THREE Great Haunted Trails to check out!

I have been so some pretty cool trail in the White Mountains, but never knew how many how stories with them. It gets me even more excited to go on these hikes to step where someone once stood that had disappeared or died at with a story to tell. Here are a few great places to hike if you are up for an adventure with a twist!

Number three: The Willey Family Tragedy
I have lived up here in the White Mountains since I as born and have listened to this tragedy many times. Nine people killed from a landslide. Sam Willey and his family plus two hired help all here killed. The crazy part is that they left their house thinking that it was best to run. The house never got touched from the slide and yet all nine people where found dead not far from their home in the slide. There is a Willey Historic House Site that is opened year round in Crawford Notch. Sadly their house doesn't stand anymore, but there is a trail called Sam Willey Loop which is 1.0 miles and takes less then an hour to do, or if you are up for more of an adventure, you can Hike up Webster Cliffs which is 3.3 miles to the summit and have amazing views!

Number two: The Keeper of Stray Ladies
Betty Davis was a very famous actress back in the 30's and 40's. She also loved getting away in New Hampshire. She loved being in Sugar Hill. Betty was very adventurous and would set out on trails. She was hiking up Coppermine Trail and found herself lost. She was found by a man that soon she fell in love with and married. Only to later be blamed for his death, which she then confessed to doing...well, not killing him but hitting him with an iron lamp which later he died from. Strangely on this trail a sign appeared that read " The Keeper of Stray Ladies." They say Betty Davis placed it there. Can check out this plaque by hiking up Coppermine Rd and trail which takes about 2 hours and 2.5 miles long and also see the Bridal Veil Falls.

Number One: Haunted Huts on the Highest Peaks
I have done this hike up Mt. Washington. I have been told that 130 lost souls are still up on these peaks. many go out in weather that turn ugly and ever seen again. This story is about two men that tried to make it to the top of Mt. Washington but sadly never made it. Both died by the storm that was near the summit. One passed away where the Lakes of the Clouds Hut stands and the other was almost on top where he could have found shelter a few yards away. Now, Lakes of the Cloud Hut was built from those that need shelter when heading up this mountain.
Remember to always stay on the trails!!!! It is very easy to get lost. I have known people who saw something is a distance and then got lost by going off the trail, taking an hour or more to find the trail again! Always be safe when heading up this mountain.You don't want to become a lost soul yourself! Live to tell your tale! This hike is about 3.1 miles one way so give yourself a day to hike up and down this mountain. The views are so worth it, so beautiful!

Happy Hiking!!!:)

View from Little Haystack at Franconia Notch

The View from Little Haystack in Franconia Notch

This is the view from on top of Little Haystack!

Very happy it was such a nice day.

There was also a nice breeze on top as well!

The trail Fanconia Ridge Trail over to Mt. Lincoln

Many hikers were out and enjoying the beautiful weather!

This is a picture of Mt. Lincoln with my friend and I in front of it. 

It's only 0.7 miles over to Mt. Lincoln from Little Haystack

THis is the sign that you will see at the beginning of the trail at 

Lafayette Place at the base. It tells you about the trails that

leads up to Mt. Lafayette, Mt. Lincoln and Little Haystack

Happy Hiking!

Three Great Hikes in Franconia Notch

I know that there are many of great hikes in Franconia Notch. Today I am going to talk about three wonderful hikes that you many enjoy if you travel to this area.

Number three: Lonesome Lake

I have done this beautiful hike and the best part is that there are many trails to get to the beautiful lake. Some hikers like to hike from the Basin. This is a 2.4 mile hike which starts on Basin Cascades Trail then continues onto Cascade Brook Trail. This is a very popular route to take!
There is also starting at the Lafayette Campground which is a shorter route. This is about 1.2 miles. You take the Lonesome Lake Trail all the way up. There is a beautiful Hut called Lonesome Lake AMC Hut that you can stay over night at if you decide. You can also trail around the lake which is 0.8 miles around. Great for dogs to swim in as well. Elev. 2763'

Number Two: Mt. Liberty

This is a great hike. The trail to travel is Liberty Springs Trail which is 3.5 miles to the top of Mt. Liberty. There is also a Liberty Spring Tentsite for those overnight travelers. I have also got some fresh water from a spring here. Now you can travel back the same way or you can head over to Mt. Flumes on the Franconia Ridge Trail. I have not done this yet, though I hope to do it some, but it seems awesome. It would be about 1.2 miles. Then you can head down Flume Slide Trail which is 3.3 miles, this trail then connects to Liberty Springs Trail which leads to the parking. Mt. Liberty is 4459' and Mt. Flume is 4328'

