shade in the canyon but I highly recommend starting this hike early to avoid the heat of midday, especially later in the summer!
Once you start to see signs for the village you feel a bit of relief knowing you are close. A bit after the first sign you also see the unbelievably clear blue water Havasupai is famous for. Havasupai actually translates roughly to “The people of the blue-green waters.”
Continuing on through this strangely forested area after the start canyon you reach the village and see the helicopter running trips from the village to the hilltop (the helicopter is sometimes available for rides out of the canyon). You also reach the first opportunity to purchase food or some supplies from the village store. Frozen Gatorades were the most popular.
Walking through the village to the office to check in, we encountered many horses and dogs. We quickly checked in giving our parties name, all receiving bracelets listing how large our group was and the dates of our reservation. In this area there is another small general store and place to purchase food. From here we had read we had two miles left in our journey but the trail was mostly sand for that time. Expecting this challenge we took a short break before heading out again.
Our hiking groups broke up again into those eager to get a good campsite and those walking at a more leisurely pace. This part of the trail was the most challenging walking in sand that was not compact with the heat of the sun beating down on us.
Catching sight of the crystal clear blue water again, falling in tiers, then turning around to view the first two waterfalls stopped us in our tracks for a moment (These falls are New Navajo Falls and Fifty Foot Falls).
You know you are genuinely minutes from the campground when you get your first awe inspiring view of Havasu Falls from above.
We paused to soak it in and realize we had made it. But then we continued on eager to get the packs off our backs. Upon entering the campground (which is first come first serve) we ran into other campers who told us to keep going better campsites were further in.
We did drop our things at the first site we found, having a camp dog join us. We quickly named him Dusty and he hung out with me and our things while part of the group wandered to find a better campsite.
After setting up the campsite and finding the rest of our group we eventually headed back over to Havasu Falls. Here we took some photos, relaxed, eventually got in the water (cold since it was May). Returning to our campsite once we were hungry and trying our MRE’s and new equipment for the first time.
A Short Visit to the Grand Canyon
I will have many upcoming blog posts and photos from a long trip I took during the month of May with my boyfriend Alexis (fiance now, but more on that later) and other friends as well. The trip included visiting four states (CA, AZ, NV, UT), three national parks (Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon), even more canyons (Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend), and natural reserves (Torrey Pines), as well as several major cities (Las Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Diego). Here I’m just starting at the beginning — planning the trip and the first official day.
For over a year Alexis and I had been planning a trip focused around visiting Havasu Falls on the Havasupai reservation outside the Grand Canyon. Visiting Havasu Falls and the other falls on the Havasupai reservation requires much advanced planning and luck. There is no day hiking allowed, the campground has about 300 reservation spots and is very popular. You have to hike 10 miles in the desert into the canyon. You either carry your gear or hire a horse/mule to carry your things. Knowing all this we began preparing for our trip long before we booked it.
Reservations become available for the year starting on February 1st. That day we, along with many others, began the long process of calling the Native American reservation trying to reserve spots for the dates we wanted. Being flooded with so many calls at once while living in the middle of an isolated canyon you get the dial tone almost every time you call. After several of us spending days calling non-stop , almost giving up and beginning to plan a different trip, we became some of the lucky ones who got through and secured our group spots for the dates we wanted! Excited to actually be able to go on the trip we had dreamed (and already booked flights for!) we began planning in earnest. There is so much to see in that area I packed in as much as I could pretty close together.
Saturday May 13th, half of our group headed out together from LA to drive to the Grand Canyon South Rim. Seeing as Havasuapi is so close to the Grand Canyon I didn’t want to miss it… even if we had limited time. We finally made it to the Grand Canyon late in the afternoon 3-3:30 pm. We started at the visitor center and made a plan with the help of the rangers. We first walked up to the Overlook point just behind the visitor center, Mather Point. We had arrived so we were all eager to actually see the Grand Canyon!
We then took the blue line shuttle bus to the red line shuttle bus. Several points along the red line bus are known for being good for viewing sunset. Since we had arrived so late that seemed an ideal part to visit. We got off at each stop and only ended up doing the first four. We started at Trail View Overlook.
We took some fun group photos (missing a few who wandered off or showed up later) while exclaiming over winding switch backs you can see going into the garden trail down in the Canyon. Given more time we would have enjoyed hiking more of the Grand Canyon. Give our time constraints we made sure to hit both Maricopa Point Overlook and Powell Point Overlook before we ended at Hopi Point for sunset.
