Are you tired of the same old trails to the summit of Mt. Washington? Are you tired of fighting the crowds on those same trails? Are you ready for a new perspective on the Northern Presidentials? If you have ever looked for a different way to get up to the summit of Mt Washington, have we got a trip for you.
However, if trail descriptions such as steep and rough; over fragments of stone many of which are loose; poorly marked; snow slides may sweep away cairns; wild rough and beautiful; or very steep and rough don't appeal to you, then stick to the tried and true hiking paths to the summit. This trip won't be easy.
It begins gently enough with a beautiful walk up the Great Gulf trail off Rt. 16 north of Pinkham Notch. Walking alongside the river with its many giant boulders, cascades and rushing waters, we made good time to the junction of the Wamsutta and Six Husbands trails at 4.5 miles. Then an ascent is begun along ledges besides beautiful cascades and numerous waterfalls. Eventually Weetamoo Falls are passed--considered to be the finest in the Great Gulf. Slowly the trail climbs until picturesque Spaulding Lake is reached at 6.5 miles. Only 1.4 miles from this point and the summit of Mt. Washington will be reached. This is where the fun begins.
Time to ascend the Great Gulf headwall. This part of the Great Gulf trail rises 1,600' in about .8 miles over fragments of stone, many of which are loose. The way may be poorly marked, because snow slides may sweep away cairns, but paint blazes are usually visible on the rocks. The first third of the headwall ascent winds through a swiftly flowing streambed. Beware, many of the rocks in the streambed (trail) are moss covered and very slippery. After the streambed is left behind, the loose stone fragment section of the trail kicks in. The going is not that bad, just steep and rough. To make up for this aspect of the trail though, the views to the northern Presidentials are outstanding. There are lots of wildflowers to identify and on a beautiful day, the Great Gulf is a wonderful place to be.
In time, the top of the Great Gulf headwall is reached and it's only .4 miles to the summit via the Gulfside trail. The summit is so close we could reach out and touch it. Gathering our strength, we climbed on and reached the summit of Mt. Washington. Whereas in the previous 7.9 miles we saw only 5 people, now we were greeted by hundreds. It's a tradeoff though. People vs. food. Yes we put up with the hordes in order to indulge in pizza, hot dogs and chile. Throw a soda into the mix and we were happy campers once again and we were fueled for the remaining 7.7 miles.
After eating, we headed down the Nelson Crag trail in order to intercept the Wamsutta trail. Time passed swiftly while we enjoyed the sights and sounds of the alpine environment--bird calls and wind mixed with motorcycles, automobiles and the errant sounds of voices carried by the winds. We reached the Wamsutta trail and wondered about the new terrain and what challenges we would face next.
The Wamsutta trail starts off innocently enough. The trail is named for Wamsutta, the first of six successive husbands of Weetamoo (remember the falls mentioned earlier?), a queen of the Pocasset tribe. It descends the ridgecrest at a moderate grade passing the winter shortcut of the Auto Rd. The dirt and duff underfoot indicates this is a lightly used trail. In time, we fasten our seatbelts for our descent back into the Great Gulf. This baby is steep. From the Auto Rd. the trail drops 2,200' in 1.7 miles. Parts of the trail are very steep and very rough. We take our packs off from time to time in order to allow ourselves to descend safely. We both garner a few bumps, bruises and scrapes but manage to get back down to the Great Gulf trail safely. We breathe a sigh of relief. After a swift descent of 4.5 miles we are back to the car.
Total elevation gain for the day was somewhere over 5,000'. Total mileage 15.6 miles. Total time 12 hours including snack, water and summit stops. Total fun-- off the chart. We still have smiles on our faces. It's a tough hike but well worth it. Highly recommended and three thumbs up!!! (Better than two thumbs up!)
See our pictures here: http://community.webshots.com/album/551983446QoJhBO
However, if trail descriptions such as steep and rough; over fragments of stone many of which are loose; poorly marked; snow slides may sweep away cairns; wild rough and beautiful; or very steep and rough don't appeal to you, then stick to the tried and true hiking paths to the summit. This trip won't be easy.
It begins gently enough with a beautiful walk up the Great Gulf trail off Rt. 16 north of Pinkham Notch. Walking alongside the river with its many giant boulders, cascades and rushing waters, we made good time to the junction of the Wamsutta and Six Husbands trails at 4.5 miles. Then an ascent is begun along ledges besides beautiful cascades and numerous waterfalls. Eventually Weetamoo Falls are passed--considered to be the finest in the Great Gulf. Slowly the trail climbs until picturesque Spaulding Lake is reached at 6.5 miles. Only 1.4 miles from this point and the summit of Mt. Washington will be reached. This is where the fun begins.
Time to ascend the Great Gulf headwall. This part of the Great Gulf trail rises 1,600' in about .8 miles over fragments of stone, many of which are loose. The way may be poorly marked, because snow slides may sweep away cairns, but paint blazes are usually visible on the rocks. The first third of the headwall ascent winds through a swiftly flowing streambed. Beware, many of the rocks in the streambed (trail) are moss covered and very slippery. After the streambed is left behind, the loose stone fragment section of the trail kicks in. The going is not that bad, just steep and rough. To make up for this aspect of the trail though, the views to the northern Presidentials are outstanding. There are lots of wildflowers to identify and on a beautiful day, the Great Gulf is a wonderful place to be.
In time, the top of the Great Gulf headwall is reached and it's only .4 miles to the summit via the Gulfside trail. The summit is so close we could reach out and touch it. Gathering our strength, we climbed on and reached the summit of Mt. Washington. Whereas in the previous 7.9 miles we saw only 5 people, now we were greeted by hundreds. It's a tradeoff though. People vs. food. Yes we put up with the hordes in order to indulge in pizza, hot dogs and chile. Throw a soda into the mix and we were happy campers once again and we were fueled for the remaining 7.7 miles.
After eating, we headed down the Nelson Crag trail in order to intercept the Wamsutta trail. Time passed swiftly while we enjoyed the sights and sounds of the alpine environment--bird calls and wind mixed with motorcycles, automobiles and the errant sounds of voices carried by the winds. We reached the Wamsutta trail and wondered about the new terrain and what challenges we would face next.
The Wamsutta trail starts off innocently enough. The trail is named for Wamsutta, the first of six successive husbands of Weetamoo (remember the falls mentioned earlier?), a queen of the Pocasset tribe. It descends the ridgecrest at a moderate grade passing the winter shortcut of the Auto Rd. The dirt and duff underfoot indicates this is a lightly used trail. In time, we fasten our seatbelts for our descent back into the Great Gulf. This baby is steep. From the Auto Rd. the trail drops 2,200' in 1.7 miles. Parts of the trail are very steep and very rough. We take our packs off from time to time in order to allow ourselves to descend safely. We both garner a few bumps, bruises and scrapes but manage to get back down to the Great Gulf trail safely. We breathe a sigh of relief. After a swift descent of 4.5 miles we are back to the car.
Total elevation gain for the day was somewhere over 5,000'. Total mileage 15.6 miles. Total time 12 hours including snack, water and summit stops. Total fun-- off the chart. We still have smiles on our faces. It's a tough hike but well worth it. Highly recommended and three thumbs up!!! (Better than two thumbs up!)
See our pictures here: http://community.webshots.com/album/551983446QoJhBO
Thanks for the TR and I really liked the pics of the wildflowers 
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