Me at the summit of Mount Lafayette as it was hailing!
Hello! My name is Wendy. I have made a new goal to hike all the New England 4,000 footers. I hiked my first 4,000 footer on June 19, 2010 by successfully hiking up Mount Pierce and Mount Eisenhower. It was after those hikes that I decided to hike all the 67 4,000 footers in New England, starting with 48 of them in NH.
What is a 4,000 footer?
The term 4,000 footers (or 4ks) refers to a group of 67 mountains in New England of interest in the sport of peak-bagging. Each peak must be at least 4,000 feet tall, and have a prominence of at least 200 feet to qualify as a 4,000 footer. The New England 4,000 footer mountains lie mainly in NH (48 of them) and the rest in VT and ME (5 in VT, and 14 in ME).
Monday, June 28, 2010
Mount Lincoln and Mount Lafayette
I hiked Little Haystack Mountain, Mount Lincoln and Mount Lafayette on June 26, 2010 with my cousin Jillian. Even though all 3 of those mountains are above 4,000 feet tall, only the second 2 count as NH 4,000 footers because the prominence of Little Haystack Mountain is below 200 feet.
It was a nice day when we arrived in the White Mountains, and remained nice almost all the way to the summits. At the top, it was raining, very windy, very foggy, and even hailing!! It was so difficult to see, that we actually hiked right over the 1st two mountains to the third one, not knowing we made it to the first 2! Which was good news to us, to know we had made it that far already.
Mount Lincoln = 5,089 feet
Mount Lafayette = 4,760 feet
- Start time = 9:30 am
- End time = 6:30 pm
- Total hike time = 9 hours*
- Total miles = 9 miles
- Rating = Difficult
- Extras = Cascades, Waterfalls, Hut, Brook
* Hiking times include all breaks, stops and sitting at the summits for about 20 minutes.
Route Summary = This loop hike begins and ends at the Lafayette Parking area. You begin on Falling Waters Trail, which is also called Old Bridle Path for the first .02 miles. After the .02 miles, turn left to stay on Falling Waters Trail. Continue for 3.2 miles until you find yourself on the summit of Little Haystack Mountain (4,760 feet). From the summit of Little Haystack Mountain, turn left onto the Franconia Ridge Trail, and continue for .07 miles to the summit of Lincoln Mountain. Continue on the same path for .09 miles to the summit of Mount Lafayette. From the summit, turn left onto the Greenleaf Trail, and continue for 1.1 miles which will bring you to the Greenleaf Hut. Turn left to go on Old Bridle Path and follow for 2.9 miles back to the parking lot.
I would certainly recommend this hike to anyone who wants to see 360 degree views and be able to hike 3 mountains in 9 hours. Even though we couldn't see any views because of the rain, fog and hail, I know they are amazing! There is also a .02 mile trail leading to Shining Rock, which is pretty cool to see. This hike is a bit tough on the way down with lots of rock scrambling, so be prepared.
Mount Pierce and Mount Eisenhwer Photos
Me resting at the summit of Mount Eisenhower
There were a lot of people at the summit of Mount Pierce
Mount Pierce and Mount Eisenhower
Mount Pierce = 4,312 feet
Mount Eisenhower = 4,760 feet
- Start time = 11:10 am
- End time = 7:10 pm
- Total hike time = 8 hours*
- Total miles = 10.6 miles
- Rating = Moderate/Difficult
- Extras = Alpine Zone, Waterfall, Cascades, Brook, Above treeline
* Hiking times include all breaks, stops, and sitting at the summits for about 50 minutes.
Route Summary = Parking for this hike is on Mount Clinton Road in the Crawford Path parking area. The trail beings on the Crawford Connector for .04 miles. After crossing Gibbs Brook, you will reach a junction where you will stay straight/left on the Crawford Path. You will remain on this path for .02 miles until you reach a sign for Gibbs Falls. Follow the path left for about 40 yards to see the falls, then retrace your steps back to where you were to continue up the mountain. Hike on the Crawford Path for another 1.3 miles where you will reach a junction. Stay/bear left to stay on the path you are on. Continue 1.2 more miles on the Crawford Path until you reach a junction. At the junction turn right at the Webster Cliff Trail. .01 miles on this path will bring you to the summit of Mount Pierce! To reach the Mount Eisenhower summit, descend .01 miles on Webster Cliff Trail until you are on The Crawford Path again. Turn right and continue 1.6 miles to the summit of Mount Eisenhower. To return to your car, continue straight across the summit for .04 miles, then turn left onto Edmands Path and continue for 2.9 miles until it ends at a parking lot. (not where your car is) From that parking lot, turn left and walk along the road for 2.3 miles where you will land in the parking lot where your car is.
I would definitely recommend this hike to anyone who wants stunning 360 degree views, with a great super-close view of Mount Washington from Mount Eisenhower, especially since both summits are above treeline.