In
My Footsteps
Christopher
Setterlund
Trip
130: Lincoln, New
Hampshire
July 25, 2012
My love affair with the
state of New Hampshire is very well known.
I feel as soon as I cross into it from Massachusetts that I am in an
entirely different world. That feeling
was only amplified when I made a long overdue return to Lincoln in the White
Mountains.
 |
| The view from Kancamagus Pass. |
I say return because
the last time I saw Lincoln was more than twenty years ago and I definitely did
not have the understanding to appreciate what I was seeing. This time I certainly did.
For this trip I decided
to spend the night. I found the perfect
location to call my ‘home base’ in Pemi Cabins on the main strip of Route
3. The Pemigewasset River, where the
‘Pemi’ in Pemi Cabins comes from, runs directly behind the cabins. When I opened the door to my modest
single-room cabin I immediately heard the rushing water through the opened back
door. Each cabin has a screened in back
porch. I took advantage of this by
sitting out and listening to the rushing water well after dark. It was heavenly.
The first place I chose
to visit was the simply awe-inspiring Kancamagus Pass on the historic
Kancamagus Highway. My goal was to run a
section of the highway beginning at the Pass.
Besides being situated in between Lincoln and North Conway ‘The Kanc’ as
it is often called for the vast majority of the route is devoid of food, gas,
and cell phone reception. I was taking a
risk running there but it was well worth it.
 |
| Flapjack's Pancake House |
The views of the White
Mountains are all around you. The
overlook at Kancamagus Pass can easily hold your gaze for hours if you let it. I ran straight downhill until I got to the
cozy Lily Pond. The rocky shore was more
reminiscent of Maine, the pond itself was small but fit the scene with the
towering mountains all around.
Once I had turned
around and run the more difficult uphill slope back to the Pass I stopped to
appreciate the views at a pair of overlooks.
The fact that it was cloudy did not dampen the experience at all. I only saw roughly 1/3 of The Kanc so any
visitor should take their time to see as much of this incredible highway as
possible.
 |
| Looking back down at Flume Gorge. |
Next I went back to a
spot originally visited more than twenty years ago, Flume Gorge in Franconia
Notch State Park. Located only a few
minutes down Rt. 3 the Flume is something that everyone should check out once. Flume Gorge is a natural gorge which extends
800 feet at the base of Mt. Liberty. It
was discovered in 1808 by 93-year old ‘Aunt’ Jess Guernsey who came upon it
accidentally.
You can take a tour bus
from the main visitor’s center out close to the gorge or you can walk the
entire way. I chose to walk. There is a lot more to see in the Flume Woods
than just the Gorge but that is the obvious main attraction. It feels like being in another world as you
come upon the pair of granite cliffs stretching up to ninety-feet high. The walls are anywhere from twelve to twenty
feet apart and the water which runs down either cliff will periodically splash
you.
It is an exhilarating
hike along the wooden walkway with many steps leading you up to the overlook
where you can see down into the gorge.
After that you can choose to head straight back to the visitor’s center
or take a longer route. I took the
longer route. On the longer route you
will see the smaller Liberty Gorge, Sentinel Pine Bridge and The Pool, as well
as the Wolf’s Den which you must crawl through to see. I highly recommend taking the extra thirty
minutes or so to hike the longer trail out of Flume Woods.
Another part of
Franconia Notch State Park which is probably better known that Flume Gorge
actually does not exist anymore. The Old
Man of the Mountain, a face shaped by erosion in the granite of Cannon
Mountain, crashed to the earth in 2003.
I do remember visiting this spot as a child. I was pleasantly surprised when I returned to
find that the Old Man was back, so to speak.
Thanks to some generous
grants and very creative thinking there is now a Profiler Plaza at the base of
Cannon Mountain. There are several steel
‘profilers’ which when you stand on spots according to height actually create a
faux Old Man face in the spot where it would have been. It is difficult to explain, it needs to be
seen to be appreciated. In fact the
entire Profiler Plaza is amazing.
Profile Lake stretches toward the highway with the mountains just on the
other side, the fog and mist of this day combined with the scenery made me feel
as if I was in the film Jurassic Park,
if that makes any sense.
.jpg) |
| With the help of a 'profiler' The Old Man lives again. |
Lincoln is not just
filled with beautiful places to see.
There is also an abundance of delicious places to eat. Loving breakfast the way I do I chose to pay
a visit to Flapjacks located at the
beginning of the Kancamagus Highway. By
the name it is obvious what they are known for.
Now in their seventh
year of operation the atmosphere is very cozy inside Flapjacks with a small counter and many tables facing the
mountains. I could tell right away that
this is a townie place where folks get together daily to chat about life. I enjoyed the atmosphere almost as much as I
enjoyed a full-stack of their well known flapjacks. I went with the regular flapjacks, but there
are some interesting and I’m sure delicious options such as Reese’s Peanut
Butter Cup and Fluffernutter flapjacks.
Those two items alone are reason enough for me to pay Lincoln another
visit soon.
Nestled up in the White
Mountains the small town of Lincoln should be a destination for any
traveler. Whether you like delicious
food in townie restaurants, beautiful scenery, or simply want to escape into
some peace and quiet, Lincoln has all that you need. I know I will be going back that way as soon
as I can. Have fun and happy traveling!
Directions: Kancamagus
Pass: From I-93 N take Exit 32 for
Rt. 112/Kancamagus Highway. Turn left
onto Kancamagus Highway, follow it 13.3 miles to destination on left.
Flume Gorge: From I-93 N take Exit 34A to merge onto Rt. 3,
follow it ½ mile, turn right for Visitor’s Center.
Flapjacks Pancake House: From I-93 N take Exit 32 for Rt.
112/Kancamagus Highway. Turn left onto
Kancamagus Highway, follow it .7 miles to destination on left.
Pemi Cabins: From I-93 N take Exit 33 for N. Woodstock/N.
Lincoln, take a slight right, continue ½ mile to destination on right.
