Inspiration...Magic...on top of a mountain

Of all my hikes, I have to say that Mt. Madison was my favorite mountain to hike...and it would have to be because of the views but how I felt when I was on top. It was as if I was floating, I was in another world...no longer on earth. I hope to hike this beautiful mountain again this year and have that feeling again. Here is a pic of me, just about floating on this great mountain! It was like Magic! This is a mountain like no other!

I just can look at this picture all day long and remember the feeling that came over me on top of this mountain! I think I could have touched the sky and drifted away....I miss you Mt. Madison! I'll be back soon.... PROMISE!:)

Lonesome lake

In Franconia Notch there is not just mountains that you can hike up to see views, but there are some lovely lakes to see. One is right off the highway near Exit 34C called Echo Lake. Any visitors love coming to the lake for swimming on the beach, boating and fishing. The other lake is Profile Lake, which many can go down a path to see where the old man on the mountain views. There is also boating and fishing at that lake.
But I want to talk about Lonesome Lake. One of the trails to reach lake starts near the Basin. There are places to park for the road and a sign that says Basin. We took the trail called Basin Cascades Trail which is 1.1 miles. As we headed up the trail we saw the Kinsman Cascades and the Kinsman Waterfall. Here is a pic of the Cascades...

Some visitors come here to swim or just hang out on these rocks during the hot summer months. The pic is of me and Sam (he was seven at the time). This is a great trail to bring kids on, they love the rocks and the waterfall. After we pasted the waterfall we connected onto another trail. The trail we connected into was the Cascade Brook Trail and it's about 1.3 miles to the lake. This trail got a little steeper but it was fun to hike up it. Here is a pic of me hiking up one of the staircases on the trail.

The is the picture on me on the trail. It was a lovely trail through the forest of Franconia Notch until we reached Lonesome Lake. It was a beautiful day when we hiked and the weather was warm. Up here there is also a hut called the Lonesome Lake AMC Hut. We had lunch and got to see this beautiful view...

I loved looking at the lake with the mountains behind it. It was so beautiful. I wish I had a view like this outside my window every morning! There were also dogs on the trail when we were hiking which was fun. The lake would be a great place for them to swim. After we hiked down the same way we came up. It was a great day!:)

News I found out now!!! Mt. Wildcat

So, I have talked about hiking Mt. Wildcat, but did I write about the AMC hut!? This hut is called Carter Notch Hut and it's found a the near Wildcat A on the start of the Wildcat River Tr. There is a story that it's Haunted by Red Mac. He used to work on the trails and would take care of the hut back in 1916 during the winter months. Many winter hut caretakers have heard doors slam and hear foot steps in the night when no one is around the hut! I have been to this hut before and now hope to journey back to it, so to check it out better! Red Mac said he loved that area for it was a magical place! That when he died he wanted his spirit to rest there and so it seems to be! I remember when I hiked it how wonderful it felt and I believe it's pretty magical! If you ever get to hike up to the Carter Notch Hut, you might see his lantern in the thick woods of Carter Notch!

 This in the Carter Notch Hut! It's set back in the woods after you go around a pond on the trail. It was a really cool hut, bet it would be very interesting to stay for a visit...maybe even meet Red Mac himself while there!

Flumes: Great place to visit!

If you are ever in the Franconia Notch area a great place to stop and check out in The Flumes. All you have to do is get off Exit 34A and it's right down the road. You park at the The Flume Visitor Center and then start your adventure! The Flume is a natural gorge that is about 800ft long at the bottom of Mt. Liberty. The pathway through the gorge is rebuilt every spring for the safety of the guests. It also have caves to explore and beautiful New England Bridges to walk through. The trail itself is over a mile long but is so worth to visit! I go just about every year to see this natural wonder!

Here is a picture I took as I was entering the Gorge. It can be slippery so wear good shoes. The walk path to the left is small but there are railings to hold on. The journey through the gorge is with every penny! It's amazing!

Mt. Jefferson hike up the caps!

The hike up Mt. Jefferson was amazing! The views were so beautiful! That is right...there were three peaks going up the trail we started on. We drove up Jefferson Notch Road to the elevation 3009' . The picture above is the sign you will see that starts the trail we went on. The trail was Caps Ridge Trail. It was about 1.1 miles up to the Glacial Poles. There we found some cool caves. In the caves we found, there was still snow inside them which was cool. Here is a picture of me coming out of one of the caves.

