Crawford Path Blazing

This past Saturday was the second time within the last two months that I've gone up the Crawford Path from Crawford Notch in winter conditions to do Mt. Eisenshower and found the path veering off uphill after the Mizpah Cut-Off. There were also some other herd paths from other people meandering around looking for the 'real' path. Very frustrating as I had to bushwhack to Pierce and then hook-up with the Crawford Path on the ascent to Mt. Eisenhower.

On the descent, I observed there is not one single blaze on this trail. I've found on most trails there are blazes. Why not this one? It would be great if the Forest Service, who maintains this trail according to the AMC guidebook, could grab some paint! Isn't that why I am paying the parking fees?

RollingRock said:

Why not this one? It would be great if the Forest Service, who maintains this trail according to the AMC guidebook, could grab some paint! Isn't that why I am paying the parking fees?

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Have you reported your concerns to the rangers? That would appear to be the first step to take.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain/contact/

I haven't noticed a problem on that section of trail recently myself, but I haven't done it after fresh snow.

Rolling Rock- you’re not alone re: your blaze question- I was up Crawford to Pierce on late Saturday AM and met 2 people coming down complaining about the lack of blazes- we stopped to talk, they asked me about blazes and directions, I looked around for blazes and realized I had not seen any- I had no explanation other than it is a very well traveled trail and perhaps it was low on the blaze priority list.

At about 3700 feet, to the right, I think I saw the beginning of your whack and followed it for a bit, (it was pretty much due east towards the Webster Cliff trail and I thought the route was taking a more direct line to Pierce)- after a while it began to veer more south of Pierce to avoid some thicker scrub/fir and I decided to go back to Crawford Path, which also did a bit of wandering to the summit.

Turned out to be a very nice day with some sun and lots of snow, slush, mud and puddles- classic mud season

David Metsky said:

Have you reported your concerns to the rangers? That would appear to be the first step to take.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain/contact/

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Thanks. I just contacted them.

The blazing in the whites is predominately intended for non snow season use. There is really no need to blaze this area during non snow conditions as the trail bed is deliniated well with rock and eventually has some scree walls to further deliniate the path . Alternatively the blazes are painted on the rocks as the trees in that area are in the alpine zone and would not be very effective for blazing. There is great temptation along this section to "cut off the corner" and head uphill too early during winter conditions. usually due to the typical significant change in exposure thay occurs in this section. I dont see where more blazes would stop this especially given variable snow depths.

In general it should be expected that hiking in snow conditions adds a higher level of responsibility to the hiker for route navigation. In my opinion that adds some of the interest in snow season hiking and I would not support trying to install extensive additional blazing adequate to account for travel with snow. Even if there was extensive blazing, the temptation to cut the corner will always be there, leading to boot leg routes that rapidly can turn into the main route in snow season.

A couple of my standard winter observations is that just because the trail looks broken out, does not mean that it neccessarilly is going where you think it is and when someone takes the wrong turn, they generally backtrack the way they came making the wrong turn look like the "right" turn as the wrong turn gets twice as much traffic.. Throw in the high use of this trail by novice hikers and large groups, I expect its easy for the beaten out track to become what looks like a trail even though it has diverged significantly from the actual trail.

peakbagger said:

The blazing in the whites is predominately intended for non snow season use. There is really no need to blaze this area during non snow conditions as the trail bed is deliniated well with rock and eventually has some scree walls to further deliniate the path . Alternatively the blazes are painted on the rocks as the trees in that area are in the alpine zone and would not be very effective for blazing. There is great temptation along this section to "cut off the corner" and head uphill too early during winter conditions. usually due to the typical significant change in exposure thay occurs in this section. I dont see where more blazes would stop this especially given variable snow depths.

In general it should be expected that hiking in snow conditions adds a higher level of responsibility to the hiker for route navigation. In my opinion that adds some of the interest in snow season hiking and I would not support trying to install extensive additional blazing adequate to account for travel with snow. Even if there was extensive blazing, the temptation to cut the corner will always be there, leading to boot leg routes that rapidly can turn into the main route in snow season.

