Northeast Trip - Day 12 (Saturday, June 17, 2000)
- Crawford and Franconia Notch -
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| The tram at Cannon Mountain. (Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire) |
After breakfast in the condo, we drove west into Crawford Notch State Park. While my mom waited in the car, my brother and I hiked to Arethusa Falls. Dropping 200 feet, I heard it was one of the more impressive waterfalls in New Hampshire. The trail was certainly fun, especially when it included the stream. I was glad to be wearing my waterproof boots. I would have hiked the whole loop with the Frankenstein Cliffs if I didn't have my mom waiting.
Returning to the car, we continued through the park, making quick stops along the road to see the Silver and Flume Cascades. It didn't take that long to reach Franconia Notch State Park, where we bought tickets and rode up the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway. There was a short trail to the top. Even though it was overcast, I enjoyed the parts of the trail that dropped off steeply into great views of the notch and mountains.
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| Two people look over Avalanche Falls. (Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire) |
We got back down the tram just in time for a heavy downpour of rain to arrive, while we comfortably ate inside a cafeteria. It was still raining, though, when we drove to the viewpoint for the "Old Man of the Mountain" profile, a recognized symbol of the state of New Hampshire. My brother and I waited for the clouds to clear to see the face shaped rock, but gave up when our jackets started getting quite soaked. At least we got to see the displays about its history and efforts to keep the profile intact. The rain stopped by the time we got to another place known as The Basin, which had a lovely walk and featured water winding its way down granite chutes.
Our final stop in Franconia Notch was at The Flume. From the visitor center, we took a short shuttle ride to the trailhead, then started walking. The highlight of the place was the trail through the flume, a narrow granite corridor with 90 foot walls surrounding a stream. It ended with 45 foot high Avalanche Falls, where we continued down the scenic trail, crossed a covered bridge, passed a glacial erratic, then returned to the visitor center.
Driving to Kinsman Notch, we also tried to visit the Lost River Gorge, but found the place had closed for the day. We then took the scenic Kancamagus Highway back to Barlett, turning onto the short Bear Notch Road before reaching our condo.
Contact me if you have any questions or comments about this trip.
| Document last modified January 06, 2009. Copyright © 1995-2009 Andrew Sawadisavi. All rights reserved. |
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