Another Day another Rescue

[peakbagger]

https://nhfishgame.com/2024/05/10/hikers-needed-to-be-rescued-on-mt-washington/

The trails out of the Great Gulf tend to melt out the latest. Wamsutta Trail faces North and is quite steep. It is going to be full of snow for quite a few more weeks.

 

[skiguy]

Here's the Trail report as of 5/10/24 from The RMC. Great time to be hiking in Southern Regions IMO.

Trail Report as of May 10th

Trails continue to be ever-changing and with the weather we are currently experiencing we recommend to be prepared for all conditions. Recommended gear includes traction and gaiters for the mix of conditions you will encounter.
The spring conditions are in full swing and consisting of type 2 fun.Lower elevations will be wet and muddy with streams running high. Middle elevations will have soft snow of varying depth and collapsing snowbridges. Monorails have became unreliable and post holing is frequent on most trails. Prepare for your hike to taking longer than typical due to difficult conditions. Above treeline there is mostly bare rock, with large snowfields and patches of snow and ice in shaded or well protected areas.
Before this week’s rain water crossings were difficult due to high water from snow melt, after the recent rain it is expected they are just as challenging if not worse. Be aware crossings may be difficult or impassible. Temperatures may be warm in the valley but higher up it is still cold and wet gear can easily cause hypothermia. Temperatures are forecasted to remain below freezing with possible snow and ice accumulations this weekend before trending into warm weather come Monday.
Please note that trail conditions can change very quickly in the Northern Presidentials. The conditions posted on this page may have changed since they were recorded. Always check local forecasts before you leave the trailhead, and be sure to check out the higher summits forecast on the @mwobs webpage

 

[DayTrip]

https://nhfishgame.com/2024/05/10/hikers-needed-to-be-rescued-on-mt-washington/

The trails out of the Great Gulf tend to melt out the latest. Wamsutta Trail faces North and is quite steep. It is going to be full of snow for quite a few more weeks.

Wamsutta is very, very steep and has many pretty tricky scrambles. Love to know more details on this one. Surprised they were escorted up this trail by USFS to get out. Great Gulf must have been in truly awful shape.

 

[sierra]

Wamsutta is very, very steep and has many pretty tricky scrambles. Love to know more details on this one. Surprised they were escorted up this trail by USFS to get out. Great Gulf must have been in truly awful shape.

It is the quickest way out and that's what Fish and Game shoot for. The Wamsutta as you probably know is a damn good haul up the Great Gulf trail and yes, the Great Gulf is most likely a mess. Many years ago, I adopted the Wamsutta trail for a brief time.

 

[DayTrip]

It is the quickest way out and that's what Fish and Game shoot for. The Wamsutta as you probably know is a damn good haul up the Great Gulf trail and yes, the Great Gulf is most likely a mess. Many years ago, I adopted the Wamsutta trail for a brief time.

I guess but man that is not easy, particularly if they weren't seasoned hikers. Just not sure what the hell the group was doing in there to start with. It's 4.5 miles from the GG trailhead to the junction of that trail. Did they go up that way? Descend down it from another route and stop? Puzzled by this one. Looking forward to more details on it.

I love the Wamsutta Trail, especially that section after the steep climb that opens up in scrub and there is a big rock pile that has a slab that makes for a great chair (maybe 4600-ish feet or so) staring right at the Northern Presi's. The approach in along the river in the Great Gulf is awesome as well. Try to get in there at least once every year. Did a phenomenal sunset/moonrise/sunrise hike this Fall going up that trail, cutting across the Alpine Garden in the dark (and some much higher than planned winds), bivied for a bit and watched the moonrise, and doing the sunrise at Lion Head before dropping down into the woods and making the big cruise back to GG trailhead.

 

[sierra]

I guess but man that is not easy, particularly if they weren't seasoned hikers. Just not sure what the hell the group was doing in there to start with. It's 4.5 miles from the GG trailhead to the junction of that trail. Did they go up that way? Descend down it from another route and stop? Puzzled by this one. Looking forward to more details on it.

I love the Wamsutta Trail, especially that section after the steep climb that opens up in scrub and there is a big rock pile that has a slab that makes for a great chair (maybe 4600-ish feet or so) staring right at the Northern Presi's. The approach in along the river in the Great Gulf is awesome as well. Try to get in there at least once every year. Did a phenomenal sunset/moonrise/sunrise hike this Fall going up that trail, cutting across the Alpine Garden in the dark (and some much higher than planned winds), bivied for a bit and watched the moonrise, and doing the sunrise at Lion Head before dropping down into the woods and making the big cruise back to GG trailhead.

It's been many years, since I have gone into the Great Gulf it is a wild place. I once went into the GG in amazing winter conditions to solo the Great Gulf headwall to prepare for big snow climbs in CO. I left Spaulding lake and found the whole headwall covered in Bullet proof snow. Climbed up with two axes, one 70cm and one 50cm using a few narrow gullies off to the right, one of the best climbs I've done in the Whites., no fall zones the whole way up. CO was very similar condition wise on the 14ers until June.