Partway down the trail to the Greenleaf hut, we came across some antique but functional crampons near a rock cairn. We decided to leave them in place, in case an owner above us was returning back down via the same route. Still, I took a picture, and if you recognize your crampons, you know where they are (use the locator map function of the image to get a co-ordinate value).
Getting closer to the hut
We arrived at the [closed] Greenleaf hut around 3pm, and again cruised right by in the interest of time. The descent down the spur ridge towards the trailhead was straightforward, although soft, so we kept our snowshoes on. A few places were amenable to some glissading, which Luke found gave a refreshing break to his sore knees.
As we descended, we noticed some high-level clouds starting to drift in from the west. The forecast for the weekend had been clear and sunny the whole time, so these were a little unexpected. I was glad we'd chosen Saturday, then, if the weather was about to change for the worst.
As we neared the bottom of the ridge, I ran ahead with the car keys and shuttled the car around to the northbound parking lot, allowing us to shave off a bit of time on the start of the drive home.
Interactive Trackmap & Photo Points - Franconia Ridge Loop - Click map to expand
Start Time:
8:22a.m.
End Time:
4:37p.m.
Duration:
8h15m
Distance:
13.61 km
(8.46 mi)
Average Speed:
1.6 km/hr
(1.0 mph)
Start Elevation:
1789ft
(545m)
*
Max Elevation:
5263ft
(1604m)
*
Min Elevation:
1784ft
(544m)
*
End Elevation:
1784ft
(544m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
3770ft
(1149m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
3758ft
(1145m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
Elevation Profile over Distance
Elevation Profile over Time
