BIGEarl
Well-known member
July 9, 2009: Crawford Notch Loop – Supersize Me!
Trails: Crawford Path, Webster Cliff Trail, Ethan Pond Trail, Willey Range Trail, A-Z Trail, Avalon Trail
Summits: Eisenhower, Pierce, Jackson, Webster, Willey, Field, Tom
Distance – Elevation: 22.4 miles, 8857 feet
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me.
Sue and I met at the Exit 6 Park & Ride a little earlier than normal for this one. We knew it would be a full day before we were done. The forecast for the day was a great one with mostly sunny conditions, a light breeze, and mild temperature. After a quick stop at the Highland Center we headed to the trailhead lot for the Crawford Path and got started.
Our first target for the day was Mount Eisenhower. We made our way up Crawford Path on a relatively dry trail all the way to the junction with the Webster Cliff Trail. A short distance before reaching the junction we were treated to some terrific views north and west with large areas of undercast and bright sun. It looked like the forecast was playing out as expected. We stopped for some pictures and continued north to Eisenhower. As we made our way through the areas of scrub and mud pits some clouds moved in. Eventually the area was completely socked in with clouds. Hopefully they would blow out as fast as they came in. We reached the Eisenhower Loop and headed for the summit. Along the way we came to the first new ladder that is part of a project on the trail. A few short ladders have been added to this trail along with a large amount of erosion control. A few weeks ago when we hiked a Presi Traverse there were only a few large piles of logs next to the trial. Nice work! We hit the summit, no views, got a couple pictures, and headed back south to the Webster Cliff Trail and Mount Pierce.
Along the way south we met a large number of others headed north. It seemed they were generally coming from Mizpah Hut. One or two AT through hikers were in the mix. We stopped to visit with a couple small groups but were quickly on our way. As we hiked back to the Webster Cliff Trail it looked like the clouds were breaking up and sunny conditions were returning. That wasn’t the case.We reached the summit of Pierce, got a couple pictures, and continued on to the Mizpah Hut for a quick break and to top off our water supply. We found the day’s weather forecast published by the M.W. Observatory posted and it wasn’t close (sometimes they guess right).
Break done we set off for our next target – Jackson. The mud became more significant on the trail from the hut to Jackson. Most of it was easy to pass but we did run into one significant problem along the way. A work project in underway to re-build the bridges in the bog area north of Jackson. A couple sections are either missing or deep under mud. We came to a place where it was necessary to abandon the trail and take a short bushwhack to avoid going in deep. We worked the area east of the bridges and were able to make our way around the bog and re-join the trail after the problem. This trail is probably best to avoid until the work is done. A notice should be posted at Mizpah concerning this trail – there may be one that we didn’t see. Soon we were standing on Jackson with some nice views under the cloud cover. Pierce, Eisenhower, and points north were in the clouds.
Next stop – lunch on Webster. The hike to Webster from Jackson is a very long 1.4 miles. There are some difficult scrambles on wet ledge and lots of mud. We carefully made our way through this section but Sue managed to injure her knee along the way. She said it would be okay and decided to “just walk it off”. We met quite a few hikers in this section. Arriving at Webster we found the clouds hanging on the summits of the Willey Range – our afternoon entertainment. Sue found a nice open ledge for our picnic and we got comfortable. There we sat at the edge of the cliff enjoying lunch. Across the notch in front of us was the Willey Range – specifically Mount Willey. A little over 2600 feet below us was Route 302 and Willey House (they were having a quiet day at the ice cream stand). As we had our lunch I could help but think about the climb down (2635 feet) and then back up (3010 feet) that we were about to put ourselves through. This was certainly an interesting way to help your lunch settle.
Down we hiked without any major problems. There are two blowdowns on the Webster Cliff Trail that were not there a few weeks ago on our earlier hike. One is at ~3200 feet, roughly 6 inches in diameter, and fully blocks the trail. The other is a new tree that has come down in the area of the recent landslide – relatively easy to pass but should be removed.
