George Steffanos

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September 5, 1983: Following another brief stretch of hard climbing, I reached the crest of Franconia Ridge. The rugged climbs continued as I followed the ridge crest over Haystack Mountain, Mount Lincoln, and Mount Lafayette.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors #landscapephotography #NewHampshire #nature #mountains #forest #AppalachianTrail

Mar 13 at 5:15pmWeb
Show threadGeorge Steffanos4d ago
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For the entire distance from Little Haystack to Lafayette’s north summit, the trail remained above tree line and the ridge was open and alpine. The views remained virtually nonexistent today, hidden behind a thick haze. Nevertheless, those two-and-a-half barren miles were pleasant to hike. Alpine vegetation provided an alien touch to the setting, and the exposure of the ridge allowed me the full benefit of the refreshing 15-30 mile per hour winds cranking past the summits.
Show threadGeorge Steffanos4d ago

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I passed my last fellow hikers of the day on the 5249-foot summit of Mount Lafayette, the loftiest peak in this section. The haze was microscopically thinner up there, and I could pick out the ghostly visions of Mount Lincoln and Lafayette’s north summit, as well as Greenleaf Hut.

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Large hawks were circling just below the north peak of Lafayette as I descended towards it from the main summit, battling the gusty winds.

Show threadGeorge Steffanos4d ago

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It was a haunting sight and a fitting farewell to the long, narrow, open ridge crest. Just past the north peak, the Appalachian Trail began an endless, steep descent from Franconia Ridge, soon reentering the forest.

More of My 1983 Appalachian Trail Hike in Photos at https://www.georgesteffanos.com/places-i-ve-been

Places I've Been | Then The Hail Came George Steffanos

My 1983 Appalachian Trail Hike in Photos. There are around 750-800 photos here scanned from my 1983 slides. I believe this to be one of the oldest thru-hikes on the Internet to be documented in photos and words to this extent.

Show threadGeorge Steffanos4d ago
Note: I'm finally starting to work on my hiking blog for my aborted August hike. I'll have a link soon. A hard fall on the steep descent from Jug End did some damage to my right shoulder. I'll be fine eventually, but it did cut short my plans for a 6-week hike after 1 great week. I'm disappointed, but I learned a lot for the next hike. I have lots of great pics and some stories to share. This will put off my sequel AT hike until 2027, but there will be new hikes next year.