When you picture hiking in the White Mountains, the views from the Franconia Ridge Loop are what you imagine. The stunning beauty, the rocky terrain and breathtaking views is what this hike is all about.

The hiking gods were looking down upon us and mother nature did not disappoint.  The weather was perfect.  Cool enough so you were drenched in sweat, but warm enough that a tank top with suffice. Sunscreen was a must as the sun was strong ( I realized the error of my application mistakes later that night in the shower …. ouch! )

We decided to go up Old Bridle Path and down Falling Waters.  I can understand why every recommends going in the opposite direction, Falling Waters had a few spots that were a little bit more difficult going down than they would be going up.  I definitely would not attempt to go down Falling Waters in any sort of rain or precipitation.  It was more difficult finding the blazes going down Falling Waters than we expected. There were a few times were we had to pause and double check the map to determine which way to go.  The stunning beauty and difficulty of the trail did break up the monotony of hiking down though.

We had a little difficulty finding the “summit” of Lincoln as we were looking for the geo survey marker and was unable to locate it. We asked the other hikers that were around if they knew were it was and they didn't.  So we improvised and took a foot picture with a cairn!

We met a couple of through hikers and one that was hiking the AT.  I didn't catch his trail name, but he has been hiking since February and started in Georgia.  We chatted with him for a couple of minutes and reminded him what day of the week it was.  He is hoping to summit Katahdin in a couple more weeks.

All in all it was a fantastic day, although I have never been more excited to see a trail head sign as I was this day.  It was a long day and my feet were tired.  I can't wait to do it again!