After leaving Pennsylvania, we camped our first night in Green Mountain National
Forest. We decided the next day to do a
little hiking. When we asked at the
campground for good trails for a day hike in the area, they told us to check
out Lye Brook Falls trail. We told them
we were planning to head to the White Mountains in NH the next day, they were
skeptical that we could finish the hike in time to make the drive. How hard could it be, we said. Only 4.6 miles.
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| Officially the first campsite of the trip |
About halfway up to the falls, we heard an air-raid siren
coming from the town. “Maybe it’s a
tornado warning,” we joked. As we got
farther, we saw black clouds approaching.
But have we ever turned back at the sight of a little storm?? Never!
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| Happy Hikers |
We arrived at the falls in less than half the time it was
supposed to take. It was beautiful! As we admired the falls, we received a
tornado warning on the phone. Time to
get out of there!
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| Lye Brook Falls |
On our way back down, it started pouring like there was no
tomorrow. Not only did our workout
session for the day include hiking – it also included swimming, haha. Still, we did the whole trail in under two
hours, including a break at the top, and no tornado sightings. We dried off and treated ourselves to a
celebratory beer in the camper, and headed off to New Hampshire.
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| On the road with our mascot, the cub. Thanks, Lauren and Robert! |
We found nice overnight accomodations in a WalMart parking
lot in Littleton, NH, close to Franconia Notch State Park, our next day’s
destination. As we were popping out the
camper bed a friendly WalMart customer driving through the parking lot stopped
to advise us that there was a huge thunderstorm approaching the area, including
more tornado warnings. We closed the bed
back up and holed up in the trailer for a bit to watch the storms, hoping our
trip would not be over after just starting!
We could feel the camper shaking as the winds increased. The storm passed relatively quickly though,
and we soon popped out the bed and went to sleep.
The next day we decided to brave the 9 mile Franconia Ridge
Loop in Franconia State Park. It is
billed as “one of the most dramatic and challenging hikes in New England”. Well that sounds right up our alley. This hike is less than twice the distance we
did yesterday, and we did that one in under two hours. This time we wanted more of a day hike than a walk in the park.
This should be a piece of cake, right?
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| That hiking pole saved my life |
We were in for a surprise.
The elevation change was 4000ft in the first couple miles. “This must be the stairway to hell,” panted
Ricardo. Despite the difficulty, it was
a gorgeous hike, with waterfalls, mountaintop views, and an amazing walk along
the mountain ridge.
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| A little steep |
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| Ricardo celebrating on the rock |
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| We made it to the top! |
What goes up must come down, however. The way back down seemed like it might last
forever! We groaned and whined about
sore legs and knee pain as we slid down slippery wet rocks and trudged down the
steep mountain … we certainly didn’t set any speed records on this one! When finally we made it to the bottom, we
looked up and marveled at the fact that a few hours ago we had been at the very
top!
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| Don't fall |
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| That's the parking area at the bottom |
The Franconia Ridge Loop hike, though it was just a day
hike, is one of the most challenging we’ve ever done and certainly one of the
most beautiful. And made us realize that
we need to get in shape!! The exercise tour will continue – we’ve got some big
parks to cover! J
Very impressed with your hike. The pictures have been fantastic too.
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