Lafayette(5260'), Lincoln (5089'), Haystack (4840') (Climb 2)

 Jacqueline and I used this one as a warm-up for the presi-traverse in a few weeks.

We drove up from Norwood and parking was full at the trailhead. We used the park-service shuttle from Canon which was pretty efficient but still cut into our start time a bit. We hit the trail around 9 AM with a LOT of other people.

I barely hike in the summer season anymore and this was a good reminder why. I knew it would by busy but this trail was too crowded. For the 7+ hours we were out, there was no time when I couldn't see at least 4-5 other people. Even in the most remote and narrowest parts of the trail.

It was hot and humid at the start but cooled off a bit when we neared the Haystack summit. We grabbed some food there and blew past the Lincoln summit going straight to Lafayette for a break.

From there we headed down old bridle path stopping briefly at the Greenleaf hut on our way down. Views were beautiful and it was a nice day out despite the crowds. Jacqueline checked off #5 and #6 on the 4,000 footer list.

We stayed in Woodstock and made our way back on Sunday AM.

I ended up lucking out and getting a picture from a similar vantage point as when I hiked Lafayette in December. With windchill it was -30 degrees that day, so it was over 100 degrees warmer at the top today.