Number One: Loop of Mt. Lafayette

Now I have never done the Loop, but I have had many travelers tell me how wonderful it is. I hope to do it next year and stay over night at the Greenleaf AMC Hut. You travel up Old Bridle Path which is 2.7 miles to the Hut, then continue up Greenleaf Trail to the top of Mt. Lafayette. Then hike the Franconia Ridge Trail over to Mt. Lincoln 0.9 miles away. After travel 0.7 to Little Haystack. I have been up Little Haystack. The view is beautiful! Then travel Falling Waters Trail 3.0 miles back to the parking. There are three beautiful waterfalls to see along the way on this trail. Mt. Lafayette 5261' Mt. Lincoln 5089' Little Haystack 4761'

These are my top three! Happy Hiking!!:)

The Shining Rock

In Franconia Notch, on the trail Falling Waters Trail there is a place called the Shining Rock. This is a beautiful place to stop and relax and have a snack. It's about 2.9 miles from the start of the trail but so worth the hike up! Here are a few pictures of the Shining Rock!

The Shining Rock the first time we stopped on the way up the Little Haystack

 

Our stop on the way down was fun for we went out on the Shining Rock.

The view is so beautiful up there!

Hiking in the Franconia Notch THE WATERFALLS

So, last week my friend and I went hiking in Franconia Notch. It was a beautiful day. The weather was about 80 degrees and the wind was perfect. I love a cool breeze when I am hiking up a mountain. We at Lafayette Place, they have plenty of parking but it fills up fast. Everyone enjoys the sights at this place. There is also a camp ground called Lafayette Place Campground that is across the street. Mt. Lafayette is very popular for hiking. We decided that day that we would hike up Little Haystack. It is a lovely hike. Takes about 6.5 hours to hike the both ways. There is a lot to see along the way as well. In this part I am going to show the waterfalls. So travelers enjoy just hiking up to these water falls on the trail called Falling Waters Trail. There is Stairs Falls, Swiftwater Falls and Cloudland Falls. They are all so beautiful. Here are a few pics of them!

Stairs Falls

Swiftwater Falls

Cloudland Falls

This is taken above Cloudland Falls, the view was beautiful!

 And you can see all three in Franconia Notch!

Some Beautiful Views!

Here is a view of the valley near Mt. Madison! I love this view!

Here is a view of Mt. Madison take back in 2006! I love this rocky mountain!

The valley next to Wildcat Peak A back in the day! So lovely!

The view of one of the caps on Mt. Jefferson..what a wonderful day it was!

A Great view of the Crawford Notch valley...when the picture

was larger you could see the Mt. Washington Hotel!

And more views to come! Happy Hiking!!!:)

A hotel with an amazing view!

Anyone ever seen the Mt. Washington Hotel? Has anyone ever stayed at the beautiful hotel with the most amazing view of the mountains? Many travelers come to Crawford Notch for the hiking, the site seeing and some stay at this wonderful hotel! I have been to this hotel a few times, sometimes just to walk around it for it's so beautiful. There is a place right off the road that you can stop and take pics of this hotel with the views of the presidential range behind it! I love looking at Mt. Washington from this side as well!

Plus Mt. Washington Hotel is not far from the hiking trails, some trails are just about 5 to 10 minutes from this hotel! The AMC Highland Center is not far from the Hotel, about 5 minutes up the road, Bretton Woods is across for some skiing during the winter and they have a golf course.
To learn more about this amazing hotel can go to http://brettonwoods.com/ ....there they have a whole section on Mt. Washington Hotel!

A cool spot I found in Crawford Notch

There is a spot near Saco Lake, that has a small road that goes into a clearing where you can park, see a beautiful view for the mountains and I noticed a sign for a water hole for swimming. It was pretty cool. I loved the sign they had there are well.

The sign on top really matched the view at the bottom! It's pretty cool! We stayed and had lunch here, they had a picnic table and I just could stare at those mountains forever! I just love Crawford Notch! It's so beautiful:)

Sliver Cascade

I have gone through the Crawford Notch area many times, but I have never stopped here. I have seen many travelers stop and take pictures so I decided to stop for the first time. If you are traveling through the Notch, this place is right near Saco Lake. Here is my stepson near the sign that you will see from the road...

He loves climbing up rocks, so this was a great place for him. If you have children, this is a fun place to stop and show them. We then walked up to see the cascades which you can see from the road but you can walk closer to if you go around the fence. There is a small trail to get closer to the water. Below is the falls, it is just beautiful. If you are on your way for a hike, this is a beautiful spot to stop and take some pictures along your travel.