A couple of my standard winter observations is that just because the trail looks broken out, does not mean that it neccessarilly is going where you think it is and when someone takes the wrong turn, they generally backtrack the way they came making the wrong turn look like the "right" turn as the wrong turn gets twice as much traffic.. Throw in the high use of this trail by novice hikers and large groups, I expect its easy for the beaten out track to become what looks like a trail even though it has diverged significantly from the actual trail.

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I agree wholeheartedly with Peakbagger Dennis.... especially with the deep snow this winter, a lot of the higher blazes were covered and people made their own routes. We can't always expect that whenever you go in the woods, especially when there is snow on the ground that everything will be easy, obvious or even make sense.

Can we have no challenges -- even simple ones like route finding in the snow -- anymore in our society? Are we really that pathetic? FWIW, route finding these days is especially easy if you have a GPS and know how to use it. At this point blazes are becoming quaint anyway.

-Dr. Wu

The re-entry point into tree line on the shoulder of Pierce/Clinton is often difficult to find in winter conditions, and has led to at least one fatality IRRC. It would be very difficult to keep marked, short of attaching those type of flourescent wands to trees which ski areas use, as has occasionally been done on the winter Lion's Head trail. That section was brushed out a few years ago, so I haven't noticed too many complaints, at least on this board, recently - up until now.

Perhaps the erection of one or more large rock cairns, such as has been done on the Glencliff trail would help mark this "entrance/exit". There can be a fine line between maintaining a degree of safety vs. route-finding and self-reliance.

I also turned back on Saturday after following snowshoe tracks that were obviously veering too far to the south. I later met the two hikers (and their dog) who said that they had never found the summit and had bushwhacked down to Mizpah and headed back.

I had been up earlier to Mizpah to retreive my trail maintenance tools that were locked in the basement all winter after I missed the hut's fall closing (I maintain the Mt Clinton Trail). The Crawford Path to the Mizpah Cutoff was no problem, and neither was the Cutoff, although I think it wasn't exactly on track all the time either. I never noticed the junction with the Webster Cliff Trail to the south toward Jackson.

I did see one old blaze on the Crawford Path below the Cutoff. A group of several people from Pennsylvania are the trail adopters for the Crawford Path, and I know they are pretty thorough brushing, removing downed trees, and cleaning waterbars. I don't know about their blazing work, but I'm sure at least some of the blazes were below the snow level.

I heard from Steve Smith that the route to Pierce had been veering too far south all winter, but I think the last deep snowfall buried any traces of the former route. Heading back down from about 3900 feet, I could not tell the point at which Saturday's route veered away from the true route, but I suspect that it was not that far from the Cutoff junction.

The snow was particularly soft and difficult on Saturday, with very little traction, even with snowshoes. I think that the latest snowfall didn't adhere well to the layer below it.

Anyway, after one too many slips and close encounters near tree wells, I was ready to call it quits. On my way down, I met a group of 6 hikers who decided to continue up following the same snowshoe tracks I had followed. I wonder whether they eventually made it.

Here's a couple of pictures of snow conditions up there on Saturday: one is a picture of the Mizpah Cutoff, the other is the front door of Mizpah Hut.

Kevin Rooney said:

Perhaps the erection of one or more large rock cairns, such as has been done on the Glencliff trail would help mark this "entrance/exit". There can be a fine line between maintaining a degree of safety vs. route-finding and self-reliance.

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I agree completely! Upon reading these comments and given that this "entrance/exit" appears to be crux of this issue, I think this would be the best solution.

peakbagger said:

The blazing in the whites is predominately intended for non snow season use. There is really no need to blaze this area during non snow conditions as the trail bed is delineated well with rock and eventually has some scree walls to further delineate the path . Alternatively the blazes are painted on the rocks as the trees in that area are in the alpine zone and would not be very effective for blazing. There is great temptation along this section to "cut off the corner" and head uphill too early during winter conditions. usually due to the typical significant change in exposure that occurs in this section. I don't see where more blazes would stop this especially given variable snow depths.

In general it should be expected that hiking in snow conditions adds a higher level of responsibility to the hiker for route navigation. In my opinion that adds some of the interest in snow season hiking and I would not support trying to install extensive additional blazing adequate to account for travel with snow. Even if there was extensive blazing, the temptation to cut the corner will always be there, leading to boot leg routes that rapidly can turn into the main route in snow season.

