B
Barkingcat
Guest
Mt. Eisenhower and Mt. Monroe (with Little Monroe), via Edmands Path, Crawford Path, Mt. Eisenhower Loop and Mt. Monroe Loop
Date of Hike: Sunday, November 2
Trail Conditions: Patches of ice beginning at about 2500 feet, turning to several inches of packed snow and ice by 3500 feet. In some spots at higher elevations on the Edmands Path prior to where it intersects with the Crawford Path, there are large ice pools to navigate. Higher up, nearer to Mt. Monroe, the Crawford Path is covered with several inches of packed snow and ice. In some areas (in particular on Mt. Monroe loop), snow has drifted to two to three feet.
The only "water crossing" of note is where the path goes over Mt. Pleasant Brook, on the ledge about a half mile from the upper end of the path -- the brook is almost completely frozen (with a nice frozen waterfall!) and the ledge is covered in several inches of ice.
Special Equipment Required: Stabilicers or Microspikes are recommended for the ice patches on the upper elevations. For a few minutes here and there when postholing in snow drifts, I wish I had brought snowshoes.
Comments: Incredible views all day -- nearly-cloudless blue skies as a backdrop for the snow-covered peaks of Mt. Washington and the southern Presis. Gusty winds near Eisenhower early in the day subsided to almost nothing as the morning wore on. For such a beautiful day, we were surprised to see only eight people on the trails the entire time (three guys coming down Edmands who had camped out for a couple of days; three folks on the summit of Monroe while we were coming up Little Monroe, and a couple who came down the Edmands Path a half hour after we did -- they had come across from Mt. Pierce.)
Barkingcat
[email protected]
Date of Hike: Sunday, November 2
Trail Conditions: Patches of ice beginning at about 2500 feet, turning to several inches of packed snow and ice by 3500 feet. In some spots at higher elevations on the Edmands Path prior to where it intersects with the Crawford Path, there are large ice pools to navigate. Higher up, nearer to Mt. Monroe, the Crawford Path is covered with several inches of packed snow and ice. In some areas (in particular on Mt. Monroe loop), snow has drifted to two to three feet.
The only "water crossing" of note is where the path goes over Mt. Pleasant Brook, on the ledge about a half mile from the upper end of the path -- the brook is almost completely frozen (with a nice frozen waterfall!) and the ledge is covered in several inches of ice.
Special Equipment Required: Stabilicers or Microspikes are recommended for the ice patches on the upper elevations. For a few minutes here and there when postholing in snow drifts, I wish I had brought snowshoes.
Comments: Incredible views all day -- nearly-cloudless blue skies as a backdrop for the snow-covered peaks of Mt. Washington and the southern Presis. Gusty winds near Eisenhower early in the day subsided to almost nothing as the morning wore on. For such a beautiful day, we were surprised to see only eight people on the trails the entire time (three guys coming down Edmands who had camped out for a couple of days; three folks on the summit of Monroe while we were coming up Little Monroe, and a couple who came down the Edmands Path a half hour after we did -- they had come across from Mt. Pierce.)
Barkingcat
[email protected]