We reached the Webster Cliff trailhead, Sue changed to fresh socks, and we crossed Route 302 and headed for Mount Willey. While crossing the street we had a very nice view of Mount Willey and the climb that waited ahead. I’ve never hiked the Willey Range from the south. It is probably less unpleasant on fresh legs. The first part of the climb was the road that leads to the Ethan Pond Trailhead, then a generally straight climb to the elevation where the trail turns north and the rate of climb eases up for a while. After climbing nearly 700 feet we were finally at the elevation where we would end our hike but first we needed to climb over the Willey Range. We continued the climb on the Ethan Pond Trail, made the turn to the north, and worked our way to the junction with the Willey Range Trail.
The Willey Range Trail from the south generally goes straight up. The first section is moderately steep but with good footing. Then, it gets really steep but there are ladders to assist in the climb over sections of ledge. Finally, back on “normal” trail to the summit. The Willey Range Trail from the junction with Ethan Pond Trail to the summit of Mount Willey is only 1.1 miles but gains 1600 feet along the way. That’s a good climb, especially late in the day. We both knew that once we were on Mount Willey our work for the day would be generally done. Slowly, we made our way up stopping as needed along the way. We were able to actually move at a good pace and reached the summit a little earlier than planned. We made a quick visit to the viewpoint for pictures of our morning targets and to enjoy the area views and were quickly back in the hike to Mount Field.
The hike north on the Willey Range Trail is generally the same as other areas; lots of mud everywhere. We made our way over Mount Field with a quick stop for summit pictures and a few from the viewpoint near the summit. Then, off to Mount Tom, our final target for the day. We reached the Mount Tom Spur, made the turn and kept moving to the summit. By now it’s pretty late in the day. We hit the summit for the usual pictures and packed a few things away for the hike out. We also pulled out the headlights since darkness was coming fast. A short distance below the summit we turned on the headlights and quietly hiked to our exit.
The hike out was uneventful and relatively quick. We basically went non-stop to the trailhead, hit the highway, and completed the short road walk to the trailhead lot on Mt. Clinton Road for the Crawford Path. It didn’t take long to pack things away, change into a dry shirt, make a quick stop at the Highland Center, and hit the road south.
That was a really fun hike. I’m looking forward to our next one.
Pictures will follow.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Crawford Path, Webster Cliff Trail, Ethan Pond Trail, Willey Range Trail, A-Z Trail, Avalon Trail
Summits: Eisenhower, Pierce, Jackson, Webster, Willey, Field, Tom
Distance – Elevation: 22.4 miles, 8857 feet
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me.
Sue and I met at the Exit 6 Park & Ride a little earlier than normal for this one. We knew it would be a full day before we were done. The forecast for the day was a great one with mostly sunny conditions, a light breeze, and mild temperature. After a quick stop at the Highland Center we headed to the trailhead lot for the Crawford Path and got started.
Our first target for the day was Mount Eisenhower. We made our way up Crawford Path on a relatively dry trail all the way to the junction with the Webster Cliff Trail. A short distance before reaching the junction we were treated to some terrific views north and west with large areas of undercast and bright sun. It looked like the forecast was playing out as expected. We stopped for some pictures and continued north to Eisenhower. As we made our way through the areas of scrub and mud pits some clouds moved in. Eventually the area was completely socked in with clouds. Hopefully they would blow out as fast as they came in. We reached the Eisenhower Loop and headed for the summit. Along the way we came to the first new ladder that is part of a project on the trail. A few short ladders have been added to this trail along with a large amount of erosion control. A few weeks ago when we hiked a Presi Traverse there were only a few large piles of logs next to the trial. Nice work! We hit the summit, no views, got a couple pictures, and headed back south to the Webster Cliff Trail and Mount Pierce.
Along the way south we met a large number of others headed north. It seemed they were generally coming from Mizpah Hut. One or two AT through hikers were in the mix. We stopped to visit with a couple small groups but were quickly on our way. As we hiked back to the Webster Cliff Trail it looked like the clouds were breaking up and sunny conditions were returning. That wasn’t the case.We reached the summit of Pierce, got a couple pictures, and continued on to the Mizpah Hut for a quick break and to top off our water supply. We found the day’s weather forecast published by the M.W. Observatory posted and it wasn’t close (sometimes they guess right).
