JohnL
New member
Rick’s Saturday phone call confirmed Monroe, Ike and Pierce as our goals, and with late night guests at our house, the 4:00AM alarm on Sunday was most unwelcome. After a harried breakfast and packing, I picked Rick up in Bedford, then we joined Mike in Concord and met Giff at the Crawford Path trailhead. A moose browsed along the roadside just before the trailhead turnoff, and we could still see her from the parking area. Then we hopped in Mike’s car and headed to the Cog Base Station to start the hike.
After hassling with the attendant inside the Base Station for parking permission (she relieved Mike of $10.00 as well) we parked in the lower lot. At 9:05 we were geared up and on our way. The Ammo Trail was nicely packed out and we knew there were four hikers ahead of us, one of them on skis. We caught up with him soon enough as he was removing his skis and then caught the main party a short ways up the trail. A few minutes later we stopped to drop a layer. The trail was in fine shape and we remarked about the calmness of the woods, only to be interrupted by the steamy blasts from the Cog. We were quickly at Gem Pool and then the real climbing was to start.
The trail was in good condition to bare boot and we kicked our way up the steep trail, at times finding the snow cover thin, especially in the butt glissade areas. Above the Gorge we ran into some steep water ice and we were forced to don our crampons. I’m not sure if we could have picked a steeper place but we managed without any slippage and we were off just as the group of four caught up. We continued upward and what fun! Excellent climbing conditions allowed us to stick the crampons in and just crank up the hill. Exhilarating and delightful stuff! In several places the hard water ice forced us to take special care as a slip would be disastrous.
We reached the cascades where we crossed the open stream, noting the huge blue bulges of ice upstream. It was here at this crossing two winters ago that the ice gave way beneath my feet and a five foot wide hole beckoned me inward. I was waist deep in the hole but thankfully my snowshoe covered feet stayed above any water. After relieving me of my pack, Rick and Tom hauled me out of the hole. Today, I took some extra care in crossing though the event was low in adventure factor.
As we moved higher, the trail opened up and we climbed over several ice bulges. We could see the wind whipping across the upper reaches of Mt Washington and noted how devoid of snow the entire area was. The summit towers played hide and seek as they went in and out of the ground clouds. Though the winds appeared to be strong on the summit, we were in relative calm. But as we climbed up the last of the ice to the lakes Hut, we felt the affects of the stiff breeze. We sheltered in the lee of the Hut where we changed clothes and talked with a guy who was headed out over Mt Isolation. He seemed very concerned about his GPS batteries. Hmmm, with a long way to go in potentially tough conditions, I would not put so much reliance on a GPS and a set of questionable batteries.
We avoided the rocky trail up Monroe and went directly for the snowfields to the right of the path. The conditions were perfect; hard packed Styrofoam snow interspersed with an occasional ice patch. It was along this section where we encountered the stiffest winds of the day; estimated at about 25mph and very steady. We followed the snowfields nearly to the intermediate summit where it was mostly bare ground from there to the main summit. We topped out at 11:25 and surveyed our route ahead. The trails were easily discernable and were ribbons of ice. In my mind I pictured the next couple hours of stumbling over rock and ice until we got to the Crawford Path. For a short while after we descended off of Monroe, I was right. Nothing but bare rock was ahead of us for a good ways so we decided to remove the crampons and reduce the risk to our ankles. After reconnecting with the trail near Little Monroe, we put them back on as there was too much ice to negotiate without them.
The ice ribbons turned out to be a blessing as it was like walking on a skating rink with the benefit of the crampons. We cruised along these sections until we dropped off the shoulder of Mt Franklin where we ran into some mixed ground; bare rock, ice and drifted snow. The sky was an ever changing landscape with the different cloud formations that altered rapidly with the upper level winds. We reveled in the scenes and it was glorious to be above treeline on such a grand day. We crossed paths with three guys who were headed in the direction of Lakes Hut and we exchanged pleasantries and trail conditions.
