THE BASIN AND CASCADE BROOK

We drove into town in search of lunch. It was busy, as the weekend and prime fall color season were both approaching. We stopped at the Woodstock Inn Brewery in North Woodstock, as it is a big place and there wasn’t any wait. Ironically, I didn’t get any beer. Although my Covid test was negative, my sinuses were still a mess, and that often makes beer taste funny. We had a good meal, and Christy was able to knock out some more work.

We discussed our options for the afternoon over lunch. Ultimately we decided to check out The Basin in Franconia Notch State Park. That area was just a few miles up the road, on the way back to the campground. It had rained during lunch, but it stopped before we reached the trailhead parking area.

We started our hike with a brief visit to Baby Flume, a cascade and mini-slot canyon on the Pemigewasset River. A rough path leads to this feature, suggesting that most people miss it. From there, we backtracked a bit and headed up to the main attraction. That is a small waterfall dropping into a granite carved bowl. Several streams come together here, and all of them have cascades, small waterfalls, and small-scale slot canyons. It’s a neat little area, but popular due to the interesting features and easy access.

We left the crowds behind by hiking up the Basin-Cascades Trail along Cascade Brook. This stream features a long run of waterfalls and cascades. The trail parallels the creek, but stays a bit away from it. Fortunately the most scenic spots are easily accessible. We worked our way up the trail, taking quick side trips to check out cascades that caught our eye.

We continued up the trail beyond those initial cascades. The trail climbed up onto the hillside above the creek, but after a half mile or so we reached a junction with a rough side path heading down into a rugged little gorge. That led to the base of Kinsman Falls. It’s a really cool waterfall in a cliffy basin. It drops through a narrow cleft in the cliff into a deep pool.

We enjoyed the falls for a bit while discussing our options. I definitely wanted to continue upstream to Rocky Glen Falls, and I was intrigued about continuing from there to Lonesome Lake. Lonesome Lake sits on a bench directly above the Lafayette Campground, and there is a connecting trail. If we hiked to the lake and then down to camp, I could run down the bike path to retrieve the car.

Christy decided to head back. She still had some work to do. She would return to town to finish it, while I continued the hike. I’d hike to Rocky Glen Falls and Lonesome Lake, and then down to the campground, where I’d meet her.

I returned to the trail, and followed it to a creek crossing. Rock hopping was tricky, but I was able to get across with mostly dry boots. From there, a steady climb led upstream past more cascades. One was substantial – I actually thought it was Rocky Glen Falls. I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at the actual waterfall, which is quite impressive! This waterfall is actually as the name suggests – a steep, rocky cascading waterfall squeezed between sheer rock walls.

I continued upstream from there. Before long I joined the Appalachian Trail. Another creek crossing was necessary, and this one was only marginally successful. I resumed the hike with damp boots. The next stretch was pleasant, but then the trail went to hell. I found myself rock hopping up an endless boulder gully. It was along this stretch that I remember that my legs were fried from my hike on Franconia Ridge the previous day.

I finally reached Lonesome Lake late that afternoon. It was cold, damp, and windy there, and daylight was rapidly fading. The mountains were hidden in the clouds, and there wasn’t much fall color. At that point I was just eager to get back down to our campsite. But what horrors awaited me on the Lonesome Lake Trail?

I made great time on the descent. The trail was pretty steep, but for once the footing was mostly good. That was good, because I arrived at the campground just before full darkness. I almost made it back to the campsite without needing my headlamp. I met Christy there and got a fire started before heading to the bath house for a long overdue shower. It was our last night in the campground, and I wasn’t passing up on that amenity!

We enjoyed a great dinner, a fire, and adult beverages that evening. We also discussed our options for the rest of our trip. Our original plan was to head to the Adirondacks the next morning. I had planned a long weekend backpacking trip (Friday afternoon – Monday morning), followed by a major dayhike on Tuesday. There were several flaws with this plan:

- The focus of our backpacking trip was a couple of difficult peakbagging hikes.

- My condition had deteriorated again. At this point, I was certain that I had a sinus infection, or possibly bronchitis.

- Friday’s weather forecast looked good, but it was supposed to rain pretty much non-stop from Friday night through Tuesday. And it was going to be a cold rain, too! So not exactly optimal conditions for backpacking or peakbagging.

- Friday looked like the best weather we had seen since leaving Rhode Island, and it would be the last nice day for the foreseeable future. Did we really want to spend most of that day driving?

Sticking with the original planned seemed stupid. What was the point? We considered all sorts of options. We really liked the White Mountains of New Hampshire. What if we stayed a couple of extra days? We could bag a peak on Friday and hit some more waterfalls in the rain on Saturday. Unfortunately the area hotels were all booked, or were extremely expensive. We thought about camping, but we weren’t interested in spending any more nights next to the freeway. If we moved to another campground, we could set up in the morning, but then we would have to pack up wet gear in the rain on Sunday or Monday.

I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. The idea of more nights of camping in the cold rain wasn’t appealing. Christy’s parents were willing to have us at their place in Pennsylvania since my Covid test was negative. We had planned to head there later in the week, so going a few days earlier seemed like a decent backup plan. However, I was determined to squeeze in hikes in Massachusetts and Connecticut before we headed south. They were the only two states that I hadn’t hiked in, and it was time to knock them out. Oddly, the weather forecast in that area looked good on Saturday. After that the rain would move in though.

I came up with a new plan. I booked us a free hotel in Pittsfield, MA for Friday night. We would do another hike in the White Mountains on Friday, followed by a morning hike in Massachusetts and an afternoon hike in Connecticut on Saturday. Then we’d make the long drive to Clearfield, PA on Saturday night. Whew!

Back to New Hampshire

Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports

Home

Please remember to Leave No Trace!