The plan: set out for Mt Garfield with the idea to summit. Reality, once reaching Galehead Mt we determined that it was better to stop there! I was not prepared for how strenous a 9.6 mile hike could be.
Some pictures shot during the trip.
At the AMC shelter headed towards the Galehead Summit ( On Right) Letting my feet and body breath a little. Especially after slipping and soaking my foot in a stream halfway up!
Crossroads where we chose to head to Galehead instead of Garfield.
The Basin
The beautiful waterfall at the Basin, has at its base, a granite pothole 20 feet in diameter. It is believed to have been eroded 15,000 years ago while the North American ice sheet was melting. It has been smoothed by small stones and sand whirled around by the Pemigewasset River. Below the Basin is a water-eroded rock formation called the Old Man's foot. Henry David Thoreau visited this place in September of 1839. He must of stood right where I did, and wrote that “this pothole is perhaps the most remarkable curiosity of its kind in New England”. Samuel Eastman in his 1858 White Mountain Guide called this spot “One of the beautiful haunts of Nature, a luxurious and delicious bath fit for the ablutions of a goddess”.
I love this swamp!