We continued down into the col, noting the intimidating sight of Eisenhower ahead of us. We could easily discern the Edmunds Path as it traversed the northwest face of Mt Eisenhower. We found a nicely sheltered spot in the sun for our brief lunch stop. Upon reaching the col and heading up Eisenhower, we spent a lot of time seeking out snow and ice on which to step to avoid stepping on rocks and bare ground as much as possible. We passed a guy with his dog on their way down and exchanged greetings. A few minutes later, at 1:05, we topped out on the bare summit of Eisenhower. The breeze was slight but still chilling so we grabbed a quick drink, took in the views, snapped a few photos and headed down.
There was an almost immediate change of scenery as we reached the woods near the col between Pierce and Eisenhower. The trees were loaded with snow and the path was covered with much more snow than we encountered even deep in Ammonoosuc Ravine. The sun was radiant and we could feel its warmth, even at the summit of Mt Pierce, where we had a very quick debate on whether to continue on over to Jackson. It only took four words from Giff (“Oh hell, let’s go.”) to convince Mike and off we went. It was 1:50 and silently we all figured we would easily get out before dark. The woods were full of snow and the tunnels through the trees were glorious, as were the occasional dumpings of snow down the back of our necks. The sun was reaching that point in the sky where the color of the light turned yellow and the warm glow spread itself over the hills.
We kept the crampons on for the walk over to Jackson as we anticipated some ice on the summit areas. The trail was well packed out to the Mizpah Hut and we were hoping for the same over to Jackson. We met a couple having lunch in the sun at the Hut and wished them a good day as we continued on our way. The snowy forest was delightful and the late afternoon sun lit up the woods. We stopped at the open bog areas just below the summit to take in the views and note the ever changing cloud formations. A few minutes later we scrambled up the last bare slabs to the summit where the views were nothing less than outstanding and we were all giddy with delight at having made the walk over.
We checked the time and at 3:05 we needed to head down. There was enough snow around the edges of the summit slabs and we easily got back into the woods where we took off our crampons. We glissaded our way down through the snow covered trees until we suddenly stopped in our tracks. A partially open forest whose trees were totally blasted from a recent snow storm was a truly wondrous sight. The yellow glow of the sun filtering in and lighting up the trees was eye popping. Truly one of the day’s high points. We continued down the trail and at 4:05 we popped out of the woods. The grueling ten minute road walk back to the car ended a fabulous day of hiking.
Photos are here. Two albums worth.
JohnL
After hassling with the attendant inside the Base Station for parking permission (she relieved Mike of $10.00 as well) we parked in the lower lot. At 9:05 we were geared up and on our way. The Ammo Trail was nicely packed out and we knew there were four hikers ahead of us, one of them on skis. We caught up with him soon enough as he was removing his skis and then caught the main party a short ways up the trail. A few minutes later we stopped to drop a layer. The trail was in fine shape and we remarked about the calmness of the woods, only to be interrupted by the steamy blasts from the Cog. We were quickly at Gem Pool and then the real climbing was to start.
The trail was in good condition to bare boot and we kicked our way up the steep trail, at times finding the snow cover thin, especially in the butt glissade areas. Above the Gorge we ran into some steep water ice and we were forced to don our crampons. I’m not sure if we could have picked a steeper place but we managed without any slippage and we were off just as the group of four caught up. We continued upward and what fun! Excellent climbing conditions allowed us to stick the crampons in and just crank up the hill. Exhilarating and delightful stuff! In several places the hard water ice forced us to take special care as a slip would be disastrous.
We reached the cascades where we crossed the open stream, noting the huge blue bulges of ice upstream. It was here at this crossing two winters ago that the ice gave way beneath my feet and a five foot wide hole beckoned me inward. I was waist deep in the hole but thankfully my snowshoe covered feet stayed above any water. After relieving me of my pack, Rick and Tom hauled me out of the hole. Today, I took some extra care in crossing though the event was low in adventure factor.