A couple of my standard winter observations is that just because the trail looks broken out, does not mean that it necessarily is going where you think it is and when someone takes the wrong turn, they generally backtrack the way they came making the wrong turn look like the "right" turn as the wrong turn gets twice as much traffic.. Throw in the high use of this trail by novice hikers and large groups, I expect its easy for the beaten out track to become what looks like a trail even though it has diverged significantly from the actual trail.

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Very well said...thank you!

My opinion will be biased because I know the Crawford path very well, but this happens almost every year. To be honest its not that hard to stay on the right path because it really follows the correct line. I remember one year, running into an AMC guided hike about halfway up from the mizpah cutoff sure enough the leader started veering right into the bush. I commented from the back that he was not taking the right line and was leaving the trail, to which he replied " Im with the AMC I know what Im doing" I continued on the right trail to Pierce then Eike, never to see them again. As far as the reentry from above, when you get to the junction the tendency is to go to far right and you miss the narrow opening into the path, there is a flat shelf of rock here and would be perfect for a monster cairn.

sierra said:

" Im with the AMC I know what Im doing" I continued on the right trail to Pierce then Eike, never to see them again.

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Too funny!

peakbagger-paul said:

I heard from Steve Smith that the route to Pierce had been veering too far south all winter, but I think the last deep snowfall buried any traces of the former route.

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The route to Pierce this winter has been in pretty good shape and followed the actual Crawford Path until late February.

At that time, a snowstorm dumped enough snow that it filled in the packed trail north of the Mizpah Cutoff.

After that, folks pretty much just made their own trail(s) from the there to the summit (you can follow the evolution of this by reading the trail conditions reports on New England Trail Conditions, beginning around February 21).

The same sort of thing happened over on the Valley Way in late March with the final half-mile below the hut. After a heavy snowfall, a bootleg trail was created that followed the Snyder Brook drainage (instead of tracking the edge of the drainage, just to the west of the brook). That's the "trail" that's been in use for the past month.

This happens every winter and often depends on who breaks trail after a heavy snowfall and their familiarity with the trail -- with blazes typically buried in snow.

sierra said:

As far as the reentry from above, when you get to the junction the tendency is to go to far right and you miss the narrow opening into the path, there is a flat shelf of rock here and would be perfect for a monster cairn.

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Next time I go up in June, you will see a monster cairn there built by me and friends if nobody has gotten to it first.

RollingRock said:

Next time I go up in June, you will see a monster cairn there built by me and friends if nobody has gotten to it first.

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An excellent idea, but before you do that - you should probably get the go-ahead from the USFS district office with jurisdiction for that particular trail. Otherwise, you might find the cairn which you and your buds built knocked down. They (the USFS) might defer to the AMC as I think the Crawford Path maintenance is a shared responsibility, but it's a good starting point.

RollingRock said:

Next time I go up in June, you will see a monster cairn there built by me and friends if nobody has gotten to it first.

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I think kevin's right and that thought occurred to me after my posting of the cairn building. I would hope it would be ok, one more thought if you get the green light. I would do your best to use rocks that are off trail and that do not have lichen (sp) of any degree on them, as well as being carefull not to tear up the tundra removing rocks for the cairn, this is alpine terrain we are talking about.
p.s. if you get the permission and post the date, I would be glad to help as this path is one of my favorites.

Please don't build unauthorized cairns. Please check with the rangers before doing any trail work besides simple blowdown clearing.

My experience matches the insights posted so far:
1) We blaze for snowless conditions. Hikers in winter must expect blazes to be obscured, and take the according mental precautions.
2) Any changes to a trail must be approved by the land manager. Period.
3) I have observed hiker behavior on Mt Cardigan for 25 years. I totally agree that there must be prominent marking where the trail enters the woods. It can be a cairn, painted blaze board lashed to a tree, oversize blaze. The point is it must be seen by hikers wandering the wide open spaces seeking the trail, and it must be seen at far greater distances than is usual in the woods, so it has to be bigger than usual. It is like a lighthouse at the end of a jetty that guides vessels to harbor. There may be buoys (cairns) to seaward to show the channel, but they cannot be seen very far. A taller structure is noticable at a distance, and I have always contended that the place where you enter the woods, and relative safety from wild weather, requires an unmistakable landmark.
Craig Sanborn, Cardigan Highlanders