Trip/Event Location: Franconia, NHUS
Trip Leader(s): DaveSchumaker , HikerBiker
Max # People: 15
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Easy to Moderate
Join us for this easy to moderate hike to Lonesome Lake Hut. This is the second hike of a series of five that helps get new or out of shape hikers back into the game. The hike is about 3
MeetUp Location: Your destination is the Lafayette Place Campground. Northbound on the Franconia Notch Parkway, note your mileage as you pass Exit 34A. Continue on the parkway about 4 miles to an exit sign: TRAILHEAD PARKING. Smaller signs list the Bridle Path and Falling Waters Trail, but this exit is also for the Lonesome Lake Trail. Leave your car in the parking area and walk through the foot tunnel under the parkway to the west side. [You can park on the other side of this tunnel by travelling further north on the parkway, turning around at the Cannon Mountain exit, and then take the Lafayette Campground exit]. When you emerge from the tunnel, bear left around the log cabin. Farther on you'll see a sign on your right for the Lonesome Lake Trailhead. Continue too the end of the south parking area.
It was a great day for the second hike in the GetFit series. The parking lots throughout the Franconia Ridge were packed and many hikers ventured up the various peaks. Seven guys (Dennis, Dave, Robert, Rick, Steve, Carlos, and Jim) met at the trailhead at 11am and made our way up toward our destination, Lonesome Lake. There is not a tremendous amount of elevation gain on the hike to Lonesome Lake, but for beginners, it is more of a challenge than the first hike in the series (Franconia Brook Falls) which has very little elevation gain. The views of Franconia Ridge make hiking to Lonesome Lake a treat. The hut at the top made for a very comfortable place to have lunch and take plenty of pictures. We ran into a fellow GO'r Kevin (liketodo) at the hut who was hiking with some friends. It's always nice to see a familiar face on the trails. Steve had binoculars and we were able to clearly see the many people who were at the summit of Mt. Lafayette on the ridge. We made our descent back to the parking area chatting about the next hike in the series, Mt. Potash. I have not been back to Mt. Potash since I hiked in when I first started hiking with GO and it was one of the hikes in the GetFit series. After Mt. Potash, only one more trip before we take on a 4K-footer, Mt. Tom.
Outdoor Fitness Level: Moderate to Strenuous
Outdoor Fitness Level: Easy to Moderate
Outdoor Fitness Level: Moderate
