Run Andrew Run: Lafayette/Lincoln/Little Haystack

Today was Ali's first day of work at her new job in North Conway, and my first day of serious running in the mountains. This made Mt. Major last week look like a small gig. More elevation, some super tricky descents and climbs, and a completely cloud covered summit made this outing pretty memorable.

I woke up at 5:00 and made myself a quick breakfast of PB/J+banana. I was out the door by 5:30 and got in my car to head toward the Franconia area. Turns out it was an hour long drive to get there. I didn't realize how spread out places are up here... it takes a long time to get between towns. Anyway, I digress-- I got to the Lafayette trailhead parking at 6:30 and found the Old Bridal Path trail quite easily.

Here's an always classic "before" picture. There's no "after" picture by the way, so don't get your hopes up. Notice the classy Connect 4 board off to the side.

Here's some signage beckoning me into the wilderness.

As soon as I got going, almost all my fears about my right sided hip pain (it's been acting up in the last few days) went away. I felt pretty good and I was making very steady progress up the trail. Things got steep though, as you might imagine-- I was climbing up Lafayette after all. I maintained a running gait, or at least something closely resembling a running gait, until I tripped myself up on a root about 25 minutes in. The thought flashed through my head-- I'll need to bag this run and go back-- but I sustained some minor cuts on my knee and jammed my index finger. My finger injury was the worst, so overal I didn't have much to complain about.

I was forced to walk, aka fast hike, for a few sections that were comically too rocky or steep to run. I progressed pretty quickly and got to the Greenleaf Hut in about 50 minutes. I've been judging my effort on these fast climbs without much specificity; I run until my lungs or my legs can't take any more, and walk accordingly. I check my heart rate now and then for curiosity's sake, which usually peaks out around 170bpm for the steep and runnable sections.

The best landscape picture I was able to capture before I got into the clouds.

I had a quick chat with a few folks who were staying at the hut and asked them if they knew anything about the weather. I was concerned, based on things I've read and heard, that the Franconia Ridge can be pretty gnarly if the weather turns bad. It's above tree line for a few miles and I was afraid of things getting worse. They confirmed that any potential storms wouldn't come until the afternoon, so I decided I'd continue on and see what the summit was like...

That blend of mild fear and isolation in this picture is all real. I snapped this at the top of Lafayette, where it was easily 60 degrees with a 15-20mph wind, making it feel like 50. It was wet too, where the air almost felt heavy going into my lungs. It wasn't a place you'd want to hang out for very long. But it was so invigorating, too. The footing was damp but not too slippery, and the few times I reached down to touch the ground or a rock I savored the feeling-- I was really getting into it at this point. The visibility was terrible, of course, so realistically I didn't stick around for long once I got to the top. At this point I hadn't seen any other hikers in this section of the mountain, so I was feeling a little like the stupid guy taking a selfie above tree line and everyone else knew something I didn't and I was about to get swept clear off the mountainside. I pressed on despite the anxiety as the wind was much calmer off the southern side off the mountain.

The traversing section ensued. Definitely the coolest part of this whole run, I got to open it up a little more when the footing was good. I was really getting my teeth into it at this point, feeling a little more mentally engaged and aware of my surroundings in the larger scale. I had some serious tunnel vision as I worked my way up to that first peak. At this point I felt more comfortable in a general sense.

I got to the Lincoln and Little Haystack peaks, then took a short jaunt up to Liberty before turning and heading down Liberty Spring trail. I was at about 2:30 when I turned down Liberty Spring, which brought me basically down to the level of the road by 3:15. I found the Pemi trail and excitedly headed towards the parking lot where I started. When I got to The Basin, however, I misinterpreted a sign and accidentally followed the Basin Cascade trail for a mile. Once I realized my mishap, I sat down and ate the peanut butter and fluff sandwich I brought with me before going back to the junction. This might have been the low point in the day, but the Flutternutter really helped me out. I finished the last two miles at a nice steady pace as the trail leveled out and there were few roots and rocks to be found. I emerged at the Lafayette Campground and found my car! It's always a nice feeling to see something as familiar as your car when you've been running in the woods for a while.

Here is a quick snapshot of my loop along with some nerdy running data.