As we moved higher, the trail opened up and we climbed over several ice bulges. We could see the wind whipping across the upper reaches of Mt Washington and noted how devoid of snow the entire area was. The summit towers played hide and seek as they went in and out of the ground clouds. Though the winds appeared to be strong on the summit, we were in relative calm. But as we climbed up the last of the ice to the lakes Hut, we felt the affects of the stiff breeze. We sheltered in the lee of the Hut where we changed clothes and talked with a guy who was headed out over Mt Isolation. He seemed very concerned about his GPS batteries. Hmmm, with a long way to go in potentially tough conditions, I would not put so much reliance on a GPS and a set of questionable batteries.
We avoided the rocky trail up Monroe and went directly for the snowfields to the right of the path. The conditions were perfect; hard packed Styrofoam snow interspersed with an occasional ice patch. It was along this section where we encountered the stiffest winds of the day; estimated at about 25mph and very steady. We followed the snowfields nearly to the intermediate summit where it was mostly bare ground from there to the main summit. We topped out at 11:25 and surveyed our route ahead. The trails were easily discernable and were ribbons of ice. In my mind I pictured the next couple hours of stumbling over rock and ice until we got to the Crawford Path. For a short while after we descended off of Monroe, I was right. Nothing but bare rock was ahead of us for a good ways so we decided to remove the crampons and reduce the risk to our ankles. After reconnecting with the trail near Little Monroe, we put them back on as there was too much ice to negotiate without them.
The ice ribbons turned out to be a blessing as it was like walking on a skating rink with the benefit of the crampons. We cruised along these sections until we dropped off the shoulder of Mt Franklin where we ran into some mixed ground; bare rock, ice and drifted snow. The sky was an ever changing landscape with the different cloud formations that altered rapidly with the upper level winds. We reveled in the scenes and it was glorious to be above treeline on such a grand day. We crossed paths with three guys who were headed in the direction of Lakes Hut and we exchanged pleasantries and trail conditions.
We continued down into the col, noting the intimidating sight of Eisenhower ahead of us. We could easily discern the Edmunds Path as it traversed the northwest face of Mt Eisenhower. We found a nicely sheltered spot in the sun for our brief lunch stop. Upon reaching the col and heading up Eisenhower, we spent a lot of time seeking out snow and ice on which to step to avoid stepping on rocks and bare ground as much as possible. We passed a guy with his dog on their way down and exchanged greetings. A few minutes later, at 1:05, we topped out on the bare summit of Eisenhower. The breeze was slight but still chilling so we grabbed a quick drink, took in the views, snapped a few photos and headed down.
There was an almost immediate change of scenery as we reached the woods near the col between Pierce and Eisenhower. The trees were loaded with snow and the path was covered with much more snow than we encountered even deep in Ammonoosuc Ravine. The sun was radiant and we could feel its warmth, even at the summit of Mt Pierce, where we had a very quick debate on whether to continue on over to Jackson. It only took four words from Giff (“Oh hell, let’s go.”) to convince Mike and off we went. It was 1:50 and silently we all figured we would easily get out before dark. The woods were full of snow and the tunnels through the trees were glorious, as were the occasional dumpings of snow down the back of our necks. The sun was reaching that point in the sky where the color of the light turned yellow and the warm glow spread itself over the hills.
We kept the crampons on for the walk over to Jackson as we anticipated some ice on the summit areas. The trail was well packed out to the Mizpah Hut and we were hoping for the same over to Jackson. We met a couple having lunch in the sun at the Hut and wished them a good day as we continued on our way. The snowy forest was delightful and the late afternoon sun lit up the woods. We stopped at the open bog areas just below the summit to take in the views and note the ever changing cloud formations. A few minutes later we scrambled up the last bare slabs to the summit where the views were nothing less than outstanding and we were all giddy with delight at having made the walk over.
We checked the time and at 3:05 we needed to head down. There was enough snow around the edges of the summit slabs and we easily got back into the woods where we took off our crampons. We glissaded our way down through the snow covered trees until we suddenly stopped in our tracks. A partially open forest whose trees were totally blasted from a recent snow storm was a truly wondrous sight. The yellow glow of the sun filtering in and lighting up the trees was eye popping. Truly one of the day’s high points. We continued down the trail and at 4:05 we popped out of the woods. The grueling ten minute road walk back to the car ended a fabulous day of hiking.
Photos are here. Two albums worth.
JohnL
