To: mitoc@MIT.EDU
Subject: lafayette trip report (useful info)
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 10:22:26 EDT
From: Elliza Mcgrand <mcgrand@MIT.EDU>

This weekend (Sept 27-28) five of us went to Mt. Lafayette, part of
the white mountain chain in New Hampshire.

We drove up via 93 North -- a straight shot, very easy -- for about 2
1/2 hours, and camped at the base of the mountain, at Lafayette
Campground.  You would be wise to call ahead and make reservations
(they accept them) as this campground fills up.  Lafayette campground
is, literally, right off of 93, or as it is at that point in New
Hampshire, Route 3, with all the attendant good and bad of that.
Good: it is relatively easy to find, even at night.  It is on the
south side of Route 3 (93) and there is no crossover, so after you've
spotted the signs, you take the next exit (exit 3 I believe) and turn
around so that you are going back South along 3 (93).  There is
signage pointing at exit for it.  Lafayette has a lovely stream
running through it, and it is literally at the base of the mountain,
so that you can start your hike from base camp.  The sites are clean,
fairly pretty, and the lodge has a tiny camp store so if you forgot
waterproofer, all is not lost.  There are hot showers (.25 for two and
a half minutes) as well.

Bad: you can hear the highway at all times, from all places in the
campground.  It is very popular, and there is a good chance it will be
full unless you reserve in advance.  The hot showers were not working
particularly well (one of the women's showers inoperable) and they
operated under the principle that hot water meant just that: hot
water, with no need of cold available since by the time swarms of
campers ahead of you had finished, there wouldn't be any NEED of cold
water to mix in.  This IS a misconception (writes a slightly
par-boiled trip reporter).  The campground staff charged Per Person,
rather than per site (as was initially thought) so it was not $14 per
site, but $7 per person per night.

Mountain:

Lafayette is, no two ways about it, beautiful.  We took the Bridle
Path up, walked along the ridge of Lafayette, Lincoln, and Little
Haystack (with the newly named -- by us -- Mt. Louise and a couple of
other small protuberances in between), and took Falling Waters down.
Mt. Lafayette is about 40 feet short of a mile high, and the entire
hike was 8 miles long.  It was a substantial hike.

The way up contains some steep rocky areas, a wooden bridge across a
stream at the beginning, a very lovely stunted tree section just above
the first treeline (reminiscent of Lebanon in _The Lord of the
Rings_), and a number of exquisite Oooh Aaahh spots where you and
yours can look down on valleys and lakes, and across at mountains.
There is an AMC hut just before the summit with all facilities,
including camping for those inclined.  There is also a teaser -- what
appears to be the summit but which, upon ascent, is not.

The summit has strong winds, a partial rock wall shelter where you can
huddle, sun, and eat your lunch in, and if you have juvenile minded
members, play Fort.  The wind and exposure meant that the summit was
significantly colder than the hike up.  We came up in shorts and tee
shirts, and at the summit, donned sweaters, windbreakers, long pants,
and some of us wished, at least at first, for gloves.  The ridge is
cool and windy, with spots of sharply gusting wind.  It was dry when
we were there, but if it is wet, it could be quite difficult.  There
is one spot, between clefts, where clouds literally boil up on one
valley, flow across the ridge, and drop into the next valley, and
another where the clouds are blown into a whirlwind.  There is also a
balancing rock where someone, inevitably, will threaten to have
themself taken in a picture.  I am not sure how viable that is since
the naysayers prevailed on this trip.

The ascent is breathtaking, long, with much steep rocky ground which
was, on this trip, wet and hence, slippery.  It was very much a
potential ankle sprain situation requiring care and concentration.  Of
course small children skipped by like goats, but they always do,
everywhere; the key is dignified indifference.  There are, indeed,
falling waters, several sets of them, ranging from wide sheets of
water across orange rock streaked with green (copper deposits?) to an
almost Escher-like perpendicular array of cubes (three sides visible)
in a warm peach orange with green streaks, with a stream of clear
water crashing over into a wide pool at the bottom covered in a lovely
orange and red and yellow and green spray of autumn leaves.  The
Falling Waters path intersects, at the bottom, the Bridle path, right
about at the bridge across the stream, so when you see it, you know
you are nearly home.  The hike took us, in total, about 7 hours at a
medium pace with several OOooohh AAhhhh stops and a lunch and bathroom
break.

The Foliage

OOOOOOOHHHHHHHhhhhhh AAAAHhhhhhhh!!!  It was dazzling.  In the early
part of turning, so while there are streaks of flame red aplenty,
there is still a predominance of green.
