On the first day we hiked the classic 9-mile Franconia Ridge loop. We did it clockwise to give ourselves the hut on the way up and to give me a chance to soak my aching achilles in Dry Brook along the Falling Waters Trail on the way down. The weather generally cooperated, though the ridge was frequently in-and-out of the clouds every few minutes, and it did rain on us briefly somewhere just before the summit of Mt. Lincoln. Some photos from that day:
On the second day we took advantage of stellar weather and headed for the Presidential Range. Back in 2006 I'd really enjoyed a hike with Pete and Doug going up Mt. Jefferson via the very remote, scenic, and challenging Castle Ravine Trail, and wanted to show Jen some of that coolness. We set out in running shoes with as minimal an amount of gear as we thought was safe, and headed up. There are about a dozen mandatory stream crossings on the route, and we chose to just splash right on through each one. This saved us time and allowed us to cool off each time. I even began to take my time at each crossing to enjoy the cold water even more. The ravine gets wilder and wilder as you go, eventually culminating in a brief foray through a mossy cold-air talus forest at the base of the headwall, where refrigerated air whooshes up out of dark spaces in the boulders below. That's followed by a very demanding climb up an occasionally loose open talus slope to Edmands Col between Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Adams. After that we descended via the Israel Ridge Path, grabbed a sunset dinner at a brewery tavern near Sunday River, then drove east to Mount Desert Island. Some photos from that day:
idyllic cascades along Castle Brook
deep in Castle Ravine
climbing Castle Ravine
at Edmands Col
skyrunning
Nice photos and trip, Ben! I've never been to Castle Ravine, but looks like I'll have to check it out.
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