| Summary | June 14th 2009: Philip Kreycik & Stanislav Trufanov run an 19+-mile loop over Mts Liberty, Lafayette & Cannon of WMNF. |
| Owner | STANISLAV V. TRUFANOV |
| Creation Date | 2009-06-16 23:08:42 UTC-0400 |
| Description | it will be hard to beat the previous post- especially since we have no pics to show!
here's a trip report anyway: Date: 06.14.09 Route: Franconia Notch State Park & WMNF, NH. Whitehouse Trail Head- Whitehouse Tr- Liberty Springs Tr- Mt Liberty- Franconia Ridge Tr- Litle Haystack Mtn- Mt Lincoln- Mt Lafayette- Greenleaf Tr- Cannon Tramway Base- Kinsman Ridge Tr- Cannon Mtn- Lonesone Lake Tr- Lonesome Lake Hut- Cascade Brook Tr- Whitehouse Tr- Whitehouse Trail Head. Weather: 40F<t<60F. Cloudy, showers in the AM; becoming mostly clear w/ 60% chance of showers & t-storms after 2pm. Total distance: ~19.8 mi per AMC. Total elevation gain+loss: ~6700' per AMC. Total time: ~7 hours 15 minutes. Summary: I had an idea of going for an elevation workout the day after the New England Trail Running Championships. I posted to "Training" & 2 folks responded. Philip had run a 14-mile workout with us(TARC) the weekend before, so I was glad to have him along. Philip & I left Boston at about 4AM Sunday morning aiming for a 7AM trail start. NOAA was forecasting showers & t-storms after 2, so we agreed to do the route counter-clockwise to reduce our chances of being stranded on the ridge come 2PM. Central NH was getting pounded with rain as we drove up & gas station attendants offered no hopeful forecasts. As hoped, the worst tapered out as we passed Lincoln, NH. Running up Liberty Ridge Tr proved more challenging than thought, so we slowed to a long distance pace, but kept making good progress. After bagging Liberty Philip & I threw on our rain jackets & hucked it down Franconia Ridge, making it to Greenleaf 2 hours & 50 minutes from start. Rain tapered out almost completely as we hopped our way down wet granite boulders of Greenleaf Tr & into The Cannon Tramway Station. After a very brief consideration of taking The Tram up we began a steep 2100' ascent up Cannon. That was sweet; Philip hoofed it with no stops until we ended up at the viewing platform on Cannon to a sight of the sky clearing. More wet boulders down(plus a couple more falls on my part) & we began enjoying the more subtle beauty of lower elevations. Lonesone Lake was hut brought hopes of meeting more sturdy mountain folk(i was hoping for free pancakes). We then hustled to the lake to clean up. The deep-penetrating solitude of Lonesome was interrupted by an arrival of no-see-ums. Downing some more Perpetuem & salted nuts Philip & I exited speedily. Once past the trail crew, things got back to a running pace & the Whitehouse Tr Junction was gained 10 minutes short of 7 hours. ST p.s. Special thanks to Joseph Kovac for being our WIMP; the Greenleaf Crew for the magnificent spinach quiche & Philip for getting us back safely. |