Did I mention how much I love to explore caves! I had a blast. Then we continued up Caps Ridge Trail which then is also called Ridge of the Caps. There are three Caps and the trail here is about 1.0 miles. I loved the views on the Ridge. At one of the caps I took this picture because I just loved the view!

It was a beautiful day for a hike also. The sky was clear, the temperature was cool and warm. The hike up was amazing! Then it was about o.4 miles before we reached the top of Jefferson. The elevation on the top was 5716' and it was lovely. We eat lunch, relaxed then started back down the same way we came up. I hope to do this hike again soon.

The Basin

 I love going to the Basin. The Basin is located in Franconia Notch. It is called a geologic wonder. There is a beautiful waterfall and it the base is a pothole that is about 20 feet in diameter. The Basin has been smoothed by sand and stones over time, starting about 15,000 years ago. I plan on going there tomorrow sometime to see this beautiful wonder. I normally go every year to see the Basin because I love seeing what nature makes on it own. There is also walking trails, a bike trail that goes by it and some tables if a person or a group wants to eat. The trail down to the Basin is not long. It's about half a mile. When walking down, you will probably see people and dogs in the water for there are a few swimming holes and a small stream that flows through which is what leads to the Basin. There are also a few hiking trails that lead off of the Basin that are great to hike up.
If you are ever in the Franconia Notch area, this is one stop you should make! Here are two pics I took when I was on an adventure with a friend!

Top one is my friend and I sitting on the railing near the bottom of the Basin. The next picture is of the Basin that I took on another trip. It's one beautiful pool:)

Mt. Jackson in Crawford Notch

I love Crawford Notch. One of the mountains I hiked there was Mt. Jackson. My friend and I started at the AMC Highland Center which is on the right side of where the trail started. We parked near Saco Lake. The temperature that day was about 70 degrees. It was a beautiful sunny day. The sky had a few clouds. The trail we started on was Webster-Jackson Trail. We went over Bugle cliff and trailed up to Jackson Branch. The Webster-Jackson Trail is about 1.4 miles. The Jackson Branch is 1.2 after to the top. That trail is steeper and harder to hike. We stopped a few times to see the views for the trees where low. The view on top of Mt. Jackson was wonderful. You could see all away around. I loved the view of the Mt. Washington Hotel on the right side of the peak. We ate lunch up there and relaxed before descending down the mountain. We took the same trails down. the hike over all took about  four hours. It was a great hike! We did it in the late spring, but I wonder what it would be like to do it in the fall with the changing of the leaves.

Here is a picture of the view on my right side. Behind me in is the Washington Hotel. But in this pic it's very small. It was a lovely day for a hike!

Franconia Notch Hikes and more

I love to travel through Franconia Notch. There are some amazing mountains to hike, I have gone there to climb cliffs, to see some of the attractions, historic sites, there is a campground, and some beautiful waterfalls. I have hiked Mt. Liberty last year. It was a beautiful hike and had some amazing views. You could see all the way down Franconia Notch which was great! I have also hiked Mt. Lincoln. It was about two hours from the base. I loved the view, so peaceful on top. I hiked that mountain in the fall so the trees were so colorful.
There is also some awesome attractions you can stop to visit while passing through. I have been on the Cannon Mtn. Aerial Tranway. There are some trails on top of the mountain where you can see some views of Franconia Notch. There are also some passing trails so hikers can stop on top of the mountain if they need a rest.
I also love to stop at The Basin on my way through the Notch. There is a trail that takes you to the Basin from the road. There are some trails that start near the Basin. I have gone up a trail to Lonesome Lake. The lake was lovely and it was nice to see the new hut up that way called the Lonesome Lake Hut. Hikers can sleep up in the hut, there are restrooms and place to eat.
Another place to see along the Notch is the Flumes. Many visitors of the area love seeing the Flumes. There are some trails that start near the Flumes. That was were I started to get to the top of Mt. Liberty.
I hope to hike some new trails this summer and fall. I will add them to my list of awesome hikes! Stay tuned for more:)

More Pics of Mt. Madison

I loved hiking this mountain the most. the views were amazing all over. Here are some more pics that I found of when I hiked the mountain a few years ago!

Here is a pic of my friend and I on Top of Mt. Madison. The mountain behind us is Mt. Washington. It was very windy on top of Mt. Madison but the views where lovely.

Here I am on the Air Line, heading up the AMC Madison Hut. Behind me is the Gulfside Trail. I haven't taken it yet, but it leads to Mt. Adams.

