I did this loop once before on my birthday, when I turned 50, and decided to do it again today. This is an amazing hike, but also challenging - it's 8.6 miles and it goes over 3 4000 footers, with 3845 feet of elevation gain. There are amazing waterfalls, views and one of the huts on the trail. And, because of how amazing it is (and the fact that it's a 2 hr drive from Boston) it's really busy! Well worth it, 2 thumbs up, loved it!
I woke up at 6:30 am and was out of the house before 7. I realize that I often run out of energy on these big hikes, so I decided to have a bigger breakfast, which turned out to be really helpful. Because the trail is so popular, the parking lot fills early, and by the time I got there at around 9 they had people parking at the ski slope and taking a shuttle. It wasn't my preference, but it was fine - I barely waited on the trip to the mountain, and on the way back I waited about 10 minutes - which seemed like forever when I was pooped, but really wasn't that bad.
The hike starts out slow and relaxing, following a brook with a bunch of waterfalls - it was so pretty and not too difficult. There were a ton of people, but I reminded myself people are friends, not foes, and just stepped off the path to let anyone faster than me pass. And, I chatted with some very nice people and admired the waterfalls. The last time I went up I didn't go to the little offshoot to shining rock because it looked like it was downhill, but this time I decided I was there and a little hungry, so I went. It did go down a lot, and then I had to go back up, of course, but I was glad I took the little detour. I think it was the only solo nature time I got. Plus it was a really nice view and a cool rock. I ate a stuphenwaffel, which was delicious!
Getting up to the top of Little Haystack was hard, but didn't seem that hard - I got to the top and thought "that wasn't so bad" and I sat and had a small snack and admired the amazing view. It took about 3 hours to get up there, once again, though I had stopped at shining rock. Of course, getting to the top of Little Haystack isn't the finish - there is still almost 900 feet of elevation gain, and the toughest climbing on the hike.
I sat and enjoyed the view for about 15 minutes and then was ready to move on. The ridgeline is definitely one of the best in the White Mountains - it's such a special place. In particular, the first part of the ridgeline is just amazing - there aren't rocks in the path, it's not too strenuous and so you can look around at the scenery. There was a naturalist up there (making sure that people stayed on the path) and he pointed out some flowers that were doing well, and a brand new avalanche slide. There's also a part where the trail dips into some fir trees, and the smell was like christmas (I mean, it is for those of us who aren't Jewish), I think it took a little over an hour to get to Lafayette - it's 1.7 miles and I really relaxed, enjoyed the view, and sauntered. One little note - the first peak that you see is Lincoln - you have to go over that before you can see Lafayette.
I decided to keep going at Lincoln and sit on Lafayette to eat my sandwich. Even though I knew it would be super crowded (which it was), I kind of wanted to walk and enjoy the ridgeline, and to get to the summit. It was like 2 when I got to Lafayette, and I was so hungry! I sat on a rock, enjoyed the view, and ate a cheese, avocado and tomato sandwich (which was delicious) and an orange.
The way down is full of rocks - there was a lot of rock hopping and steep areas. It took a while to get to the hut, where I was excited to be able to fill my water without having to filter. The hut smelled delicious, like brownies. They were in the oven, baking. One of the Croo said they would be done in 10 minutes, so I decided to wait, but when the ten minutes passed they were poking at them like they weren't done, and I was ready to go. So, no cookies for me.
It's pretty steep going for the first bit on the way down. There were a few spots where I scootched on my butt. I definitely didn't rush on the rocky parts, but as the path got clearer I went faster. I was about a mile and a half from the finish when I met up with this group of 4 - we were going a similar speed, except one woman from the group was moving slower. I passed the group, but then this one woman was hiking right behind me, something that I hate. I sped up a bit, but she was still right there, so I stopped to let her pass, and then she stopped too. It was at the part of the hike when I was cranky anyhow, and it was so annoying - I finally had to tell the group that I was stopping to let them pass, and the woman was all weird about it, which made me crankier.
By the time I finished I was pretty tired and sad to have to wait for a bus, but it did just take about 10 minutes. There was no way I was going to walk. My new boots were much better - I put in a second insole and they fit perfectly now! When I look at my splits, it wasn't my fastest hike for sure. I think I wondered around the hut for a bit, which added a little time, but really not that much. Anyhow, it's a classic and I was so happy to do it - it will probably be a while before I do it again because of the crowds.
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