Presidents Weather question/advice?

[Stew Parker]

Hi all,

I doing a hut-to-hut of the Presidents next week (27th - 29th T-Th). I've been keeping an eager eye on the weather and it doesn't look so great at the moment. I realize it still might change though. Normally when I backpack (mostly in Mid-Atlantic and California) and the weather looks like this I just reschedule. Given that I have AMC hut reservations (non-cancellable) and that most of the hike is above treeline am wondering if people have thoughts/advice? I'm not averse to getting wet and have the right gear etc but have know enough to be concerned about lighting etc up there. Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[Rhody Seth]

Which huts? I'm assuming you mean Madison and Lakes of the Clouds. You are right to be concerned about the weather. The stretch between those huts is completely above treeline and fully exposed to any weather. Much of the trail is just jumbles of rocks so in low visibility caution must be taken to stay on trail. There are few bailout options and none of them great.

You are sheltered almost the entire way up to the Madison hut from the Appalachia trailhead so if the weather is truly bad you can always hike up to that hut and go back down the next day if need be.

 

[peakbagger]

Hiking on the summits is always a crap shot but its little early to throw in the towel. The AMC posts detailed forecasts every morning at each hut and the hit crews can make suggestions on options if the weather is potentially dangerous. In some cases people head down off the ridge, catch the AMC shuttle and hike back up to the next hut that day or stay down in the valley and hike back up for the third night.

If you cancel, thru hikers usually get the benefit of your cancelation.

 

[Stew Parker]

Certainly not ready to throw in the towel -- just upping my happy weather thoughts game for now.

 

[peakbagger]

Others do, and if you are flexible, you may be able to string something together.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

I like the advice to check the weather the morning after your overnight stay at Madison hut and then if the weather is bad, maybe just tackle Mount Madison and/or Mount Adams, and then head down.

Then drive around to the Cog Road USFS Ammi parking lot and hike up the Ammi Trail to Lakes of the Clouds hut. Same thing the next morning, check the weather and if bad just attempt Mount Washington and/or Mount Monroe.

The hike south to Crawford Notch from Lakes hut is much safer than the traverse from Madison to Lakes huts, where a hiker died from hypothermia this time last summer. Rain with temperatures just above the freezing point are much more dangerous than below freezing temperatures with snow. If you do attempt the traverse between Madison and Lakes huts in bad weather, join a group and stick together so that you can watch out for one another.

Using these options you will still get to enjoy the ambiance and full services offered by the wonderful AMC hut croos. Blankets have been returned to the hut bunks this season after a three-year absence during the pandemic, and most of the croos other than the four-year vets have had to retrain on their BFD skits.

 

[peakbagger]

FYI, I have been there and done that on a miserable, wet windy day on the ridge with zero visibility, the "fun part" goes away rapidly.

 

[egilbe]

Its not the rain, its the wind. Nothing worse than being soaked with sweat and standing on top of Adams or Jefferson and freezing. Ive been up there on some dead calm, sunny days and its been beautiful. I've been up there when the forecast was crap, and it was beautiful. But, most of th time, when I'm not up there, the summit is wreathed in clouds.

 

[Stew Parker]

Its not the rain, its the wind. Nothing worse than being soaked with sweat and standing on top of Adams or Jefferson and freezing. Ive been up there on some dead calm, sunny days and its been beautiful. I've been up there when the forecast was crap, and it was beautiful. But, most of th time, when I'm not up there, the summit is wreathed in clouds.

While I don't desire a drenching, I really would just prefer no lightning/thunder. I guess wind is my choice between wind, rain, and lightning.

 

[Hachi]

Nothing more demoralizing than hiking around peaks on a prezi-traverse. When I attempted this in late June early July in 2019, it was brutal. Rain, sideways hail. Fog. I've been cold, I've been hungry. I have been tired and wet, but that night at Lake of the Clouds, I was the coldest, wettest, hungriest and tired I have ever been at the same time. It was oddly, still really fun, mostly cause nobody got hurt.

Had to go back for Washington and Monroe in the fall. Cold but sunny and clear. A much better hiking experience in September.

 

[Stew Parker]

Any idea what cell service is like on the ridge and/or along the route? Being able to see the radar live could come in handy.

 

[egilbe]

While I don't desire a drenching, I really would just prefer no lightning/thunder. I guess wind is my choice between wind, rain, and lightning.

I don't recall many people dying up there from lighning strikes, but there have been several dozen that died from the wind.

 

[Stew Parker]

I don't recall many people dying up there from lighning strikes, but there have been several dozen that died from the wind.

Forgive my ignorance.... from being blown off or from hypothermia?

 

[B the Hiker]

Forgive my ignorance.... from being blown off or from hypothermia?

Hypothermia.

There is something about the ridge where it rarely seems to rain lightly. Gosh, the heaviest rains I have ever seen have been up on the Presidential Ridge in the summer. Rain jacket and pants go on immediately, it pours down, then blows off. The temperature can drop dramatically quite suddenly.

 

[sierra]

If you have ever seen the wooden board in the summit building, listing most of the deaths in the Range, it's about as clear as a point that can be made. The Ridge is very brutal in bad conditions, and it is possible every month of the year. Something about those hard winds and the cold rain, it will seep into any possible opening and rob your core in earnest. I just don't go up in those conditions anymore, I consider myself lucky, I got away with what I did in the past. I'll say this too, grow up hiking in the Whites, then go out west and hike, you will be more than ready.

 

[skiguy]

I don't recall many people dying up there from lighning strikes, but there have been several dozen that died from the wind.

Not a single incident of lightning strike resulting in death or at least not recorded. Although plenty of other causes with Hypothermia rating high on the list of causes. List of people who died on the Presidential Range - Wikipedia

 

[egilbe]

Not a single incident of lightning strike resulting in death or at least not recorded. Although plenty of other causes with Hypothermia rating high on the list of causes. List of people who died on the Presidential Range - Wikipedia

That list is a bit out of date. How many died this preceeding Winter?

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

That list is a bit out of date. How many died this preceeding Winter?

Not aware of any fatalities in the Presidential Range since the last three listed from 20 June, 1 August, and 25 August 2022. Please elaborate.

 

[egilbe]

Not aware of any fatalities in the Presidential Range since the last three listed from 20 June, 1 August, and 25 August 2022. Please elaborate.

my mistake. I was thinking of the White Mountains, in general

 

[skiguy]

That list is a bit out of date. How many died this preceeding Winter?

That list is a bit out of date. How many died this preceeding Winter?

None from lightning I believe. It’s Wikipedia. Maybe you can update for them?