Franc Ridge: Buh Bye to Lincoln
Finally crossed another off my grid. Jake, Spanky and I cranked out the miles. The dogs are dog-tired. That makes Lafayette and Lincoln. I need Washington in July, August, October & November so I have a minor goal of crossing that Bad Boy off this year.
Today's route was the classic route: ascend Falling Waters, descend OBP. Conditions were pretty late-springlike: lots of flowing water and wet rocks with lots of dry sections and some ice toward the top of Falling Waters near treeline. Who'd a thunk it. All the downed trees were cleaned up well enough that they didn't pose any real obstacles. Water crossings were easy (lots of water though). Because of the wet trail it's not ripe for speed records (see below).
So here's the fun part: the lot was full of cars and heavy-duty equipment - 93 through the notch is being repaved. The trails were really busy with quite a few lunatics sitting for a rest right IN THE TRAIL! The weather gets nice and the crazies come out.
I targeted a 3:30 pace, + 30min for dog stops gave me a total planned route time of 4 hours. It worked out almost to the penny:
- First stop on Lincoln: 3 minutes for dog to be fed.
- Lunch on Lafayette: (2:03 from trailhead) 15 minutes for dogs for lunch and water
- Water stop at Galehead to play in stream (5 min)
- Water stop at Lincoln Brook just before parking lot (5 min).