The rocks here are huge as well. My stepson loved climbing up them. I am near a huge rock he enjoyed climbing and near the small trail that heads to the falls.

So, this is a great place. Glad I stopped here for the first time with him. It is wonderful to enjoy nature with kids. They have so much fun and it's FREE! This is a beautiful spot, I can now see why I always see travelers along this road at the Sliver Cascades!

Top 5 Great Hikes in the White Mountains

After hiking around the White Mountains and having some of my friends how me some of their amazing hikes here. I have come up with some great hikes. These hikes are for those that can stand a long time on their feet and be ready for a grand adventure!

Number 5 Mt. Chocorua
This hike starts on the east side of the Kancamagus Highway. The Trail to start on is the Champney Falls Trail which is 3.6 miles up which you will pass the Champney Falls. You continue near the three sisters still on the Champney Falls Trail until you get to the top of Mt. Chocorua. The mountain is 3475' above sea level. I have heard the view is amazing!

Number 4 Mt. Jackson
This hike starts on Rt 305 in the Crawford Notch near Soca Lake. This is also where the AMC Highland Center is as well. The Trail is called Webster-Jackson Trail because it leads to both mountains. about 1.4 miles up it turns to two trails, one being Jackson Branch. Follow that trail 1.2 miles until you reach the top pf Mt. Jackson. This mountain is 4052' above sea level. Beautiful views, can see Mt. Washington and the Mt. Washington hotel too!

Number 3 Mt. Liberty
This is such a lovely hike. It's in Franconia Notch and you start hiking near the Flumes. You pretty much stay on the same trial much of the way up called Liberty Springs Trail. There is a tenting site and a stop where you can get fresh water on the way up. Then at the top you will connect with Franconia Ridge Trail for .3 miles and then you will see the views! Amazing! I could see all the way around standing in one spot! This mountain is 4328' above sea level.

Number 2 Mt. Madison
If you are looking for a rocky climb, then this is the mountain for you! It starts on Rt2. There is a place to park, always full of cars. Everyone loves hiking here! There are many trails to pick from to climb up or down. Most pick between Air Line and Valley Way. Both will lead you to the AMC Madison Spring Hut from there you hike on the Osgood Trail until you reach the top. It's very windy but lovely views. On the way back down there is a lovely lake near by to see called Star lake. Mt. Madison is 5366' above sea level.

Number 1 Mt. Washington
This has to be my favorite mountain to hike. I can't wait to hike back up it again this year. There are so many ways to get to the top of this mountain. I enjoy taking the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail for it leads to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. This hut is very nice instead and you get to see the Lake of the Clouds! Then follow up to Crawford Path that leads to the top! Mt. Washington is 6288' above sea level.

Always make sure the weather is good for hiking before you start you hike. Weather changes very quickly when you are up high and without tree coverage. Drink lots of water for you on your adventures and stay safe!
 Happy Hiking!:)

This Sign is Important!

IT READS ...Stop...The area ahead has the worst weather in America. Many have died there from exposure even in the summer. Turn back now if the weather is bad.

If you see this sign, take it seriously. I have myself, had to turn back because it was bad weather ahead. The weather changes from the tree line to the ridge. There have been many people who have died up here, even in the summer do to weather. On a nice day, it can be so wonderful up in the White Mountains but it can also be very dangerous. You will see this sign a lot around the Presidential Range mostly. The winds, the heat exposure, the cold winter weather if you decide to hike earlier then June. I have tried once to go up here in May and it was bad. I had to turn around and went back down. So, please take this sign seriously, it could save your life!

New AMC Madison Spring Hut!

This week's hike journey up to Mt. Madison had us head also to the New AMC Madison Spring Hut. This hut is located between Mt. Madison and shoulder to Mt. Adams. It is also close to Star Lake. The Hut is amazing now. I loved the look of the inside of Hut and how they set it up. Here are a few pics

The top pic is the Hut and the next pic is inside of the hut. I love the wood and the sleeping area is where the guy in blue is sitting, there is a doorway. the Bathrooms are to my left and they were nice. I loved the kitchen and they have a place to sit outside as well. I am so glad they have a new hut. I already can't wait to visit up Mt. Madison again. Speaking of Mt. Madison, here is a picture of a view from the top this year....

 There is my friend posing in front of Mt. Washington. The red arrow is pointing to the Auto Road that cars drive up to get to the top of Mt. Washington. The Green arrow is pointing to the Station at the top of Mt. Washington and the black arrow is pointing to a group of nails that lets you now that you are no top of Mt. Madison! :)

Great Hike in Littleton, NH

I had a friend who told me she had found a trail online that was a great hike for kids. It was about .7 miles up and you could see most of Littleton, Franconia Notch and Mt. Washington. I have always loved stopping in Littleton, they have great local stores and wonderful places to eat as well. I thought this sounded awesome. I asked my stepson if he would like to go for a hike and have a snack up at the view. He was excited so we drove to Exit 43, then got off...turned on the road heading to the hospital and found the trail.

