BIGEarl
Well-known member
September 5, 2009: Presidential Traverse
Trails: Valley Way, Watson Path, Osgood Trail, Gulfside, Airline, Lowes Path, Jefferson Loop, Clay Loop, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop, Franklin Loop (herd path), Eisenhower Loop
Summits: Madison, Adams, Jefferson, Clay, Washington, Monroe, Little Monroe, Franklin, Eisenhower, Pierce
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Steve, and me
The wake-up call came early, especially for Sue. I believe she actually shut the alarm off Friday night for a Saturday hike. I met Sue at the Exit 6 Park & Ride early and we drove to Crawford Notch to meet Steve and spot a vehicle at our ending location. On schedule we spotted the truck at the Webster-Jackson trailhead on Route 302, loaded our things into Steve’s vehicle, and headed for our start at Appalachia. We planned for a 4:30am start from Appalachia and were actually hiking at 4:35am; – so far we’re doing great!
The first part of our hike was planned to be Valley Way to the Madison Springs Hut. With the help of our headlights we made our way toward the ridge. The temperature was very comfortable in the mid 50’s and there was no wind at lower elevations. The forecast for the day published by the Mount Washington Observatory was:
"In the clear under decreasingly cloudy skies. Highs: Mid 40's. Winds: NW 20 - 35 mph w/higher gusts early."
As the day went on we would learn this forecast was well off the mark in the area of wind speed. According to recorded conditions, the actual winds exceeded 50mph with higher gusts. Once above the treeline, we had a drafty day – all day.
Slowly we warmed up in our early hike along Valley Way. As we hiked I was thinking about a possible change to the plans. Steve and Sue had previously hiked Valley Way but I wasn’t sure if they had been on the Watson Path. I haven’t hiked the trail in a while. When we reached the Valley Way – Watson Path trails junction I asked if there was interest in a small change. I described the Watson Path as a steep climb to the summit bypassing the hut. Actually, this is Sue’s favorite type trail. In a couple minutes we had the decision out of the way and were hiking the Watson Path to Madison.
The early part of the trail still shows signs of tree damage probably from last winter that had been cleared. We worked our way through the early section leading to the brook, made the crossing at the falls, and headed up. The climb from the stream crossing to the summit is generally continuous. Along the way the trail is in great shape. It’s rough enough to provide good footing and we were able to make pretty good time to the treeline, and beyond. At the treeline we started to experience the high winds and additional layers started to come out. Overhead the clouds were really flying past and we knew there was some wind waiting for us on the summit. We continued through the false summits and finally made the summit of Madison. There were broken clouds above and below. Some of the distance views with undercast were terrific. We quickly got our summit pictures and were off for the rest of our hike.
Leaving Madison the Osgood Trail drops off to the east side of the summit cone and we were out of the wind for a brief period, which was a welcome relief. Slowly we made our way down from Madison to the Madison Springs Hut and had a brief stop for water, etc. In only a few minutes we set off on Gulfside headed for Adams, our next target.
The climb from the hut to the summit of Adams doesn’t appear to be very difficult but it includes ~1000 feet of elevation in .9 miles. We just finished 4200 feet in elevation on the way to the summit of Madison. Hiking a N-S Presi Traverse gets much of the elevation for the day taken care of early. We made our way to the Air Line junction, turned left and headed for Adams. Another .5 miles and 600 feet and we would once again find more wind than the experts were predicting; nice brisk conditions. On my first Presi Traverse the conditions were very similar with a high, gusty wind. On that day a wind gust took me out on the climb to Adams and I opened both knees. I was careful to avoid a similar problem on this hike. We hit the summit, got our pictures, and took off for the lower elevation on the ridge and more pleasant conditions.
By the time we reached Thunderstorm Junction the sky had cleared out and we were treated to generally full sun. Next target, Jefferson. On the hike to Jefferson we had a couple surprises. First, Steve took a pretty good fall. A face plant on the Northern Presidentials will certainly leave a mark and this one did. Everything stopped for a few minutes while Steve took care of a couple cuts. After a while we were back on the trek south. Suddenly I heard a voice from behind calling “Hey, BIGEarl” – it was Farmer (Ryan) on his record attempt for a Presi Traverse. We greeted each other, shook hands, I wished him luck, and he was off. I managed to get a couple pictures as he continued on his journey. He sure seemed to be moving well as he ran past us. After the excitement of Steve’s fall and Ryan’s run-through, we had a quiet hike to Jefferson. When we reached the summit we found clouds had blown in and there were no views, and no reason to hang around. We quickly got some summit shots and were off for our next target, Mount Clay. The wind blew the clouds out as fast as they cam back in and we were again hiking in sunny conditions.
