Great to see a new video from you and it's really thoughtful of you to link to safety advice and information about leave no trace in the comments. Happy winter hiking!
Same! Have to have driven by 100 times or so and always thought "I should really check that trail out some time soon". Glad to have finally made it up there. Very nice trail!
Happy to see you back at it again! Love getting my White Mountain fix from you! Your videos really helped me get into hiking and I will always be greatful. Now I'm watching you all the way from Volcano, Hawaii. If you are ever out this way lets go hit some trails in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
This was a beautiful video. Lafayette is rarely so desolate as when you did it, i imagine. Last October we came down Pierce in the dark on a drizzly day, and it felt spooky due to no other hikers on the mountain. As always, I appreciate your obvious love of the beauty of the Whites, because it comes through when you speak about the views. Thanks for destressing me before I head to work!
Was very happy with how few people I saw up there. I picked a Friday to go up hoping to see limited people. I ended up running into only 3 people all day. Thanks for watching!
Additional note: This area can be exceptionally dangerous year round and even more so in winter / winter-ish conditions. Be very cautious when venturing out in the Whites, especially in winter/shoulder season, and even more so when venturing above tree-line. I felt completely comfortable up here and was 100% confident in my gear, knowledge, and hiking ability for this hike and the conditions. If you are a newer or inexperienced hiker, take baby steps on smaller/less risky hikes, to gain skill, test out gear, and prepare yourself for the more challenging adventures. Preferably also hike in a knowledgeable group if able as learning from other more experienced people can be an invaluable asset. Do your best not to become another hiking statistic. ---------------------------------------------- During the pandemic I was leaving trail and summit names out of many of my videos due to issues with massive overcrowding on the trail, as well as, issues in regards to what I would consider uneducated or irresponsible hiker behavior. The most notable of which was trash, and human waste / toilet paper I was finding directly on, or just off, trail. I kept some of the trail and location names in this video.If you are using this video for planning purposes, please use the trail responsibly and try to follow leave no trace principles. It only takes one person not doing so to ruin it for everyone. If you are a newer hiker please watch this video before heading out on trail: th-cam.com/video/dhd7E4rGIwA/w-d-xo.html Here is an article about the issue with trash and human waste specifically in the Whites www.nhpr.org/post/trouble-trails-forest-service-grapples-crowds-trash-and-human-waste#stream/0 Another article about Max Patch (an iconic part of the Appalachian Trail) and the issues occurring there www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/09/23/max-patch-residents-campers-creating-safety-hazards-mountain/5858936002/ Here you can learn about leave no trace (LNT) principles lnt.org/why/7-principles/ www.nps.gov/articles/leave-no-trace-seven-principles.htm
So much water this year. The last hike I went on before this I ran into a bunch of AT thru hikers and was chatting to them about how rainy its been and you could see in their faces the annoyance in how much rain they had endured haha.
I feel your pain with the weather- in 1969 we got rained out 10 out of 12 races (motorcycle flat track). some were miles and miles from home base! So my fix was to buy a Mx- they don't get rained out. AS always I really enjoy your videos.
Nice day up there except for the wind. I'm assuming you are using crampons on much of this hike. Yup, I saw them on your feet at one point. This looked VERY treacherous going down with all that ice. Glad you made it OK. That was very good advice at the end of your video. John from MI
Right on Chris!! Great to see you back at it! Just wondering if you wore traction on the trail runners up on that ice. So glad to see you back. Take care. Oops! I just heard you say microspikes😁
The cairns up there are pretty sizable but I imagine if the wind was like it was on this day and there was a lot of powdery snow it could be quite a challenge if not near impossible to really navigate well. If "normal" winter I would think most people do the more traditional loop up the ridge so Skookumchuck and Greenleaf may make for interesting travel. Who knows
Thanks for a look at these trails, which I've been curious about but have never hiked. Nice commentary and camera work in challenging conditions.
Great to see a new video from you and it's really thoughtful of you to link to safety advice and information about leave no trace in the comments. Happy winter hiking!
Driven by this Skookumchuck trailhead many time and wondered what it looked like going up that way. Thanks for taking us on another adventure.
Same! Have to have driven by 100 times or so and always thought "I should really check that trail out some time soon". Glad to have finally made it up there. Very nice trail!
Yep, this hiking season has been rough/terrible on the weekends. Good to see you found a time that worked! Great video as always
Its funny as I did this on a Friday, and Saturday was once again a mess with the rain / snow 😂
Happy to see you back at it again! Love getting my White Mountain fix from you! Your videos really helped me get into hiking and I will always be greatful. Now I'm watching you all the way from Volcano, Hawaii. If you are ever out this way lets go hit some trails in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Great video as always. You’re looking slimmed up too. 👍🏻
This was a beautiful video. Lafayette is rarely so desolate as when you did it, i imagine. Last October we came down Pierce in the dark on a drizzly day, and it felt spooky due to no other hikers on the mountain. As always, I appreciate your obvious love of the beauty of the Whites, because it comes through when you speak about the views. Thanks for destressing me before I head to work!