Break done we set off for our next target – Jackson. The mud became more significant on the trail from the hut to Jackson. Most of it was easy to pass but we did run into one significant problem along the way. A work project in underway to re-build the bridges in the bog area north of Jackson. A couple sections are either missing or deep under mud. We came to a place where it was necessary to abandon the trail and take a short bushwhack to avoid going in deep. We worked the area east of the bridges and were able to make our way around the bog and re-join the trail after the problem. This trail is probably best to avoid until the work is done. A notice should be posted at Mizpah concerning this trail – there may be one that we didn’t see. Soon we were standing on Jackson with some nice views under the cloud cover. Pierce, Eisenhower, and points north were in the clouds.
Next stop – lunch on Webster. The hike to Webster from Jackson is a very long 1.4 miles. There are some difficult scrambles on wet ledge and lots of mud. We carefully made our way through this section but Sue managed to injure her knee along the way. She said it would be okay and decided to “just walk it off”. We met quite a few hikers in this section. Arriving at Webster we found the clouds hanging on the summits of the Willey Range – our afternoon entertainment. Sue found a nice open ledge for our picnic and we got comfortable. There we sat at the edge of the cliff enjoying lunch. Across the notch in front of us was the Willey Range – specifically Mount Willey. A little over 2600 feet below us was Route 302 and Willey House (they were having a quiet day at the ice cream stand). As we had our lunch I could help but think about the climb down (2635 feet) and then back up (3010 feet) that we were about to put ourselves through. This was certainly an interesting way to help your lunch settle.
Down we hiked without any major problems. There are two blowdowns on the Webster Cliff Trail that were not there a few weeks ago on our earlier hike. One is at ~3200 feet, roughly 6 inches in diameter, and fully blocks the trail. The other is a new tree that has come down in the area of the recent landslide – relatively easy to pass but should be removed.
We reached the Webster Cliff trailhead, Sue changed to fresh socks, and we crossed Route 302 and headed for Mount Willey. While crossing the street we had a very nice view of Mount Willey and the climb that waited ahead. I’ve never hiked the Willey Range from the south. It is probably less unpleasant on fresh legs. The first part of the climb was the road that leads to the Ethan Pond Trailhead, then a generally straight climb to the elevation where the trail turns north and the rate of climb eases up for a while. After climbing nearly 700 feet we were finally at the elevation where we would end our hike but first we needed to climb over the Willey Range. We continued the climb on the Ethan Pond Trail, made the turn to the north, and worked our way to the junction with the Willey Range Trail.
The Willey Range Trail from the south generally goes straight up. The first section is moderately steep but with good footing. Then, it gets really steep but there are ladders to assist in the climb over sections of ledge. Finally, back on “normal” trail to the summit. The Willey Range Trail from the junction with Ethan Pond Trail to the summit of Mount Willey is only 1.1 miles but gains 1600 feet along the way. That’s a good climb, especially late in the day. We both knew that once we were on Mount Willey our work for the day would be generally done. Slowly, we made our way up stopping as needed along the way. We were able to actually move at a good pace and reached the summit a little earlier than planned. We made a quick visit to the viewpoint for pictures of our morning targets and to enjoy the area views and were quickly back in the hike to Mount Field.
The hike north on the Willey Range Trail is generally the same as other areas; lots of mud everywhere. We made our way over Mount Field with a quick stop for summit pictures and a few from the viewpoint near the summit. Then, off to Mount Tom, our final target for the day. We reached the Mount Tom Spur, made the turn and kept moving to the summit. By now it’s pretty late in the day. We hit the summit for the usual pictures and packed a few things away for the hike out. We also pulled out the headlights since darkness was coming fast. A short distance below the summit we turned on the headlights and quietly hiked to our exit.
The hike out was uneventful and relatively quick. We basically went non-stop to the trailhead, hit the highway, and completed the short road walk to the trailhead lot on Mt. Clinton Road for the Crawford Path. It didn’t take long to pack things away, change into a dry shirt, make a quick stop at the Highland Center, and hit the road south.
That was a really fun hike. I’m looking forward to our next one.
Pictures will follow.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
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