Easy one nighter in New England?

Hrmm well that could work. Start at the Lincoln Woods Trailhead and move counter clockwise to Guyot.

Second day, go form there up the Twins and Garfield to the Garfield shelter. Looks like less distance, but more elevation so that works.

Third day allll the way down the Franconia Ridge back home. It'd be higher mileage, but I'm guessing its a fairly downhill run along the ridge. Is that true?

Lincoln woods trail is closed during the week to fix the washout.

"The Lincoln Woods Trail will close at 7 a.m. each Monday and reopen on each Friday at 5:30 p.m."

garfield is probably the hardest on the loop.. s. twin is next..

here's the garmin profile of it clockwise.. so think of it backwards. (not mine.. this is a trail runners) and ignore the flat bits on either end since thats the lincoln woods part.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/49930270

this is the view from Lafayette down the southern part of Franconia. generally downhill but still ups and downs.

I don't have the the AMC Guide with me as most of my belongings are in boxes (yay moving), but I can take a stab…

If you start at Lincoln Woods, the first 4-5 miles will be very easy walking (rail trail) and you'll make good time. Then Bondcliff Trail is ~7 miles with a climb up to the ridge. So that's an 11-12 mile day total.

From Guyot to Garfield shouldn't be a killer–I think about 6 or 7 miles? That will leave you with a significantly longer third day (I think 14+ miles?).

Consider starting at Lincoln Woods but going clockwise to Liberty Springs the first night (~7 miles; though you will have to hike down off the ridge to get to Liberty and then back up the ridge next a.m.); Guyot the second night (this would put your long day in the middle; ~14 miles). Then your last day would be Guyot back to the trailhead, so it'd be mostly downhill and then flat–and might leave you a bit less wiped out for the drive home.

Don't take those mileages as gospel; I'm working off the top of my head… :)

Ah, major bummer that Lincoln Woods is closed. By closed its like REALLY closed? How do the workers get to and from? :P

Well i could do the same loop, just start and stop elsewhere. What is the stretch from Liberty Springs to Guyot (south loop) like? That could be a day combined with LS to Garfield and Garfield to Guyot.

I subscribed to the White Mountain Guide Online, but it's blocked at work. I'll have to do more digging when I get home.

Thanks a lot for all your help, guys and gals!

Eh, scratch the plan above. the southern half of the loop is 18 miles. I don't think i could hack that on day 3.

EDIT: Ok got a plan.

Day 1: Lafayette Campground up and around Garfield and down to 13 Falls Tentsite. 11 miles, ~ 8 hours. Start at 8am, arrive at 4pm.

Day 2: 13 Falls around down to Liberty Springs Tentsite. 13 miles, ~8 hours. The tough part will be the uphills at the end. Leave at 7am, arrive by 3PM.

Day 3: Liberty Springs up to Lafayette and down to the parking lot. 8 miles, ~5 hours. Leave by 7am, arrive at noon. Easy half day for the last day.

I think these are slightly ambitious miles for me for consecutive days, but I do have a lot of time. Slow and steady

I executed the above plan. It was a little ambitious mileagewise I think. It was rough going at times, but pushed through and got to where I was going. A great trip! I'll post details in the Post Report section.

Thanks a lot for all the help provided!

Did you survive? ;)