Franconia Ridge Loop

[chrislalmond]

Kanoa King has the FKT, 1h42m18s, November 8, 2017.

(Admin: I have hijacked the original post to add the current FKT & some more info. Note that Chris' links below are now broken, but his time has been superseded several times.)

Men's FKT progression:
Chris Almond, 2h2m36s, 10/19/2011
Michel Caron, 1h54m02s, 2/15/2012
Ryan Welts, 1h53m27s, 6/21/2012
Ben Nephew, 1h45m50s, 6/24/2012
Kevin Tilton, 1h45m13s, 3/25/2014
Ben Nephew, 1h44m25s, 9/20/2014
Kale Poland, 1h43m18s, 7/21/2017
Kanoa King, 1h42m18s, 11/8/2017

Women's FKT: none reported

The Franconia Ridge Loop is a popular, 8+ mile route in the White Mountain National Forest of New Hampshire. It is accessed from Franconia Notch Parkway near the Lafayette Campground. The route goes by the Greenleaf Hut and summits Mt Lafayette (5240'), Mt Lincoln (5089') and Little Haystack (4780') on Franconia Ridge, see map below from sectionhiker.com. The FKT has been held by Michael Caron, Ryan Welts, Kevin Tilton and Ben Nephew, and now stands at 1h42m18s by Kanoa King, November 8, 2017.

Here's the original post by chrislalmond:

"The Franconia Ridge Loop, in the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) as run by the Old Bridle Path to the Franconia Ridge Trail to the Falling Waters Trail, returning on the Old Bridle Path is a classic White Mountain hike or run, arguably one of the most popular in the Franconia Notch section of New Hampshire's White Mountains. The loop distance is measured at 8.9 miles.

I announced my attempt, then followed through with a time of 2 hours 2 minutes 36 seconds. I did the run self-supported.

My records, including a report, are easily accessed here:

Attempt notice: chrislalmond.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/franconia-ridge-loop-fkt-attempt/

Record report: chrislalmond.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/franconia-ridge-loop-fkt/"

[Michel Caron]

Hi Chris,

That's a good time! I ran it few weeks ago and finish it in 2h11m despite having take some video footage on the ridge. I look at your record as an invitation to try to go under the 2h mark. In winter it's little bit faster when the footing is good so I will indicate it if I go under your «summer» record.

Have fun out there

Michel Caron

[denali2x]

Hi,

I made today the «fastest known time» for the Franconia ridge loop. I made it unsupported and you can access my GPS timing here connect.garmin.com/activity/149865079
My time for the loop is 1hour 54minutes 02 seconds. I must say that it's winter time so the hardpack snow make it faster for the descent than in summer. On the other side I get crust snow on the ridge that make running much less enjoyable!

Michel

[ryanwelts]

connect.garmin.com/activity/191487880

Yesterday afternoon despite the HOT weather I was itching for a hard effort so I ran the loop CCW.
I still feel like there is plenty of wiggle room on this one.

[Peter Bakwin]

Looks like Ryan's time was 1h53m27s, an fkt by just 35s!

[bennephew]

I ran the loop CCW starting at the restrooms in 1:45:50. I'd suggest the CCW direction if you like your front teeth. The Falling Waters trail was wet even on a dry day, and it is quite steep.

connect.garmin.com/activity/192379952

[ryanwelts]

And Nephew strikes again!! nice run Ben!

[denali2x]

Wow those are fast times! I was sure that my FKT will not last long if some elite were giving a try to this one. Ben it's funny that the same day you made this record, I was doing the Presi traverse bringing a small paper with your splits times for the traverse. I finally made it in 6h15 that is very good for me but still sounds like a walk in the park compare to your 4h50!!!

[kltilton]

I had some time after work yesterday (March 25, 2014) after scouting out a job in Campton, and the weather and conditions looked good, so I figured I would take a crack at the Franconia Ridge FKT. I have run this loop 2 other times, but didn't push it either time. This time I went light and fast and was able to knock 37 seconds off of Ben's time. I did not announce it before hand and I don't have any pictures, but if anyone doubts my time I'm more than happy to meet up and race :-).

GPS track: www.strava.com/activities/123979888
Little Haystack Split: 50:28
Lafayette: 1:12:30
Total time: 1:45:13

[nutdogrunner]

Does anyone know the fastest known time for a female?

[Charlotte]

My mom and I (me 11 year old) did the hike in 6 hours!!!

[bennephew]

connect.garmin.com/activity/595173723

I ran the loop in 1:44:25 this afternoon. The trails were in great shape, mostly dry, and there was only a slight breeze on the ridge.

[corinnamelanie]

Hi! My am staff and I will be running this loop tomorrow! Hoping to complete it in under 2:30. Will be strava'ing it! Wish us luck.

[spoher7]

Hello guys !
I'm coming to Vermont this weekend from Quebec for holidays. If the conditions are ok, and with a lot of luck, I'll try this loop on Sunday.
Samuël Poher

[Kale Poland]

HI. On Friday, July 21, I went up with Ryan Welts, and we raced this loop. I broke the FKT on that day. It was hotter than hell.

www.strava.com/activities/1095045528/overview