The breath of the Grand Canyon is spectacular to see, but we didn’t have much time or a chance to hike. I don’t think we had the full experience but I’m glad we stopped to see it. I would recommend trying to set aside more time to see the Grand Canyon depending on the experience you want.
The lighting on the canyon walls as the sunset created a radiant foggy glow.
A quick winter hike at Lincoln Woods, NH
In mid January, Rachel, Alexis, and I decided to go check out Ice Castles in Lincoln New Hampshire, since we were making the drive up we decided to do a small hike too. We walked part of Lincoln Woods Trail along the East Branch Pemigewasset River. We parked in the Lincoln Woods Trailhead and headed over the bridge.
Winter in Middlesex Fells
A quick winter hike in Middlesex Fells just outside of Boston, MA. This hike was on Crystal Springs Trail on the Stoneham / Melrose side of Middlesex Fells. [trail map] This short local hike helped us enjoy some time outdoors with our dog.
10/25: Shenandoah National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway
Continuing our trip in Shenandoah National Park Alexis and I got up and packed up our campsite at Loft Mountain Campground and headed out to hike to Doyles River Falls. We didn't do the full loop here just there and back, I believe it was bout 3-3.5 miles round trip.
The trail on the way to the waterfalls is almost all downhill which means on the way back it is almost all up hill. It is a pretty trail, especially in the fall when we went. At one point on the trail there is a stone wall with water coming through. There is also a small bridge near where you meet Browns Gap Fire Road. (see the map here)
Coming from this direction (having parked in the closest lot to Loft Mountain Campground) we reached the smaller of the two Doyles River Falls first which is seen above and below. This is a serene and small falls and of course I climbed right across rocks and stepped in the water to take the photo from different angles for my favorite.
The second falls is two steps to it. I had a lot of fun photographing the top pieces alone and playing with
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After our hike we finished the last piece of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park and continued on to check out some of Blue Ridge Parkway and the over looks there.
10/23-24 Shenandoah National Park
Back in October Alexis and I set out on a road trip down to a music festival in Florida. Along the way we decided to check out Shenandoah National Park and do some camping and hiking. Shenandoah National Park is along the Appalachian Trail in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is a unique National Park as it is a very long and narrow park that centers around a scenic drive with many overlooks, campgrounds, and hiking trails along the way. We left Sunday October 23 in the morning and took the 8 hour drive from Boston to the top of Skyline Drive. For the first day our plan was to drive the first hour and a half on Skyline drive enjoying many of the scenic overlooks, and setting up camp at Big Meadows campground just after sunset. Since we knew we would spend most of the day driving we planned all hiking trails from that point in the park on.
We made it to Shenandoah National Park around 3:00pm and entered at the Front Royal (North) Entrance Station on Skyline Drive. Once in the park we stopped at the first overlook Signal Knob Overlook at 2085ft.
We proceeded along Skyline drive stopping at overlooks periodically along the way that we were interested in or had seen recommendations for. Next we stopped at Compton Gap at 2415ft, then Hogwallow Flats Overlook at 2665ft, then Range View Overlook at 2810ft. Range View was one of my favorite stops and I would not miss this one! The rolling mountains to be seen from this view are gorgeous.
We continue on to Hogback Overlook at 3384 ft and next we stopped at Elkwallow for a bathroom break. At this point we were running a little late for having stopped so often and skipped the next few stops to make sure we got closer to our campground for sunset. Lastly, we stopped at Jewell Hollow Overlook around 6pm, made it to Timber Hollow Overlook for the beginning of sunset and Spitler Knoll Overlook for the end of sunset.
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We camped in Big Meadows campground and got set up around 7-7:30pm. We immediately started a fire and cooked for ourselves. We didn't stay up too late, that high up in elevation, around 3,500 ft here, it was cold and windy at night. The first night we had a hard time sleeping with the strong wind and our tent not tied down well enough. Sometime during the night our neighbors had given up on the campsite and left early. In the morning we discovered some early visitors.
