Lafayette Brook Ledges: 12/13/24

After the big rainstorm and subsequent freeze, I figured many trails would present an unpleasant mix of conditions. I was hoping that the snow off-trail had consolidated and would provide some good snowshoe bushwhacking. I headed back to the Gallen Memorial parking area at the north end of Franconia Notch to undertake a favorite whack to two view ledges on the ridge north of Lafayette Brook. Mt. Lafayette was emerging from the clouds as I crossed the old highway bridge by the Gallen Memorial.

There were a few patches down low that had melted down to leaf cover, but overall a good portion of the previous snow cover remained, now in a crunchy, mealy form.

 

A little sun in the hardwoods added a touch of warmth on this cold morning.

Making tracks through the hobblebush, which proliferates on the lower part of the ridge.

Tall and gnarled.

Snowpack still a foot plus.

Heading up to the crest of the ridge through conifers and birch.

Making switchbacks on steeper pitches.

Rough, ledgy terrain on the crest of the ridge.

It's wild up here.

After squeezing through some dense scrub I emerged on the first ledge viewpoint on my itinerary, looking across at Eagle Pass.

Nice view of Cannon.

 

An interesting angle on Mt. Lafayette and its massive western shoulder.

Zoomed. From this perspective the bulbous North Peak looks higher than the summit.

These ledges drop off sharply into the forest.

After a scrap with prickly conifers I broke out into a pretty little col on the ridge.

Better going in birches behind the ridgecrest.

Here I came upon a freshly made moose track, which was heading in the direction I was going.

The moose appreciated the open going in the birch glade as much as I did.

I call this stretch birch glade nirvana.

Sweet snowshoeing.

At the edge of the birch glade there's an abrupt transition to darker woods.

In here the snow was crustier, with a couple of mini-scrambles.

Following the moose tracks through wonderfully open woods.

It wasn't steaming, but it looked pretty fresh.

 

Good snow cover as I circled around the back side of a steep wooded knob to access the upper view ledge.

Cresting over the top of the knob.

This perch has a commanding view over the lower half of the Lafayette Brook valley and far off westward to the Green Mountains in Vermont. The small white stripes on the right are the bridge by the Gallen Memorial and part of I-93.

A nice profile of Cannon and its two spur peaks.

 

The sharp cut of Eagle Pass.

The tip of North Peak and the summit crest of Lafayette just peer over the next hump up the ridge. With a temperature in the low teens, the wind was brutally cold out on the ledge, but I was able to take an extended break back in the trees while still enjoying most of the view.

Heading back down through the open woods. The snowshoe descent was a little slower than usual due to the mealy and somewhat unstable snowpack, which led to a fair amount of snowshoe wobble.

Always a joy to descend through the birches!