Jon and I are running this hiking weekend from Rock ‘N River [Mike and Jon’s house] in the White Mountain National Forest for this getaway! It’s all about all of us having fun together! Lodging is optional to participate but we think you’ll have more fun, cut down driving back & forth in one day, and get to make new gay outdoorzy buddies better if you spend the weekend.

LAFAYETTE-LINCOLN LOOP HIKE

Mt. Lafayette [5,260’] and Mt. Lincoln [5,089’] provides exhilarating panoramas rivaled by few mountains anywhere in the East! There is also knife-edge excitement of Franconia Ridge and the calming waters of beautiful Cloudland Falls on the descent. Mileage is 8.9 miles with 3,900’ elevation gain.

We will be meeting at the Mt. Lafayette trailhead for 8:00 AM and the directions are posted below. We’ll ascend using the Old Bridle Path and at 1.9 miles reach the first of three spectacular open ledge viewpoints looking up to the huge barren crest of Franconia Ridge. At 2.9 miles we’ll reach the Greenleaf Hut for a rest and top off our water bottles. At 4.0 miles we’ll reach Mt. Lafayette.

We’ll then turn onto the Franconia Ridge Trail at the summit of Mt. Lafayette for a delightful walk over legendary terrain. We’ll reach Mt. Lincoln at 5.0 miles and then Little Haystack at 5.5 miles. We turn onto the Falling Waters Trail with a steep descent for close to half a mile to the Shining Rock junction.

At 7.4 miles we reach the single bridal veil of gorgeous Cloudland Falls. We then view the charming Swiftwater Falls and later glide by Stairs Falls.    

Vertical Gain: 3,900 feet [Strenuous]
Distance: 8.9 miles 
Approximately 7.5 hours outing duration

GEAR

The weather starts to get chilly this time of year so make sure you have a wool hat, gloves, insulating layer such as fleece and protection from the elements with a rain shell. Bring lunch, snacks, and water.  

APRES- HIKE

Later on we’ll relax on our deck for beer/wine/snacks to enjoy the spectacular views, have a family style BBQ and a campfire under the stars! It’s BYOB all weekend. If you will not be spending the weekend with us and would like to join us for the BBQ [$10 to reimburse our food costs], let us know so can ensure there is enough food for everyone.

LODGING OPTION

Rock ‘N River has 2 rooms with 4 bunks each. The bunks include linen/blankets and there are plenty of towels in both bathrooms to use for showers. We can only accommodate 8 members indoors for the weekend so RSVP quickly!  Members who reserve both nights instead of one night will be given priority…so if you only reserve one night you may ultimately not have a place to stay.  Rock ‘N River will be open take in arrivals Friday night at 7PM. Saturday & Sunday mornings we will start the day with coffee and bagels.

RATE

The rate of $25 for Friday night and $35 Saturday night [includes BBQ]; or $60 for the entire weekend. Includes a bunk bed with a breakfast each morning, BBQ Saturday night and full access to the amenities at Rock ‘N River.   

We will provide directions to Rock ‘N River in a separate email to anyone who reserves a bunk.

Here are the directions to the trailhead if you will only be day hiking with us [We will meet you at 8:00AM]:  

Follow Interstate 93 north until it becomes the Franconia Notch Parkway. Pass parkway exit 1 as well as the unnumbered exit for The Basin, and turn off on the next unnumbered exit [should be a sign for trailhead parking.] We’ll be driving a blue Toyota Tacoma truck.