Arethusa (Water) Falls

The Fat Man and I had intended to climb Arethusa Falls yesterday, but when we reached the parking lot the skies opened up and it poured.  The Weather Channel app said there was 0% chance of precipitation.  If you can't trust the Weather Channel, whom can you trust for your immediate weather needs?  

Limmer Boots

We ended up taking the cog railway up to the summit of Mount Washington.  If you are one of the 5% of people who suffer from acrophobia (fear of heights), use the cost of the ticket ($62) to get a half-hour massage at the Mount Washington Hotel or a combination manicure/pedicure in town.  Trust me on this one.

Limmer boot fitting

Before setting out, we stopped at Limmer and Sons, the custom shoemaker.  The Fat Man ordered a pair of their hand-made boots a little over 12 months ago, but there's a waiting list of 18 months before they even start making your boots.  Today he just had his foot outline traced.  They are expensive (about $800), but that's the cost of having a boot made just for your tootsies.

There is a lower and upper parking lot at the start of the Arethusa Falls trail.  You can save yourself a hump up the hill by parking in the upper lot.  There's an outhouse with a no-frills, open-holed crapper by the lower parking lot.  It was a far cry from the pristine toilets I had grown accustomed to at Mount Willard and The Lincoln Woods Trail.   

Top of Arethusa Falls

Like Black Cap and Mount Willard, the 1,000 foot elevation gain on the Arethusa Falls Trail was steady, but gradual.  There were some sections that were a big step up (if you are under 5'2"), but still doable.

Tree root ankle twisters

Arethusa Falls Trail

Unlike our disappointment with the underwhelming Franconia Falls, Arethusa Falls is a very impressive waterfall.  In fact, at more than 200 feet high, it is the tallest waterfall in New Hampshire.  

Click on the sound file below to hear the powerful falls for yourself.

 
Arethusa Falls by Heidi and The Fat Man
 

Arethusa Falls Trail

You can also click on the Fat Man's Mantra sound file (below) to hear his directive when you are starting to get weary on the trail.  He is quite the taskmaster.

On the trip back, we took the Bemis Brook Trail, which eventually brings you back to the Arethusa Falls Trail.  It was only an extra half mile, but it was a steep descent and the trail was largely covered with exposed root trees.  If you like that kind of thrill, go for it.  While the view of the Fawn Pool was impressive, I would avoid it next time.


Fat Man's Mantra by Heidi and The Fat Man


The gliede (the guidebook that lies) said it was a "pleasant walk," but I have learned that the authors of these guidebooks are seasoned hikers.  What's easy for them is moderate for the Fat Man and I.  Perhaps when we get stronger and lose more weight, we will be able to climb higher and longer.

Speaking of losing weight, today we decided to take pictures of our bellies as a baseline to track our progress.

My belly baseline

The Fat Man's belly baseline

We hope to share much flatter abdomens in the near future.  My goal is to lose 10-15 pounds.  The Fat Man hopes to drop 10 pounds.  As I am writing this he is eating warm apple crisp with Hagen Daz vanilla bean ice cream.  Truth be told, I ate two large pieces of chocolate from the Bavarian Chocolate Haus in North Conway and am feeling somewhat remorseful.

Heidi's rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ What a majestic waterfall!
The Fat Man's rating: 4 Snickers bars

The Green Tunnel

The Fat Man and I decided that it might be in our best interest to pick a hike with minimal elevation.  We wanted a conditioning hike to shore up our thighs and quads, which were still burning from our Sugarloaf Trail expedition.

The Lincoln Woods Trail to Franconia Falls sounded like just the ticket.  Our guidebook said it was an easy but relatively long trail (6.6 miles round trip).  We would also get to see part of the Pemigewassett Wilderness, which in addition to being a fun name to pronounce, is a 45,000-acre federally designated Wilderness area that is part of White Mountain National Forest.  It was saved from being totally denuded (the Fat Man’s fancy word for stripped or made bare) of trees during the logging era of the late 19 ^th and early 20^th centuries. 

I should mention that the ladies room near the parking lot was pristine even by my high standards.  Real flushing toilets and a light pine scent, but go easy on the toilet paper, please.

The hike starts out with a really cool suspension bridge that crosses over to the west bank of the East Branch of the Pemigewassett River.  If more than two people are crossing at the same time, it’s a little bit like an amusement park ride. 

Suspension bridge

Pemigewassett River

For the next 3.6 miles, imagine yourself in a long green tunnel that never seems to end.  You also need to watch out for old railroad ties that are like nature’s speed bumps.  A few mountain bikers whizzed by us, but we did not see them on our return.  Perhaps they hit one of the ties and were hurtled off their bikes into the woods, never to be seen again?

The Fat Man was feeling particularly chipper and barreled ahead of me like a bunny rabbit in heat until he was as small as an eye of a needle in my sight.  I was tempted to blow my whistle, just to see if he could hear me if I had a heart attack or a stroke, but I knew he would be angry at me for sounding a false alarm (by the way, you should always carry a whistle when you hike.  You can blow a lot longer than you can scream). 

We finally met up by a stone bridge and ascended up a narrow, windy trail that ran next to the beginning of what we thought were the falls.  It was 0.4 miles to our final destination and a delightful lunch of turkey breast and Swiss cheese with honey mustard on a whole-wheat tortilla.

Pemigewassett River

We were abruptly met with a sign that read “trail end.”  "What the f***!  Where's the f***ing waterfall!" cried the Fat Man.  "How can you just end a trail?"  Where were the promised falls?  Yes, there was a river of water cascading over some large rocks, but no majestic waterfall. 

If we had consulted dictionary.com that morning, we would have known that the word “falls” means to drop or descend under the force of gravity.  It does not constitute a high, rushing waterfall (at least not in New Hampshire). 

 Our bad for having such an expectation.

We ate our lunch and proceeded back through the long, green tunnel.  The Fat Man was walking with a little less pep in his step.  By the end of the trail, I was never so happy to see Horace the Honda, our car.

Heidi’s rating: ★ because of the monotony of the trail and the anticlimactic finale, but another ★ for the extended workout.

The Fat Man’s rating: a 4-fart trail.