We took the morning to pack up our things and eat some breakfast. Then we went by the Byrd Visitor Center so I could stamp my National Parks passport, checked out of the campground, and went across the street to the Dark Hallow Falls Parking area. From here we combined the Rose River Loop Trail with the Dark Hallow Falls trail for a 5.4 mile hike. Dark Hallow Falls trail is a very steep trail while Rose River Loop is moderate. I should mention all of the hikes I had chosen for this trip had waterfalls on them, I'm a bit of a waterfall fanatic and there were many trails to chose from with waterfalls. Also a note as a photographer I carried my heavy tripod for this trail and had no ND filter, I have since upgraded to a light weight tripod for this kind of work and highly recommend both items!
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The first cascade, a bit off the beaten path, along this little river drew my attention, I spent a lot of time here getting familiar with taking photos of the cascading water and playing with my angle and timing.
The text cascade gave had a better opportunity for a successful composition. With the path behind it invisible but creating negative space and less clutter in the image, I had the ability to play with focus and scale - showing the strength and height of the trees to the delicate fall of water.
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As we approached the first water fall, Dark Hallow Falls which falls about 70 feet, we saw this little caterpillar on the sign for the falls. I would caution hikers not to just touch any furry caterpillar you see as some are actually poisonous.
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At the point in the trail where you begin on Rose River Loop Trail you cross a bridge on your right and follow the with the river on your left. Along the way there are many small cascades, I made the hike longer by my constant stops, I tried to get very good at taking photos quickly and left my camera attached to the tripod.
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After a while the hike moves away from the little river and more into the wooded trail. Once you reach Rose River Falls the trail afterwards completely departs from the little river.
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Along the way we came upon a cemetery a bit off trail, the sign caught our curiosity and we took a short detour to the cemetery. To our surprise some of the tombstones are more recent and it appears the Cave family still has use of the location.
Once back at Dark Hallow Falls we found someone kind enough to take a photo of us and headed back up hill towards our car.
We got a surprise visitor along the way!
This little baby black bear decided to cross the river and our path right in front of us, luckily it's mother was not around and we continue back to our car afterwards.
After our hike we drove to our next campground making a few overlook stops along the way. We stopped at an on that's name isn't marked on my map, The Point Overlook, and Hensley Hollow Overlook.
We spent the afternoon hanging out and eating at the Loft Mountain campground. We were then in for another cold and windy night so we went be bed very early. I'll cover our last day in Shenandoah in another blog post.
I may go back and re-edit some of these images but it's been so long since I took them I just wanted to post!
10/16: Mount Cardigan
It's a bit late but here's some lovely fall color in the White Mountains in October.
Shooting photos from a moving vehicle is a silly idea but I thought there were a little fun.
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Alexis, Brian, and I headed up to Mt Cardigan October 16th with Behr to do a quick hike a catch a bit of fall color. We decided to do Mount Cardigan which is a 3,156 ft mountain with a popular hike that is 3.1 miles round trip. We decided this short hike was ideal since we were driving up from Boston a bit later in the morning.
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Once we arrived at the small parking lot and found the start of the trail we were immediately greeted by some beautiful yellow, orange, and red fall color.
The above photo of fall color peaking through well shaded forest is one of my favorites from the trip. It has that light at the end of the tunnel feel without actually feeling like the clique.
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Eventually you reach a point where you can continue up the shortest way or take a slightly longer way up. During this hike it was still fairly early in the turning of color in New England but it was my last opportunity to hike and see the leaving turning in New England before Alexis and I went on vacation (more photos of that coming later).
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This hike had lots of evergreens along the way which really made the trees that had changed color stand out.
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Behr modeled for us as usual!
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As we reached the summit we could see the fall color peaking through all round us. (And Behr's head peaking through that tree, eager to catch up to me)
Some fall color and some windmills off in the fog.
9/29: Mount Cannon
Sunday September 29th Rachel, Natalie, and I headed out from Boston to Franconia Notch State Park. We were running a bit late and didn't get up there until the afternoon. We parked in the same lot as when we did the Mt. Lafayette loop and crossed under the high way using the tunnel. We decided we still wanted to complete the Mt. Cannon loop which a map at the information center said was 4.7 miles round trip.
We used the Lafayette campground entrance to Hi-Cannon Trail to head up the mountain.
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It may seem incredulous to suggest this, and I welcome the opinion of others who have experienced both, but because we ascended the mountain so quickly (most of the uphill part of the trail was 2.2 miles) this trail felt steeper, rockier, and more full of root stairs cases than the trails up Lafayette!
