Mt Lincoln and Mt Lafayette

Yesterday I did a loop hike over Mt Lincoln and Mt Lafayette, my 17th and 18th 4000-footers. The weather was great! But it was pretty windy. That wasn't noticeable in the woods, but on the exposed ridge between Little Haystack Mountain (south of Mt Lincoln) and Mt Lafayette, it was a real problem.

The whole loop was 8.5 miles. I hiked it in about 6 h 20 min, for a pace of about 1.3 mph. It seems slow, but that's just about book time. The wind at the top slowed me down some.

I started at the Lafayette Place parking lot. The Bridle Path Trail and Falling Waters Trail converge here. I took Falling Waters Trail up, since the AMC White Mountain Guide says it's supposed to be difficult on descent.

Falling Waters Trail takes you past several waterfalls. All of them were very active and beautiful; it's been a rainy fall.

The picture here is actually not a waterfall, but one of the first brooks that you cross along Falling Waters.