Mount Lafayette – Greenleaf Trail

PHOTO: Yours truly near the summit of Mount Lafayette on Memorial Day. There was eight inches of snow covering Lafayette’s summit. Springtime in White Mountains can often feel like winter. Be prepared, bring warm clothing and carry the hiking essentials. 50 degrees may not sound too cold but it is possible to suffer the consequences of Hypothermia when your body loses heat faster than it can produce it. Buy a Hike Safe Card and support the NH Fish & Game search and rescue–visit Wildlife.nh.gov for more information.

by Amy Patenaude
Outdoor/Ski Writer

No Joke; it has rained 11 weekends in a row in New Hampshire and it looks like this coming weekend might make it 12.
We are all trying to make the best of it this wet spring. Between the raindrops we managed to plant some of the garden and we finally mowed the lawn. Playing outdoors on the weekends has meant getting wet or at least risking getting your feet wet.
Monday, Memorial Day, it was wonderful that the weather was nice. It felt marvelous to feel the sun’s warmth on my skin, finally.
I waited until 9 am to make sure the clouds were really going to lift above Lafayette’s summit before I decided I was going to go hiking. When I could see the snow covered mountain I grabbed my pack and jumped into my car.

Lots of cars were parked at Cannon Mountain’s Tramway. (The Tramway is open for the season, daily from 9 to 4:30 pm. Buy your tickets online at Cannonmt.com and save 3 dollars on the window price. Plus online you will reserve your time block so you’re guaranteed your ride and no waiting in line).
The Tramway is located at I-93, Parkway exit 34B and the Greenleaf Trailhead is located on the northbound entrance ramp. I decided that I would park at the Old Man Viewing lot and walk down the Franconia Notch bike path, under the parkway and down the bike path to the old Old Man Viewing pull-off. Here I followed a herd path up to meet the Greenleaf Trail. I go this way because I like the view up to the cliffs.
On the Trail in the woods I had obstructed views of Cannon Cliff. The leaves on the trees were really starting to pop out. After a thousand feet of climbing over 1.5 miles I reached Eagle Pass. The narrow pass travels between Eagle Cliff and the shoulder of Mount Lafayette. There was thick ice on the floor of the pass. The cliff wall on the left and rocky slide on the slope on the right and big boulders on the pass’ floor make Eagle Pass an interesting destination on its own. I once met a geocacher here hunting for the treasure-cache.

After crossing the ice the rocky trail was much like a stream. I tried to stay on top of dry rocks out of the streambed in the trail. Two young men came flying down the trail and they told me the views were good today. I didn’t meet any other hikers until I reached the AMC’s Greenleaf Hut. The Hut opened at the beginning of May and Full-Service started on June 5th. I helped myself to a quick glass of water and was welcomed by the jolly Croo. It was colder inside the hut than it was outside.
Greenleaf huts sits at elevation 4,220 feet and the Old Bridle Path meets the Greenleaf Trail here. From the Hut the Greenleaf Trail continues 1.1 miles to Mount Lafayette’s summit, elevation 5,242 feet. The crossing at the outlet of the Eagle Lakes, the rocks were underwater and this was another reason I was glad I was wearing my boots instead of trail runners. My feet were happy all day. The wet trail became snow-slushy wet.
Immediately when I reached the treeline I put on warm clothes, a fleece, a wind jacket, a hat and gloves. I had worn just a t-shirt until this point. The wind was fierce and the ground was fully snowcovered. A good eight inches of snow and deeper in places covered the mountain just above 4,000 feet. The snow was packed in the trail but it was still soft and my boots had traction.
On the summit I stood on the highpoint and watched a few hikers coming up the ridge. Most were dressed very warmly and a few others looked like they were chilled to the bone when they reached the summit.

I enjoyed filling my eyes with the view. I was in awe of the vertical black stripe to the right of Whitney-Gilman arete, it was the Black Dyke’s shadow. I looked down in the middle of the Pemi Valley at Owl’s Head Mountain and I waved to Danille who I knew was hiking there. I also waved to Becca and her brother who were hiking over on Mount Moosilauke. Mount Washington looked very white.
I ate a chocolate granola bar and drank some more water before I decided it was time to get out of the wind and head back down.
As I descended the trail I began meeting dozens of people. Everyone hikes Lafayette–groups of young boys dressed in cotton sweatpants and sneakers, couples dressed ready for anything and people accompanied by their faithful Golden Retrievers.
People were gathered outside the Hut but I only stopped to strip back down to my t-shirt. I then happily retraced my steps back down the quiet and less traveled Greenleaf Trail.
I didn’t see another person until I was back on the bike path almost to my car. Have fun!