This next part is probably my favorite... we found this gorgeous tree! It's roots had grown up out of the ground creating almost a cave and the tree had grow at an angle into the woods before growing up. The part of the path around it was also wider than usual and flat. It was a great place to stop and play.
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As we approached the tree line we had to climb this staircase to continue on the trail. Boy were we glad we were going up and not down!
Along the way we found several place to step off the trail and view the mountains around us and lake below. Natalie made me really nervous when she first walked out on one but we played it safe and didn't go far.
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Lonesome lake below us looked like it was sparkling as it reflected the sunlight.
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It so interesting to watch the terrain change along the path. This one part was particularly dense with trees, but mostly broken low branches with no leaves and evergreens, and the entire forest floor covered in moss.
The last 0.5 miles to the summit began on Kinsman Ridge with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains, including the peaks we summited last time - Little Mount Haystack, Mount Lincoln, and Mount Lafayette. At this elevation we bundled up a little more.
We stopped at the tramway for lunch and then headed up to the observation deck for a splendid view of the surrounding mountains on all sides. On the deck we were happy for our extra layers, it was a bit windy and much cooler than it was at lower elevations.
For our descent we Lonesome Lake Trail. This trail was just as rocky, if not rockier than Hi-Cannon Trail. We spend most of the time using both our legs and hands to climb down.
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Eventually we came to Lonesome Lake and had a bit of a break walking on plank trails along the lake edge.
Seen above is our view from Lonesome Lake of Little Mt Haystack, Mt Lincoln, and Mt Lafayette our hike last time we were in the White Mountains.
And I'm still chasing chipmunks...
8/4: Mount Lafayette
I know I know this post is more than a month after I actually took the photos! I've been a bit slow editing them, since I took 1,000... given the amount I took I'm sure you won't be surprised that this post will be longer than most! I thought about making it more than one post, but it's been so long I just want to share!
Picking up from where I left off last time in Acadia, Wednesday 8/3 Alexis, Rachel, Behr and I left Acadia and drove the 5 hours to our campsite in New Hampshire. We grabbed some groceries for grilling and checked into our campsite. We stayed at Lost River Campground, which allows dogs, and it has a small river running along one side and a brook on the other that meet at the end of the campgrounds. It's a very pretty location and several of the campsites are very private and on the water. We spent the day setting up camp, exploring the camp ground, eating, and hanging out by the fire.
The next morning we got up fairly early, ate, and got ready for the day. We made sure to pack lots of water for us and Behr. We each carried a Camelbak with 70L and water bottles. I had 4 large water bottles in my bag as well! We were headed to a parking lot at Franconia State Park to do the 8.9 mile loop that crosses part of the Appalachian Trail and you summit three peaks including Mount Lafayette, the highest peak outside of the Presidential's in New Hampshire at 5,254 feet. The loop is considered very difficult with rock stair cases the entire way up and down and has an elevation gain of 3,900 feet.
We set out for the parking lot at the base of the Mount Lafayette loup and began our hike around 11 am. There is lots of information to be found online about hiking the 8.9 mile loop. We began from the parking lot, 0.2 miles to Falling Waters Trail 2.9 miles (past 3 small waterfalls on Dry Brook) to the first summit, Little Haystack Mountain on the Franconia Ridge piece of the Appalachian Trail. Then summit Mount Lincoln on the way to Mount Lafayette 1.7 miles later. Descending 1.1 miles down Greenleaf Trail to the AMC hut to stop and take a break and finally 3 miles back on Old Bridle Path to the parking lot. Map shown below.
All of this we knew ahead of time. Despite the warnings that the hike is for experienced hikers we committed ourselves to making the full loop. It was am amazing hike and most defiantly is more suited to those who hike regularly. We are all in decent shape and hike mild and shorter hikes fairly often but could have used a bit more experience for this. Before this trip Behr's longest hike was probably 4 miles and didn't have much elevation gain so we weren't sure how he would do. Surprisingly, while very tired, he made it the whole way on his own! The whole hike took us about 8 hours and I wouldn't recommend starting later than we did unless you are an experienced hiker and know what you're doing. I should probably note I obviously took a lot of photos so that made the hike take longer than it might for someone just hiking. We got lucky and it was a beautiful day, if the weather turns bad when are on the ridge, 1.7 miles of the hike that is above the tree line, you are exposed so I would recommend turning back!