The hike across Monticello Lawn back to the Gulfside Trail and on to the Clay Loop went quickly. We made the turn and headed for the summit of Mount Clay, peak number four for the day. I remember the last time we made this trek with Bryan and MadRiver. On each summit MadRiver announced our arrival by shouting the peak number. We made our way to the summit ridge of Mount Clay, continued across to the high point, got a couple pictures, and continued our hike south to the junction with Gulfside. As we were leaving the summit area we came upon a group of three hikers headed north; Bob & Geri, and MadRiver (Rick). This was a nice surprise and a good time for a break. While we visited Steve was able to rework the bandage on his arm that he earned on his earlier fall. Eventually we said our goodbyes and set off for Mount Washington, the next target for the day.
After passing the Clay Loop – Gulfside south junction we started running into a huge number of Coggers. There sure were a lot of people too cheap to buy a round-trip ticket but they were able to purchase some very stylish hiking sneakers for the day. I saw lot’s of new shoes between this trails junction and the summit. I also heard the same question – over and over; “Is this the Jewell Trail?”. After a while I started to answer the question with a question “Do you have a map?” I know, silly question – nobody had a map. Eventually I got tired of dodging Coggers and stepped off the Gulfside Trail and walked up the work area that follows the cog tracks. At the junction with Gulfside I crossed the tracks and followed the trail to Trinity Hights Connector and on to the summit. What a crowd! Somebody was making money – either the Cog, or the Auto Road, or probably both. It sure was easy to want to leave the summit of Mount Washington as quickly as possible. We got some water, had a quick break, visited with do_truancy (Isabelle) on her NH48 completion and UFC, and were off.
It’s all downhill from here – sort of. Most of the elevation for the day is finished after reaching the summit of Mount Washington. There are small gains at each of the remaining targets but nothing like our experience on the Northern Presidentials.
Continued......
Trails: Valley Way, Watson Path, Osgood Trail, Gulfside, Airline, Lowes Path, Jefferson Loop, Clay Loop, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop, Franklin Loop (herd path), Eisenhower Loop
Summits: Madison, Adams, Jefferson, Clay, Washington, Monroe, Little Monroe, Franklin, Eisenhower, Pierce
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Steve, and me
The wake-up call came early, especially for Sue. I believe she actually shut the alarm off Friday night for a Saturday hike. I met Sue at the Exit 6 Park & Ride early and we drove to Crawford Notch to meet Steve and spot a vehicle at our ending location. On schedule we spotted the truck at the Webster-Jackson trailhead on Route 302, loaded our things into Steve’s vehicle, and headed for our start at Appalachia. We planned for a 4:30am start from Appalachia and were actually hiking at 4:35am; – so far we’re doing great!
The first part of our hike was planned to be Valley Way to the Madison Springs Hut. With the help of our headlights we made our way toward the ridge. The temperature was very comfortable in the mid 50’s and there was no wind at lower elevations. The forecast for the day published by the Mount Washington Observatory was:
"In the clear under decreasingly cloudy skies. Highs: Mid 40's. Winds: NW 20 - 35 mph w/higher gusts early."
As the day went on we would learn this forecast was well off the mark in the area of wind speed. According to recorded conditions, the actual winds exceeded 50mph with higher gusts. Once above the treeline, we had a drafty day – all day.
Slowly we warmed up in our early hike along Valley Way. As we hiked I was thinking about a possible change to the plans. Steve and Sue had previously hiked Valley Way but I wasn’t sure if they had been on the Watson Path. I haven’t hiked the trail in a while. When we reached the Valley Way – Watson Path trails junction I asked if there was interest in a small change. I described the Watson Path as a steep climb to the summit bypassing the hut. Actually, this is Sue’s favorite type trail. In a couple minutes we had the decision out of the way and were hiking the Watson Path to Madison.
