CHOCORUA

We arrived at Franconia Notch State Park shortly after sunset. We had reservations for four nights at the Lafayette campground. We checked in at the park office and set up camp. It had rained that afternoon, and was still cold and drizzly. Instead of cooking, we drove down to the tourist town of Lincoln in search of a restaurant. We ended up at the One Love Brewery, which had decent beer and great food. We went to bed a little late, and sleeping was a bit of a challenge. My allergies were getting to me, and my coughing kept Christy up. Also, the campground is close to the freeway, and the heavy truck traffic made for a noisy camping experience. The Lafayette campground was nice in most respects, but I probably won’t camp there again due to the traffic noise.

We got up early the next morning, had breakfast, and discussed our plans for the day. It was a cloudy morning, but partial clearing was expected that afternoon. I thought a hike to Pitcher Falls and Mount Chocorua might be ideal. We could visit Pitcher Falls and Champney Falls in the morning, while it was still cloudy. That would be ideal for photography. Hopefully it would clear off by the time we reached the summit of Mount Chocorua.

Although I didn’t feel bad, my nasty cough from the previous night continued that morning. I was pretty sure it was just allergies trying to develop into a sinus infection, which is something I deal with to some degree every Fall. However, although I was fully vaccinated against Covid-19, I couldn’t be certain that I didn’t have it. We decided that it would be wise to get tested to be on the safe side.

We drove back into Lincoln, which was on the way to the trailhead, and stopped at a Rite Aid. I was pleased to see that they offered Covid-19 testing. However, you had to reserve an appointment online. After a lengthy registration process on my phone, I took the next available appointment, which was still 45 minutes out. So we hung out in the car in the Rite Aid parking lot and killed time. Christy had work to do anyway, so she was able to accomplish something. Meanwhile, I did some last minute research on hiking options. I had planned several peak-bagging hikes, but hadn’t researched many waterfall options. I thought that would be a good idea, in case the weather wasn’t suitable for summit hikes.

The 45 minutes eventually passed, and I got my test in the drive through. Shoving a stick up my nose, twice, while my sinuses were already aggravated, was a miserable experience. I was informed that I would get the results in 2-3 days.

We enjoyed a scenic drive to the trailhead, and we started on our hike late Tuesday morning. The trail was busier than expected for a weekday. That was ok though, particularly since we had the waterfalls to ourselves for a while. We rock hopped the creek a couple of times on the way there. Christy made a bonus crossing to reach the base of a small drop just downstream from Champney Falls. That cascade is a narrow flume that drops into a slot between large boulders. I was proud of Christy for heading right for it, as the actual trail bypasses it. After a few photos there, we regained the trail and scrambled over to the base of Champney Falls. This is a large waterfall, but only small portions of it can be seen from any one vantage point. Some scrambling and tricky rock hopping was necessary to get across the stream here, but it was worth it. From there, it was just a short walk along the base of the cliffs to the spectacular Pitcher Falls on a tributary. Pitcher Falls is unusual, in that it is a tall, narrow vertical drop into a box canyon. It reminded me a lot of Campbell Creek Falls in North Carolina, except that Pitcher is much easier to reach.

I was thrilled with the cloudy weather, as getting a good photo of Pitcher Falls on a sunny day would be nearly impossible. We had lunch after a few more photos. Another couple arrived as we were finishing the meal, so that seemed like the ideal time to continue the hike.

We returned to the trail and started a rugged climb upstream along more falls and cascades on Champney Creek. Apparently this is all considered part of Champney Falls, though there are several distinct sections. The trail was wet, steep, and slippery. Going up this trail and down the alternate trail that bypasses the falls is probably the best strategy, as descending this path would be a bit treacherous.

The trail along the falls joined the bypass trail a few minutes beyond the final waterfall. We stopped there to discuss our options. Christy was having a tough time with the rocky trail. She had sprained her ankle back in March, and it still hadn’t completely healed. Uneven, awkward footing caused her the most pain, and this trail had more than its fair share of it. She decided to head back, but she didn’t mind waiting in the car for me while I finished the hike.

We parted ways, and I began climbing Mount Chocorua. I set an aggressive pace, as it was getting late and I didn’t want to keep Christy waiting any longer than necessary. There also wasn’t much to look at, except for the rocky, rooty, muddy trail. The forest was nice, though it had a lot of conifers, and the hardwoods were only showing hints of fall color. I climbed on, passing a junction with a connecting trail before reaching the trail to the Three Sisters at the top of the ridge. I passed some giant mud puddles and a couple of additional junctions before approaching the base of the final climb.

The top of Mount Chocorua is a summit block of giant boulders on top of more giant boulders. A reasonable scramble route weaves its way up, but it is necessary to follow the faint blazes on the rocks. I ran into a father, mother, and teenage son that had started up a bit before I arrived. Unfortunately, the mother was in the midst of a panic attack. Although there wasn’t any real exposure at that point, the climb was clearly more sporty than what she had expected. Part of the problem was that they had gone off-route, into a band of cliffs. They were only a little off-course, but they were heading right for the base of a cliff wall. I steered them back on route, which helped briefly. However, her confidence was shaken, and the next tricky spot stopped her in her tracks. She actually sat down and wrapped her arms around a rock, even though she was in no danger of actually falling.

The good news was that they had climbed to a nice vantage point. It was still cloudy, but the clouds had lifted enough to allow for some good views. I continued on, scrambling along the marked route. The climb kept going and going, as the route zigzagged around avoiding the cliffs. This final stretch took a lot longer than I expected, but it was totally worth it. When I reached the summit, I found myself in a sea of clouds. Waves of clouds surged towards me from one direction, but dissipated in another. Visibility was marginal at best, but the experience was magical. It was also brief. Ten minutes after I arrived, the clouds swallowed up the mountain. This time, they didn’t seem inclined to budge.

I took that as my cue to head down. Descending was just as a tough as the climb, particularly since I had to pay close attention to stay on the route. I didn’t want to wander off course in the fog and fall off a cliff! I passed a small group of college kids heading up a few minutes after I left. They seemed to be in good spirits, even though they had just missed the magic by only a few minutes.

I tried to descend quickly, but that was tough on the rocky, wet, rocky, steep, rocky trail. I reached the car a bit before dark, and we headed back up the road. We stopped at a couple of overlooks, finishing up at the Pemigewasset Overlook for sunset. That was a great finish to one of the best days of the trip.

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