Here is another pic of me with the Gulfside Trail behind me that leads to Mt. Adams, though you can see more of Mt. Adams in the pic!
Hope you like the pics. More to come soon!! Always fun in the White Mountains of NH!

Hiking WildCat

My friend and I really wanted to hike one day but not a very long hike. There was a trail called the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail. It started on Route 16 before Great Glen Trails. It was a beautiful day, the weather was nice when we started our hike. We switch trails at the end to the Wildcat Ridge. We went all the way up to Wildcat A which is 4422ft. There we over looked AMC Carter North Hut. It was cool because they were using helicopters to transport items to the hut. We ate lunch and then started back down the trail we came on. It was about a three hour hike in all. If we would have kept going on the Wildcat Ridge Trail we would have hit all the peaks on the mountain ridge, A, B, C, D, and E. This is a hike I would do again but do the Wildcat Ridge to the Glen Ellis Falls.

Here is a pic of me on top of Wildcat Ridge at Wildcat A. The Sky was so blue and you could see for miles!

Crawford Notch

I was lucky enough to have to travel to work through Crawford Notch five days a week for a few months. It is a beautiful place to hike. Here is a view of Crawford Notch during the summer.

The road you see below is the road I traveled and the line up the right side is the train tracks. There is a train you can depart from in North Conway that will take you through Crawford Notch. There are many hiking trails here as well and also have the AMC Highland Center to visit. I have hiked up Mt Jackson. There are also Mt Webster, Mt Willard, Mt Willey and Mt Avalon. I am hoping to hike Mt Webster this summer. There are so many beautiful views and great hikes here in Crawford Notch. If you are ever in the Mt. Washington area, you should check out this side of the Mountain. Plus the Mt.Washington Hotel is very close by!

A hike up Mt. Madison

A great hike up Mt. Madison. Now I have hiked this mountain more then once, but the first time was my favorite! I went with a friend, we started the hike around noon and told her it was a two hour hike. I knew I was wrong but I didn't think it would turn into six and half hours! There are a few trails that can get your to the top. We decided to hike Air Line which was a gradual start but got steeper as we got closer to the half way point! About three quarters of the way up, you come out of the trees and on cliffs. You walk a long a path in the middle of cliffs where there are some beautiful views! I would climb this mountain on a clear day for sure! When you walk the path a ways, you come across a cabin where you can stay the night of you would like called AMC Madison Spring Hut. We stopped for a rest there and then started the tough part of the hike. The last few miles in lost rocks. Huge rocks to climb over to get to the top and following small rock piles. We were so tired! Our legs were all muscle after that hike! When we got to the top pf Mt. Madison the view was amazing! You would see in all directions, Mt Washington, Mt. Wildcat, Jefferson, Gorham and even Berlin! It was so awesome to see all that! We ate sandwiches and relaxed. It was a little windy. After we were done taking pictures and viewing, we started down a different trail, which was the Watson Path, but then we got lost. We landed up on Pine Line, heading back to the hut. We had huge rocks to climb over and we followed some rock piles. We were nervous about being stuck up there when it seemed to be getting later by the minute. Soon we made it to the hut and took a quicker trail down called Valley way. It was an easy trail and we could be quick on our feet! We were so happy when we reached the bottom and it wasn't dark yet! I think it was about six thirty, but it was a great hike! Lovely views! Nature at it's finest!

These were the rock piles we followed on the way up and around Mt. Madison. Climbing over these rocks is worth the view!! You will have such a great work out too!

The Presidentail Range

There are some amazing mountains to hike in the Presidential Range.  There are four beautiful mountains named after presidents, them being, Mount Madison, Mount Adams, Mount Jefferson, and Mount Washington. I have hiked three of the four. I have never had the opportunity to hike Mount Adams yet. I hope to do that mountain in the near future. Mt. Madison is 5366 ft, Mt. Adams is 5410ft, Mt. Jefferson is 5716 ft and Mt. Washington is 6288ft. Mt Washington had the highest wind velocity ever recorded at any surface weather station (231 mph).
The Average for wind velocity is about 44 mph! I had hiked Mt. Washington once when it was about 45 mph when I got to the top! I'll have to share that story sometime! That was an awesome hike! The Presidential Range is beautiful to hike in the summer and early fall for the nice weather and then for the changing colors of fall! I will be hiking Mt. Washington again this summer! Can't wait!