Back to the beginning of our hike and some photos. We began from the parking lot right off 93 and walked the 0.2 miles on Old Bridle path that connected us to Falling Waters Trail. This was the last chance to use a bathroom until you reached the AMC hut 5.7 miles later. We quickly made it to Falling Waters Trail with Dry Brook winding along the path, and the path cross over several times.
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The many exposed roots and rock stairs cases along the way added natural beauty to the man made path and make the hike more strenuous. Once we reached the first point the path crossed Dry Brook we played a bit in the brook and climbed some wet rock. If I didn't mention it before I highly recommend taking Falling Waters Trail up and NOT down if you are doing the loop, not only is it beautiful but there are wet rocks along the path and finding your footing on the way down would be more difficult.
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Along the path we came across the first waterfall and stopped to take some photos and play on a nearby fallen tree that crosses 10-12 feet above the ground by the path.
The natural beauty along the way made it hard not to stop every second for a photo, okay well maybe I actually did come a bit too close to stopping every few seconds! It also made it difficult not to want to stop and just soak it in, but it's a long difficult trail so we kept moving.
We passed another small piece of the brook that looked a bit like a waterfall. The rocks ran down like staircases in this piece of the brook and it seemed like a small three tiered waterfall.
As usual I couldn't help taking many photos of Alexis and Behr, Behr is just such a happy dog.
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The altitude and rock staircases started getting to us and we would pause more often to catch our breath and rest with Behr after the last waterfall, but even before that (as you see above) we were steadily climbing rock stair cases and gaining elevation.
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The last waterfall along the path is the largest, Bridal Veil Falls. Here we stopped to eat cliff bars and enjoy the view for a bit, but not too long. And as always to take some photos!
While crossing the brook for what I believe was the lasts time, this mini falls caught my eye. The steps in the grey, yellow, orange, white rock covered in patches of green moss passing sprouts of water down a level until the flow on.
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Climbing climbing climbing, on past beautiful rock staircases and exposed tree roots.
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We couldn't let the beauty deter us from our destination so I'd stop very quickly, often so quickly my photos weren't always in focus, to try to capture the feeling of being there. The warmth of the day, the happy moss growing on the paths, the fungi on the rocks, lucky clovers even sprouting from moss, and the tree tall and strong.
Getting closer to the top we start to see the tree line and some of the mountains around us.
And we finally reached the first summit, Little Haystack Mountain, where a friendly fellow hiker asked if we wanted a photo. Reaching the first summit felt like a relief at this point, the altitude gain and rock stair cases were pretty steep at the end of the Falling Waters Trail. We took a break here and had another small snack and lots of water.
Before we continued on Behr got to meet this adorable little puppy who was making the loop, half walking and half carried, from the other direction headed back down Falling Waters Trail.
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When we began onto Franconia Ridge it was really hard to tell along the way when we hit the second peak, the trail slopes up and down regularly across the mountains. We would hit a new part where it seemed we were at a peak and wonder if that one was close to our final destination. The 1.7 miles from peak to peak seemed to take longer than we expected.
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Even along the tops of these mountains there were more rock stairs cases, and beautiful views.
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We finally made it to Mount Lafayette but didn't linger, it was getting later in the day and we knew we still have 4.1 miles to go!
This ones funny if you can see it, Behr is making this awfully funny sneezy face and Alexis is looking at him laughing. While Rachel is oblivious and taking photos of the view into the valley below.
We tried to make the 1.1 miles to the AMC hut in record time (for us at least) and we're moving fairly quickly down the rock staircases. Above you can even see Behr being silly and trying to more more quickly. At one point I yelled out a warning about a slippery rock. Ironically enough pretty close to that spot Alexis ended up slipping and spraining his ankle. He had to talk the rest of way down with it sprained, irritating it more.
We stopped for a bathroom break and water refills (not that we really needed them at this point, we had enough water still) and sat for a bit outside the AMC lodge as they began their dinner.
Old Bridle Path on the way down was full of exposed rock staircases, rock stair cases and exposed roots, with a path that ran in and out of covered woods.
Once we were back at the car we all lay down on the ground feeling accomplished and very tired. We grabbed some ice cream afterwards and hung out back at camp. Because of Alexis's injury we headed straight home the next day. We'll head back up into the White Mountains this month to check out a few more areas!