5 Days on Franconia Ridge

Liberty Springs Tentsite 8/22/24 - 8/26/24   First Day, Thursday- 3 hour hike up, 37lb pack. It wasn't as miserable as I expected to cover the 3.5 miles with this weight on my back. Drizzly, wet trail. First mile- mostly flat. Second mile- gradual incline. Last 1.5 miles- pretty steep but with good footing. I arrive at 1:30. Mine was the first tent up. Platform 9. It soon got busy. 51 people ended up here. The caretaker put them in overflow spots near the platforms. It's nice that no one was turned away! Drizzly, foggy afternoon. I'm in my bag by 8:30. A bear wandered into the caretakers tent area just before I arrived. He threw rocks at it but it didn't seem as afraid as the caretaker wished. I think I might meet that bear in my dreams tonight.     Day 2- Heavy rain and strong wind overnight. Kinda fun to be all warm and snuggled in my cocoon, listening to the wind shake the trees. Cold morning. Was in the 40s overnight. I could see my breath. Wishing I brought gloves/mittens for the morning. Lazy day. Went to Mt Liberty. Read in the tent. Made a wooden spoon. Felt time silently passing. I meet Pat Grimm, volunteer ranger, AMC Winter trip leader. Got talking about good areas for dispersed camping.There isn’t a single opportunity for finding my own tentsite, off trail, in the entire Franconia Ridge area. Too steep, trees too dense. Note- in all of the White Mountains must be 70 steps from any trail or water source and ¼ mile from established tent sites or huts). She recommended-  -The Bonds -Whitefield Junction, near Carrigian -Kinsmans, Near pond tentsite -Evans Notch, backside of Carters Day 3- Hiked to Lafayette. This might have been my best hike ever! Perfect day. Stunning hike. The lafayette/lincoln/little Haystack loop is probably just as nice but that's 10 Miles. This is 7.5 Miles, took 6.5 hours. A little rock scramble before the top of Little Haystack activated my fear of heights but it was manageable. The rest of the Franconia Ridge was mostly good in that regard. The trail from Liberty Springs to Little Haystack was muddy, even 2 days after rain. I kept my Allegro trail running shoes dry but just barely. It was a tiring, but happy hike, rough and slow. The exposed ridge goes all the way from Little Haystack to Lincoln to Lafayette, and it's as good as it gets. The best line I overheard at the top of Lafayette was, “this rock is so comfortable!”   One of the best things about staying at Liberty Springs tentsite is chatting with everyone during meals. Lots of colorful characters and stories, from thru hikers to people who are doing their first ever hikes. My favorite story was from an experienced couple with a dog. The three of them went up the Flume Slide trail late in the day and got stuck hiking by headlamps on the steeps, which felt unsafe. Yeah! It's a very steep exposed trail. They found a tiny clearing off the trail to set up the tent. “It was sloped, uneven, with 2 trees that I rolled against to keep me from going down the mountain, so I felt safe.” Safe is relative. In the morning they discovered, as hikers woke them up, that they had pitched their tent right in the middle of the trail. None of that sounded safe to me! Day 4- I'm pretty tired today, sore feet. When I first get up my leg muscles feel a little weak and shaky. I hike over Liberty to Flume and back but I go very slow. 4 miles, takes 3.5 hours. A little fear of heights on the top of Liberty but manageable. A rock scramble going down Liberty to Flume. The top of Flume had a cliff to pass if I was going onto the Osseo trail or Flume Slide trail, but that was my turning back point. I had a lazy, rainy afternoon after my hike, reading in my tent. I need this rest time.  Day 5- I pack up and head down. Sore feet again. 2.5 hours. I think all the rest time I had built into this trip was key to me enjoying it so much and not feeling too exhausted! I loved staying at 4000 ft for 5 days, with nothing but mountains, trails, and air surrounding me but I also felt happy to be back down with meadows and crickets. Total pack weight- 37 lbs. Total food- 7 1/4 lbs not including 4 sandwiches.