The scientific literature is pretty clear that spending time outside is good for health and wellbeing, and I’m happy to provide a testimonial in support! Work is intense this week, and most days my meetings extend well into the evening. When I was unexpectedly freed from my laptop at 5PM yesterday, what I thought I wanted to do was collapse, but what I did instead was go for a hike (and to paraphrase a local poet, that made all the difference).
Franconia Notch state park often turns up on lists of the top hikes in the country and for good reason, but as a result it’s very popular and draws crowds, so I tend to avoid it. Leaving the trailhead at 6PM on a weekday, however, changes that dynamic completely!
The Old Bridle Path isn’t very long— just under 3 miles— but it’s steep, gaining 2400 feet of elevation. Along the way the birches and maples in the valley mix with balsam fir and black spruce, and the forest gives way to krumholtz. The trail ends at Greenleaf Hut, closed this year due to Covid.
It was tempting to linger at the hut during golden hour and watch the light fade from the summit of Mt. Lafayette, but it was a still evening, and the gnats were swarming fiercely.
More by luck than by planning, we headed back down just in time to descend the steepest sections in daylight and see alpenglow from the ridge line. We finished the hike by headlamp. After the light had faded we reached a spot when we could just hear Walker Brook rushing in the valley below us and smell the balsam firs mixed with wild flowers. We stopped in our tracks, turned off our headlamps, and stood taking in the sounds and aromas of the forest.