Franconia Ridge Loop: 2:49

Meh.  I'm gettin' slower all the time.  Sigh.

Saturday's weather was gorgeous (a little hot) but trail conditions were ideal and coming in just 19 minutes short of my PR was okay, I guess.

Route:  Falling Waters up, OBP down.

Motivation:  sore hamstrings and swollen knee from The Pain In The NEK.  Wanted to test durability and stability.

Food/Drink:  One Gu gel and 28oz water.

A lot of hikers on the trail - typical for a Saturday.  I try to maintain a strict rule of courtesy since I'm generally coming up behind people pretty suddenly.  The one crazy thing I can't figure out is why some folks stop to eat/drink/chat right on the trail so nobody can fit by.  Weird.  Almost completely crushed a poor Japanese girl's fingers, almost destroyed a sandwich and nearly obliterated a kid who didn't know how to react to my shouting 'Excuse me, passing on your left!".

I always yield to ascending hikers and assert my right-of-way while ascending.  Gotta be sensitive to surprises though.  Saturday's crowd was looking for any reason to stop on their climb and catch their breath so it wasn't really an issue.

Best object found on the trail:  An 8-shot, red, cap-ring for a toy cap-gun.
Best utterance heard on the trail (said to dawdling son asking questions by type-A mom):  "Ask me on the summit - we're here to hike."
Most obvious object to jump over:  a pile of wet toilet paper right in the middle of the trail.