The early part of the trail still shows signs of tree damage probably from last winter that had been cleared. We worked our way through the early section leading to the brook, made the crossing at the falls, and headed up. The climb from the stream crossing to the summit is generally continuous. Along the way the trail is in great shape. It’s rough enough to provide good footing and we were able to make pretty good time to the treeline, and beyond. At the treeline we started to experience the high winds and additional layers started to come out. Overhead the clouds were really flying past and we knew there was some wind waiting for us on the summit. We continued through the false summits and finally made the summit of Madison. There were broken clouds above and below. Some of the distance views with undercast were terrific. We quickly got our summit pictures and were off for the rest of our hike.
Leaving Madison the Osgood Trail drops off to the east side of the summit cone and we were out of the wind for a brief period, which was a welcome relief. Slowly we made our way down from Madison to the Madison Springs Hut and had a brief stop for water, etc. In only a few minutes we set off on Gulfside headed for Adams, our next target.
The climb from the hut to the summit of Adams doesn’t appear to be very difficult but it includes ~1000 feet of elevation in .9 miles. We just finished 4200 feet in elevation on the way to the summit of Madison. Hiking a N-S Presi Traverse gets much of the elevation for the day taken care of early. We made our way to the Air Line junction, turned left and headed for Adams. Another .5 miles and 600 feet and we would once again find more wind than the experts were predicting; nice brisk conditions. On my first Presi Traverse the conditions were very similar with a high, gusty wind. On that day a wind gust took me out on the climb to Adams and I opened both knees. I was careful to avoid a similar problem on this hike. We hit the summit, got our pictures, and took off for the lower elevation on the ridge and more pleasant conditions.
By the time we reached Thunderstorm Junction the sky had cleared out and we were treated to generally full sun. Next target, Jefferson. On the hike to Jefferson we had a couple surprises. First, Steve took a pretty good fall. A face plant on the Northern Presidentials will certainly leave a mark and this one did. Everything stopped for a few minutes while Steve took care of a couple cuts. After a while we were back on the trek south. Suddenly I heard a voice from behind calling “Hey, BIGEarl” – it was Farmer (Ryan) on his record attempt for a Presi Traverse. We greeted each other, shook hands, I wished him luck, and he was off. I managed to get a couple pictures as he continued on his journey. He sure seemed to be moving well as he ran past us. After the excitement of Steve’s fall and Ryan’s run-through, we had a quiet hike to Jefferson. When we reached the summit we found clouds had blown in and there were no views, and no reason to hang around. We quickly got some summit shots and were off for our next target, Mount Clay. The wind blew the clouds out as fast as they cam back in and we were again hiking in sunny conditions.
The hike across Monticello Lawn back to the Gulfside Trail and on to the Clay Loop went quickly. We made the turn and headed for the summit of Mount Clay, peak number four for the day. I remember the last time we made this trek with Bryan and MadRiver. On each summit MadRiver announced our arrival by shouting the peak number. We made our way to the summit ridge of Mount Clay, continued across to the high point, got a couple pictures, and continued our hike south to the junction with Gulfside. As we were leaving the summit area we came upon a group of three hikers headed north; Bob & Geri, and MadRiver (Rick). This was a nice surprise and a good time for a break. While we visited Steve was able to rework the bandage on his arm that he earned on his earlier fall. Eventually we said our goodbyes and set off for Mount Washington, the next target for the day.
After passing the Clay Loop – Gulfside south junction we started running into a huge number of Coggers. There sure were a lot of people too cheap to buy a round-trip ticket but they were able to purchase some very stylish hiking sneakers for the day. I saw lot’s of new shoes between this trails junction and the summit. I also heard the same question – over and over; “Is this the Jewell Trail?”. After a while I started to answer the question with a question “Do you have a map?” I know, silly question – nobody had a map. Eventually I got tired of dodging Coggers and stepped off the Gulfside Trail and walked up the work area that follows the cog tracks. At the junction with Gulfside I crossed the tracks and followed the trail to Trinity Hights Connector and on to the summit. What a crowd! Somebody was making money – either the Cog, or the Auto Road, or probably both. It sure was easy to want to leave the summit of Mount Washington as quickly as possible. We got some water, had a quick break, visited with do_truancy (Isabelle) on her NH48 completion and UFC, and were off.
It’s all downhill from here – sort of. Most of the elevation for the day is finished after reaching the summit of Mount Washington. There are small gains at each of the remaining targets but nothing like our experience on the Northern Presidentials.
Continued......
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