The sign is right! It is about a 30 minute hike. Great also for dogs which we saw along the trail with people. It was a field, that leads into the woods, the trail is nice and wide. When we got to the top there were some people have lunch up at the view. This is the view we saw.

It was awesome. We could see everything. We loved the view of the mountains. It was a lovely hike. It took us about 20 minutes to get down and then we headed to some stores! So, if you have young kids or even a great place to walk your dog and your near Littleton... This is a great trail to go on!

First encounter with a Moose on the Trail!

So, I have hiked many times, but yesterday was my first EVER encounter with a moose! We were heading up Air Line Trail near Mt. Madison when my friend stopped in front of me. I looked around her and saw this medium size moose on the trail. I couldn't believe it!!! It was amazing! It looked at us and turned into the woods off the trail. I stayed my distance but wanted to get a picture of it. This is what I got first...

Yep! It's a moose, the back side..it wouldn't look at me, sadly! It was pretty close though! I have seen moose many times living up here but not a few yards away on foot like this. But then I noticed something moving near the moose. Then the moose moved up into the woods. We started walking up the trail and saw the moose again near the trail. I bet she thought we were following her. Then I noticed she had a baby moose near her. It was lighter brown. I got a pretty good picture of the baby staring right at me through the trees.

See the baby moose on the right. The dark figure near it is the mother again. She was just munching away on some leaves when I took this shot! I am telling you, you never know what you are going to run into when you are hiking! It's such an adventure!!!:)

Mt. Washington...part 2

I ended with my friend and I starting our hike up Crawford Path. The wind started to pick up, by now it started blowing almost through us. I would say it was about 30 miles per hour. The temp went down to almost 40 degrees and it was raining harder. About halfway up this path everything got worse, plus the fog was so thick that we couldn't see the trail or the top of Mt. Washington. All we could see were the steps ahead of us and the next rock hill to follow. I would have to say that we got to the point were we were about 0.6 miles from the top did I get very nervous. The wind was getting stronger, about 40 miles per hour, the rain was more like hail and the temp was 35 degrees. At one point, my friends poncho went over his head, which made me laugh, but he could get it back down for the wind was so strong. We were very nervous about getting to the top safely, but we were so close! The wind kept pushing us back, the hail started to hurt! My legs were so tired and I was soak through my clothes. The fog was so hard to see through, I just wanted to get to the top! I remember when we got to the top, we didn't know we were near the building until we were right upon it! We touched the wall and then noticed through the fog that it was the building! We were excited, but cold, wet and tired. We go inside and there were lots of people trying to get warm besides us. We eat and bought some warm pullovers. I got one that said I climbed Mt. Washington! But then over the speakers, they said that the weather was so bad that they were closing the auto road, so everyone had to leave and that hikers had to hike to AMC hut and stay there over night, or go down the Cog. We decided to go down the Cog. It was fun but scary because the Fog was so thick you couldn't see anything. What an adventure! One of the scariest but still amazingly fun! I would do it again...hopefully this summer! I can see how this mountain took many lives, it can be very dangerous to hike when the weather turns on you!

Mt. Washington...Part 1

Now, of all the mountains I have hiked in the White Mountains, nothing beats Mt. Washington. This mountain have many trails that lead to the top, some being more difficult to hike then others. I had a friend who had hiked this mountain many times so he kind of was like my guide when hiking this amazing mountain. We started at the Cog Railway Base Station. When we started the hike it was about 75 degrees. The sun was peaking through the clouds so we thought it would be a great hike. We started a small trail that connected to the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail. This trail is about 2.1 miles to the Lakes of the Clouds. I would love to say that on the way up we took tons of pictures to show you, but it started to rain about half way up. We went by Gem Pool and then the Cascades. The weather had turned on us when we reached the Lakes of the Clouds AMC Huts. The wind had picked up and it was about 55 degrees out now. I remember feeling cold and wet even though I was wearing rain gear by then. We had lunch at the Hut and talked with the watchers of the hut. They told us that the weather might continue to get worse, but we decided to carry on to the top. We left the AMC huts and walked passed the Lakes of the Clouds, which are really awesome, to the trail Crawford Path which leads to the top of Mt. Washington. We looked up in surprise to noticed that we couldn't see anything! Mt. Washington was covered by thick fog....onward we went though.