Was very happy with how few people I saw up there. I picked a Friday to go up hoping to see limited people. I ended up running into only 3 people all day. Thanks for watching!
It wouldn't be Lafayette without a wind tunnel 🤣 Nice video Chris and some great shots - those views!
Loved that trail. Did it several years ago in spring. Deep snow in the shade, bare above sea level.
Additional note: This area can be exceptionally dangerous year round and even more so in winter / winter-ish conditions. Be very cautious when venturing out in the Whites, especially in winter/shoulder season, and even more so when venturing above tree-line. I felt completely comfortable up here and was 100% confident in my gear, knowledge, and hiking ability for this hike and the conditions. If you are a newer or inexperienced hiker, take baby steps on smaller/less risky hikes, to gain skill, test out gear, and prepare yourself for the more challenging adventures. Preferably also hike in a knowledgeable group if able as learning from other more experienced people can be an invaluable asset. Do your best not to become another hiking statistic.
----------------------------------------------
During the pandemic I was leaving trail and summit names out of many of my videos due to issues with massive overcrowding on the trail, as well as, issues in regards to what I would consider uneducated or irresponsible hiker behavior. The most notable of which was trash, and human waste / toilet paper I was finding directly on, or just off, trail. I kept some of the trail and location names in this video.If you are using this video for planning purposes, please use the trail responsibly and try to follow leave no trace principles. It only takes one person not doing so to ruin it for everyone.
If you are a newer hiker please watch this video before heading out on trail: th-cam.com/video/dhd7E4rGIwA/w-d-xo.html
Here is an article about the issue with trash and human waste specifically in the Whites www.nhpr.org/post/trouble-trails-forest-service-grapples-crowds-trash-and-human-waste#stream/0
Another article about Max Patch (an iconic part of the Appalachian Trail) and the issues occurring there www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/09/23/max-patch-residents-campers-creating-safety-hazards-mountain/5858936002/
Here you can learn about leave no trace (LNT) principles
lnt.org/why/7-principles/
www.nps.gov/articles/leave-no-trace-seven-principles.htm
Great to see you back out on the trails! As always thanks for the video !!
Awesome quiet side hike up. Never seen the summit without people.
Nice. Thanks for taking us along. I love the Franconia Ridge. I've only done it in the summer, but it looks awesome covered in snow!
Hey Chris, Nice to see you back. Yes, it was rainy every weekend here in NH. Thanks for sharing your beautiful hike!
So much water this year. The last hike I went on before this I ran into a bunch of AT thru hikers and was chatting to them about how rainy its been and you could see in their faces the annoyance in how much rain they had endured haha.
The beard!!!! Good look, Chris! Nice trim to the beard. Took me a few minutes into the video to realize what was different about you. 😄
I thought about placing a warning at the start of the video 😂
I feel your pain with the weather- in 1969 we got rained out 10 out of 12 races (motorcycle flat track). some were miles and miles from home base! So my fix was to buy a Mx- they don't get rained out. AS always I really enjoy your videos.
Great upload bud, this was enjoyable! Such a lovely storytelling!
13:19... Beautiful!
The sky looks like the twilight one.
Nice day up there except for the wind. I'm assuming you are using crampons on much of this hike. Yup, I saw them on your feet at one point. This looked VERY treacherous going down with all that ice. Glad you made it OK. That was very good advice at the end of your video. John from MI
I did that trail last winter. Really beautiful. Enjoyed the video Chris
Right on Chris!! Great to see you back at it! Just wondering if you wore traction on the trail runners up on that ice. So glad to see you back. Take care.
Oops! I just heard you say microspikes😁
Ya I was in spikes just before the ridge until probably half a mile passing the hut. Very happy to have had them
@@ChrisGoesOutdoors hey Chris. I hate to bring up something yucky but were you hiking anywhere near where that girl passed away last November?
@@notquiteultralight1701 yes this is the same area / ridgeline
@@ChrisGoesOutdoors what a sad story that was. 🙏
Great summit. Do you think navigation would be difficult up top in full winter?
The cairns up there are pretty sizable but I imagine if the wind was like it was on this day and there was a lot of powdery snow it could be quite a challenge if not near impossible to really navigate well. If "normal" winter I would think most people do the more traditional loop up the ridge so Skookumchuck and Greenleaf may make for interesting travel. Who knows
What month was this hike?
Chris, great vid but, definitely out of my league. Great lesson as to why inexperienced and unprepared hikers need to respect the Whites.
For sure. I take the trips above tree line very seriously. Especially so in winter(ish) conditions. This area is extremely unforgiving