Bridal Veil Falls

--4.2 mi RT--

The trailhead is located on Coppermine Road. Its off of 116 in Franconia. We drove past it at first, turned around then found it. There is no fee for parking. Park the car, and walk up .4 miles on the road until you reach the Coppermine Trail. 

The trail itself is fairly easy. When we went it was a little muddy.

There is a great story behind this trail, whether myth or not. The famous actress Bette Davis walked this trail when she was visiting Sugar Hill/Franconia area.

Bette got lost on the trail and her future husband, Arthur Farnsworth, found her and brought her back to safety. (Long story short) They married, she found him with another woman, filed for divorce. During the process of divorce, Bette supposedly hit Arthur in the head with a lamp. No immediate reaction. Until three days later, he collapsed and died out of the blue. She was put on trial but was found not guilty. Divorce papers disappeared and a plaque was placed on the trail in memory of Arthur. Bette confessed, on her death bed, that she had killed Arthur. 

 

The plaque can be difficult to find. We couldn't find it ascending the trail. Look for an open, camp area. There are a couple of fire pits. Head towards the Coppermine Brook. The plaque is on a rock on the edge of the brook.

The waterfall itself is breathtaking! Here's some pictures:

Be careful going up to the pool!! The rocks on both sides are extremely slippery after rain!

This hut is just around the corner from the falls! 

Mount Garfield (6/5/13)

--4,500'--
--10 mi RT--
--#17--
--5 hours total--

To get to the trail head: On route 3, there is a road called Gale River Loop Road. Depending on which way you enter the road, you will follow it until you find Garfield Trailhead. Only from March-November the road is open to travel up to the trailhead. During winter, you need to park outside the gate, near the main road which adds about 1.2 miles to your total trip. There is no parking fee.

My friends and I decided to ascend via Garfield Trail. Its 4.8 miles until you reach the Garfield Ridge Trail. This part of the trail I found to be very easy! So if you are looking for a easy yet challenging hike, do this! For about 2 miles, its all flat, going through the woods, crossing rivers. The rest has an incline but its not horrible. From the intersection, take a right (although the sign says left). The next .2 miles is STEEP! 

Very steep!!

My co-worker and friend LoLo. He works as a chef at Mt. Washington Hotel. Native of South Africa. Later that day during work he said to me: "You are so right, you can't explain what it feels or looks like until you're really there" :) He is so right! 

looking North West

I couldn't find any information about the tower that was once here. If anyone finds out, let me know! 

The Pemigewasset Wilderness. Owl's Head is in the center...it will be one of the more challenging peaks to get to!

Left - Right: Lafayette, Lincoln, Little Haystack, Liberty

Left - Right: Flume, Owl's Head (center), Hitchcock, Hancock, the Captain 

Left - Right: West Bond, Guyot, South Twin, Galehead

Zoomed into the Observatory on top of Mt. Washington

You can see an orange-ish/red-ish tape that is wrapped around the tree. TIP: When you're crossing all the rivers, look for this on the other side to find the path! 

Book time for this hike says 6.5 hours. We made it to the top and back down in 5 hours. 

Mount Liberty & Mount Flume (6/3/13)

Mount Liberty
--4,459'--
--3.8 mi (one way)--
--#18--

Mount Flume
--4,328'--
--5 mi (one way) 1.2 mi from Mount Liberty--
--#25--

Total Hike
--10 miles RT--
--8-9 hours (which includes breaks)--

I think I'm going to start posting a picture of the map to help anyone reading this!

There are a few ways to get to Mt. Liberty and Mt Flume. My friends and I took the Liberty Spring Trail to Mt. Liberty then took the Franconia Ridge Trail to Mt. Flume (not labeled) then back tracked. We were warned multiple times NOT to go down Flume Slide Trail. My hiking book I have says its one of the most difficult trails in New Hampshire because it's not maintained well and hard to find the trail. 

To get to the trailhead:

Take exit 34A off of 93 in Franconia Notch. It's the first parking turn off. There is no fee. There are bathrooms at the trailhead. 

From the parking lot, head onto the Pemi Trail for .6 miles, until you reach the bike path. Follow the bike path over two bridges and there will be a sign on the right for Liberty Springs Trail. (From the parking lot its a total of .9 miles to Liberty Springs Trail)

Fun Fact: Liberty Springs Trail is part of the famous Appalachian Trail and is maintained well by the Appalachian Mountain Club. 

It was a great day for hiking. It was humid, we sweated more than usual, but there was no rains. It was a cloudy day but the sun was still able to peak through. 

    

Seeing the campsite means you're only .6 miles away from the summit of Mt. Liberty! $8 a night to camp.

::Mount Liberty::

Loon Mountain on the left side of the picture

Cannon Mountain (4,100')

::Mt. Flume::

From Mt. Liberty, its 1.2 miles to that peak, Mt. Flume

Looking at Mt. Liberty from Mt. Flume

(From Left to Right) Mt. Liberty, Little Haystack Mt (4,780'), Mt. Lincoln (5,089'), Mt. Lafayette (5,260')

A couple of my friends hiked those three in the distance the Friday before this hike.

"Get on my level" :)

The sun was peeking out

Looking at Owl's Head (one of the hardest 4,000 footers to get to)

---------

I bought a new camera before this trip, a Canon SX160 is. I don't have a trip pod yet, but I wanted to just test out the ISO (shutter speeds) and try and get the soft looking water. Not too bad! 

This was a moderate trial and very well maintained. Its a great day hike, even if you wish to only hike Mt. Liberty.

A tip from the camp Caretaker who we met hiking up:

"If you are sweating enough, people wont see you crying" :)

My 4,000 Footer List

The Highlighted mountains are the ones that I have completed so far (as of today). I hiked Mt. Washington first in August 2012. There are 48 mountains in New Hampshire that higher than 4,000'. Its a great way to challenge yourself and have fun doing it! Although I have only done 5, I still feel great about my accomplishments so far. Its been a little over a year since I broke my ankle! 

For more information about the 4,000 Footer Club, click here:

http://www.amc4000footer.org/