[Journal Entry for June 8, 2019; Lonesome Lake, Franconia Notch State Park, Franconia New Hampshire]. Dallas and I drove north to Franconia Notch from Plymouth New Hampshire, on the morning of Gigi Estes’ 80^th Birthday Party, arriving at about 10:30 AM. The day was spectacularly clear, the Notch was gorgeous and the Park was very crowded. We drove the Franconia Notch Parkway (I93) through the Notch, passing the steep headwall on its western side that was carved by glaciers during the Ice Age. We made a U-turn at Cannon Mountain and drove back to Lafayette Campground, which is only accessible from the southbound lanes. Unfortunately, the hikers’ lot was full. We continued s mile or so south to the Basin parking lot and were lucky to grab one of the few remaining spots.

We hiked the Franconia Notch Recreation Path back north to Lafayette Campground, a distance of about 1.3 miles. It is a pleasant paved path that runs through woods, following the Pemigewasset River. The river is about fifty feet wide and a foot or two deep but was running sufficiently strongly that fording it would have been challenging. We stopped to examine a small waterfall near the parking lot before setting off. The rock of the falls is a syenite. A small mafic dike, now mostly eroded away into a slot, cuts across it. The woods are lush. The hardwood threes still have the lime-green color of spring. Fern and other ground cover are very luxurious. We passed many beautiful Viburnum bushes, with their large clusters of white flowers, growing along the path. The path is fairly level and crosses three small streams by sturdy pedestrian bridges.

Once we arrived at Lafayette Campground, we crossed the Pemigewasset River by another footbridge and connected with the Lonesome Lake Trail. After talking us through the campground, it ascends steeply up the western side of the valley, by two long switchbacks. Dallas and I hiked this trail in winter using snowshoes and thought it fairly easy. It was considerably harder today, for very many rocks on its surface were now exposed. We passed many wildflowers, including more Viburnum, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, False Solomon Seal, Red Trillium and Painted Trillium. The Red Trillium was a bit gone-by, but the Painted Trillium was in full bloom and very beautiful. It’s a solitary flower, with three pink petals with darker centers and lighter edges, at the top of a foot-tall stalk above three large leaves. The hillside at the top of the hill was full of it.

After 1.3 miles, the trail flattened out and approached the northeastern shore of Lonesome Lake, a small oval pond about a quarter-mile in its largest dimension. We stood for a while at the shore, gazing across the pond to the mountains to the west, which include Cannon to the north and Kinsman to the southwest. We could see a crowd of people sunbathing on the dock of AMC Lonesome Lake Hut. This hut is on a low rise, just above the southwest shore of the lake. The trail bifurcates as it reaches the lakeshore, encircling the lake. Dallas took the left-hand branch and I the right. My path took me over a long puncheon through the marshy area on the northwestern side of the lake, while Dallas’ took her through dryer – but still pretty muddy – conifer woods along the eastern shore.

The wetlands are strikingly beautiful. The low marsh grass provides open view of the round hump of Cannon Mountain and the more archetypically-peaked summit of Lafayette. I took one short detour to visit a beaver pond, the dam of which was a few yards west of the puncheon. The dam was pretty grown over; I saw no signs of recent beaver activity. In addition to the grasses, the marsh has bushes and copses of conifer trees. Some of the bushes were in bloom, with small white flowers.

I reached the dock after a few minutes. It was crowded with people. A dog was swimming in the lake, retrieving a top thrown by its owner. I continued along the trail as far as the dam at the south end of the lake. The pedestrian bridge over the outflow, Cascade Brook, is a fairly elaborate affair, but the dam itself looks to be made of wooden beams backfilled with stones, and is mostly under water. My guess is that the present-day lake was created by raising the level of a natural wetland or pond by a yard or two. I then turned about and climbed up the steps to AMC Lonesome Lake Hut. Dallas was already sitting at one of the tables within. I purchased a cup of ginger tea and a couple of pastries made by the hut’s staff, and joined her for lunch. The hut’s common room is roughly circular in floor plan, with windows that look out over the lake. We chatted with several of the hikers, including an instructor from Massachusetts Bay Community College, sharing recent outdoor adventures with each other.

After giving my complements to the chef over the pastries, Dallas and I headed back. Dallas joined me on the puncheon branch of the trail. We spotted a few mallard ducks swimming in the Lake, and examined a gelatinous mass of eggs – frogs’ eggs, I guess – that had been laid in a shallow pool. After a last look from the lakeshore, we descended the Lonesome Lake Trail back down to Lafayette Campground, and then Franconia Notch Recreation Path back to our car at the Basin, reaching it about 3:15 PM. We then hustled back south to Gigi’s Birthday Party.

Overall, the trip took was about 5.8 miles long and took 4:45.