Ladder on the Blueberry Ledge trail to Whiteface.

[Trail Bandit]

Does anybody what happened to the :ladder" on the steepish patch of ledge on the Blueberry Ledge Trail, near the top of Mt. Whiteface. If it was removed on purpose, who and why? it is a great trail but some people are turned back by that short section. It wouldn't be all that much fun coming down on a rainy day.

 

[RoySwkr]

Does anybody what happened to the :ladder" on the steepish patch of ledge on the Blueberry Ledge Trail, near the top of Mt. Whiteface. If it was removed on purpose, who and why?

IIRC, it was sections of wood attached to the rock by pins and was thought to be unsightly in Wilderness. PS can probably tell you more.

 

[walker]

A Long Time Gone

Going back as far as the 27th edition of the WMG (I'm to lazy to dig through the back of my closest for earlier editions) state the ladder "has been removed". This edition came out in 2003, so they were removed more then 10 years ago.

It might have something to do with the high maintenance involved. Years of winter weather will take their toll.

This trail is managed by the Wonalancet Out Door Club. I'm sure their time and trail crews are limited. All I know is they do one hell of a job keeping the Sandwich Range one of the best areas in the Whites!

See you on the Trail....Scrambling up them ledges.......Walker

 

[psmart]

Yes, it was a set of wooden steps that were pinned to the rock. As they started to become unsafe due to rot, the FS decided to remove the remaining steps rather than replacing them. It was felt that the steps were not essential for safety or resource protection, and that there were several other points on the trail that were just as challenging.

 

[Trail Bandit]

Who would someone contact to try and have the set of steps replaced? I know that steps could be made out of steel such as on the Precipice trail in Arcadia , but that is perhaps too much for this location. I enjoy friction hiking (just stand up) but many are afraid to try it and succumb to the urge to lean forward and lean on their hands. . The Blueberry Ledge trail is a great hike and the massive amount of work done to build all those stairs is a great addition. Perhaps the ladder could be rebuilt for the non friction hikers and for all of us when it rains on the way down. I would be glad to take on the job.
Any suggestions as to who to contact would be appreciated.

 

[MichaelJ]

I went up that in the rain. I was not happy. Even a single pin restored to one of those holes would be adequate - a hand grip and foot step as you move up (or down). But one could argue I should have been smarter than to try to navigate all that open rock ledge solo in the pouring rain.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

You could try:

Tom Wagner
Forest Supervisor
71 White Mountain Drive
Campton NH 03223

I suspect that Wilderness rules will preclude anyone from restoring the steps, volunteer labor or not.

Tim

 

[psmart]

As I recall, the wooden steps were removed about 1994. So they've been gone for a while, and I'm not aware of any serious issues since their removal. It just takes a little more time and care to navigate that section.

As TrailBandit points out, there's been a lot or reconstruction work done on BLT in recent years. Although it certainly makes for a more pleasant hike, the new (rock) work is there primarily to stabilize the trail and protect against erosion.

 

[Irishskier]

Agreed that ladder restoration is highly unlikely. Personally, I only ascend BLT and ideally on dry days. It is an awesome trail.

 

[JCarter]

Agreed that ladder restoration is highly unlikely. Personally, I only ascend BLT and ideally on dry days. It is an awesome trail.

The BLT seems to be the "popular" route, but the McGrillis Trail/Flat Mountain Pond Trail is a really nice route. It is slightly longer distance-wise, but adds probably less than an hour round-trip. And no crowds. When I went with a group early this year, we saw no one until we got to the view ledges at South Whiteface (near the junction with the BLT)

 

[Daniel Eagan]

My wife and I did that route July 5 and had no trouble ascending or descending. The problem might be that the holes left in the rock for the steps veer out pretty far to the right of where you actually want to go. If you stay to the left there is a good route up a rock seam with plenty of handholds. I'm not sure a ladder would fit into that section anyway.

 

[Tom Rankin]

The BLT seems to be the "popular" route, but the McGrillis Trail/Flat Mountain Pond Trail is a really nice route. It is slightly longer distance-wise, but adds probably less than an hour round-trip. And no crowds. When I went with a group early this year, we saw no one until we got to the view ledges at South Whiteface (near the junction with the BLT)

+1 for McGrillis. An excellent trail, in any season. There is one substantial water crossing. A group of 5 of us went up this past Winter and we were actually the first party to arrive at the junction, in spite of the fact that:

a) We had to break some trail,
b) Others had started up the BLT earlier than we started the MT.

Maybe it was the MBP!

So whether it really is longer or not, I'll let you decide...

 

[MichaelJ]

Now I want an MLT.