July 31, 2019
Today, we relaxed in the morning, and then went to Franconia Notch State Park in the White Mountains. Its easy to see why it’s so popular. The mountains here are steep and rugged with large exposed areas of granite. Although NH is nicknamed “The Granite State”, it is not one of the larger US producers of commercial granite.
It’s a beautiful place with lots of waterfalls, crystal clear mountain streams, white birch trees, great trails, a tram to the top of Cannon Mountain (ski area), a stunning gorge area (The Flume) and other sites all tied together by the very scenic Franconia Notch Parkway. The entire area was very clean and well maintained.
We decided to take a hike up to Kinsman Falls. We got a ton of rain last night which made for nice fast moving streams and waterfalls…..but it also made the trail climb very messy. About 1/2 way up, we started to encounter large areas of mud and debris that made it really tough to hike uphill. We both got very muddy so Nancy thought we should head back. But by then we were pretty close so I decided to press on while Nancy started walking back. I ended making to within eyesight of the falls but turned back without getting up close. By then my shirt was soaked and I was a mess. I walked back down and found Nancy and we found a spot along the stream to wash the mud off our feet/shoes. Then we headed headed home where Nancy won the race to the shower!
This is “The Basin”….. a whirlpool area carved smooth from years of water erosion
I think I might be standing on a future granite Kitchen countertop!
Frisco got very muddy on the way up to the Kinsman Falls. I gave her a quick bath in a stream.
The Franconia Notch Parkway
There are lots of areas where water was running over large smooth rock surfaces, but we never saw any naturally carved water slides where people could take a ride into a pool of water. I bet there are places here like that but, since its a state park, they don’t allow it due to risk of injuries. (There is a really nice water slide in Ohiopyle, one of our favorite areas in Pennsylvania for rafting and kayaking.)