THIRTEEN FALLS: 10/21/15

My brother Drew and I took a long walk in the western Pemigewasset Wilderness to this beautiful spot deep in the Franconia Brook valley. For him it was a trip down memory lane - in 1972 his first hike in the Whites began with a trek with a friend to Thirteen Falls, including a rest stop in the shelter that once stood there, and then on to Garfield Ridge.

It was a very quiet day at Lincoln Woods. We saw one person strolling by the bridge at the start, then no one until we were past the Osseo Trail on the way out. The wide trail was a leafy carpetway into the Wilderness.

 

A mandatory stop at the Bondcliff view, 1.7 miles in.

Earlier in the month this was a colorful vista from the footbridge looking up Franconia Brook to Mount Flume. Today it had more of a November look.

Bondcliff and its southern spurs seen from a beaver swamp near the Franconia Brook Trail.

Zoom on Bondcliff and its southern peak.

Another must-stop: the beaver meadow view of Owl's Head.

Pieces of a stove at the site of J.E. Henry's Camp 9.

A lumberman's boot sole.

A rusting bed frame at Camp 9.

A meadow along Camp 9 Brook.

Drew takes a pic of a young spruce growing from a big old stump.

Looking up Hellgate Brook from the trail crossing.

Franconia Brook, still a large stream far into the valley.

Looking upstream at the Redrock Brook crossing.

Why Redrock Brook got its name.

Open hardwoods, with the outline of Mount Lafayette glimpsed through the trees.

More of those gorgeous hardwoods, with Owl's Head beyond.

Hopping across Twin Brook.

The first cascade you come to in the Thirteen Falls area. Though there may well be 13 waterfalls in the vicinity, the name refers to logging Camp #13.

Looking downstream to double-decker pools.

The ledgy expanse on the eastern branch of Franconia Brook near Thirteen Falls Tentsite - one of the great resting spots in the mountains.

Looking upstream along the eastern branch.

It was turning into a warm and sunny October afternoon, and we had this beautiful, secluded place all to ourselves.

The ledges at the confluence of the eastern and western branches bear many large bent iron pins.

Perhaps there was some kind of trestle, or walkway for the horses, here at the end of the Franconia Branch spur railroad line.

Looking up the western branch from the confluence.

I clambered up streambed ledges for a closer look at this impressive waterspout.

Looking back, West Bond could be espied through the leafless trees.

A parting shot of the ledges in mid-afternoon sun.

The mass of Southwest Twin looms above the trail near Twin Brook.

A century-old peavey head at the site of Camp 12.

A moss-covered stone wheel perched atop a boulder.

An array of Camp 12 artifacts. A reminder that it is illegal (and totally inconsiderate of future history-minded visitors) to remove these from the WMNF.

These horseshoes were hidden in the duff and were replaced where they were found.

Afternoon sun on the peaceful Franconia Brook Trail.

Looking down Hellgate Brook to the Owl's Head ridge.

High spurs of South Twin.

Beaver pond reflections capture the essence of a long and wonderful wander through the Pemi.

MOUNT GARFIELD: 10/15/15

I  took a hike to one of the best viewpoints in the Whites on a crisp fall day with bright foliage in the valleys and 100+ mile views from the summit. The trek to Garfield is 10 miles round trip with 3000 feet of elevation gain, but the gradient is easy to at most moderate except for the final steep rocky scramble at the top.

The first part of the Garfield Trail meanders along a little ridgelet with a fine mixed forest peppered with hemlocks.

The next long section follows old logging roads and the old tractor road that served the former fire lookout. The vast hardwood forest was displaying its best October glow.

Hikers head up into the birch-dotted forest along the middle section of the trail.

After following several switchbacks up through coniferous forest, I navigated across to Garfield Pond along the route of the old Garfield Pond Cutoff, which was abandoned in the early 1970s when the Garfield Pond Shelter was removed. The trail can still be followed by experienced hikers, but it is very wet at the pond end and not recommended. It could provide a useful shortcut for search-and-rescue incidents on Garfield Ridge Trail west of Mount Garfield. From the north shore of the pond, Mount Lafayette's crest can be seen above the trees.

The view of the pond from the south shore, at the end of a short side path off the Garfield Ridge Trail.

A steep spot heading up towards Mount Garfield.

The Franconia Range viewed through a fir wave.

The first view south into the Pemigewasset Wilderness near the summit, from the western ledges.

The Franconia Range beyond the tangled southern spur of Mount Garfield. I once bushwhacked out to a view ledge at the end of that spur through some of the thickest woods I've ever encountered.

The Green Mountains were sharp on this crystal-clear day. Mounts Abraham and Ellen are seen center-left behind the Signal Mountain Range. Camel's Hump is on the far right.

The Worcester Range and Mount Mansfield on the horizon. Big Bickford and Scarface Mountains are seen in the foreground.

The summit and the foundation for the old fire lookout station.

Looking northeast to the Pilot and Pliny Ranges beyond Cherry Mountain and the village of Twin Mountain.

North and South Twin with the Presidentials beyond.

South Twin, Galehead and the Bonds with their long ridges trailing off into the Pemi.

The vast upper basin of Franconia Brook, with the hulk of Owl's Head presiding on the right.

The Hancocks, Hitchcocks and Sandwich Range off to the south.

Folds of foliage down in the valley.

Garfield summit greeter.

The wrinkled face of Mount Guyot.

The ever-impressive Bondcliff.

Late in the day, a lone hiker takes in the view of the Pemi.

The steep, shady trail section dropping off the summit to the east was icy, heralding the start of traction season.

Late day sun along one of the switchbacks on the Garfield Trail.

Maples glowing in the last rays of the sun.