Lucky Laura
Active member
After countless invitations to the NY Rock Stars to come hike in our Whites, Inge, Carl and Peter deigned to say yes. Of course, the initial lure was a Winter Presi Traverse as I didn’t think they would bother with anything less. Having never done this myself, I figured I would worry about that later. Fortunately for me, with the weather forecast less than stellar, they “settled” for slightly less than half the original offer.
I must preface this trip report with the fact that my most perilous hike ever was in the company of these three a few years ago. Our January 2010 climb up Mt. Katadhin is my best defense when people tell me it’s not safe to hike alone. It was quite an adventure and we fortunately all made it through with many laughs afterwards. This would be our first hike all together since then. What would await us this time?
There was plenty of activity in the cog parking lot. Having read a report from Friday, we were optimistic about conditions and set off in snow shoes around 7:30. The lower Ammo trail was delightful, with nice soft snow. We hit the elevator shaft after Gem Pool, which also was not much of a problem (how did I ever manage in years past without televators?). There were several tracks and while the broken path was off trail at times, it worked. There was an enormous amount of ice the last half mile or so to the hut- hard ice you could skate on were it level. The dungeon, in fact, appeared to be “flooded” with ice, though we didn’t peer inside.
A quick break from the wind (coming from the East that day), and we were off to Mt. Washington. Visibility was much better than we expected- we could often times see 3 or 4 cairns ahead. Once past the lakes, we were protected from the wind but not the large ice/snow field. This was tricky in snow shoes but we managed. Due to the wide stretch and no cairns in sight, it is easy to drift off route in the flat light in this spot. Once across the big stretch, the trail was a cinch to reach the summit.
We met a few hikers up there who had climbed up Lion’s Head- all were in crampons. After a summit break, I put on crampons for the descent, while Inge, Peter and Carl remained in snow shoes. We returned to Lakes where Peter and Inge donned their microspikes for the remaining hike.
The climb up Mt. Monroe would have been a cake walk except for the wind, which was now blasting us. We skipped our afternoon tea break and moved on along the Crawford Path. The stretch between Monroe and Eisenhower is hard to beat for a beautiful, relaxing walk. We now had the wind coming from slightly behind us and could enjoy the rock lined path down the easy grade. If there is a finer path in the Whites than Crawford, I’m not sure I’ve hiked it. Close to the Dry River junction, we met two young men who broke out Edmunds Path and were continuing on to Monroe. Hats off to them!
We had our fiercest battle with the wind summiting Eisenhower before descending into the protection of the krumholz and stunted trees on the south end and home stretch. A quick Pierce tag and return to the trail junction, we resisted the tug which has pulled some hikers down into the valley left better unexplored- it was obvious on this day to see how that happens. There was a large drift blocking the correct way on Crawfords to the left. To the right, was the "mirage path"- windblown rock and open. Resist the tug. Now we had the lovely last 3 mile gentle descent on the snowy path. This was not too soft for Inge and Peter to pull out their garbage bags and luge down. Inge’s infectious laughter drew the attention of the nearby wildlife. One little pine marten tried to outrun her but quickly realized it needed to retreat off trail. Neither Peter nor Inge walked the rest of the way until we hit 302. Carl and I stayed on our feet so we could better discuss the virtues and texture of McDonalds soft ice cream.
A mighty fine day and our only “perilous” moments occurred on drives home. Great company, great hike, great day.
Lucky Laura
I must preface this trip report with the fact that my most perilous hike ever was in the company of these three a few years ago. Our January 2010 climb up Mt. Katadhin is my best defense when people tell me it’s not safe to hike alone. It was quite an adventure and we fortunately all made it through with many laughs afterwards. This would be our first hike all together since then. What would await us this time?
There was plenty of activity in the cog parking lot. Having read a report from Friday, we were optimistic about conditions and set off in snow shoes around 7:30. The lower Ammo trail was delightful, with nice soft snow. We hit the elevator shaft after Gem Pool, which also was not much of a problem (how did I ever manage in years past without televators?). There were several tracks and while the broken path was off trail at times, it worked. There was an enormous amount of ice the last half mile or so to the hut- hard ice you could skate on were it level. The dungeon, in fact, appeared to be “flooded” with ice, though we didn’t peer inside.
A quick break from the wind (coming from the East that day), and we were off to Mt. Washington. Visibility was much better than we expected- we could often times see 3 or 4 cairns ahead. Once past the lakes, we were protected from the wind but not the large ice/snow field. This was tricky in snow shoes but we managed. Due to the wide stretch and no cairns in sight, it is easy to drift off route in the flat light in this spot. Once across the big stretch, the trail was a cinch to reach the summit.
We met a few hikers up there who had climbed up Lion’s Head- all were in crampons. After a summit break, I put on crampons for the descent, while Inge, Peter and Carl remained in snow shoes. We returned to Lakes where Peter and Inge donned their microspikes for the remaining hike.
The climb up Mt. Monroe would have been a cake walk except for the wind, which was now blasting us. We skipped our afternoon tea break and moved on along the Crawford Path. The stretch between Monroe and Eisenhower is hard to beat for a beautiful, relaxing walk. We now had the wind coming from slightly behind us and could enjoy the rock lined path down the easy grade. If there is a finer path in the Whites than Crawford, I’m not sure I’ve hiked it. Close to the Dry River junction, we met two young men who broke out Edmunds Path and were continuing on to Monroe. Hats off to them!
We had our fiercest battle with the wind summiting Eisenhower before descending into the protection of the krumholz and stunted trees on the south end and home stretch. A quick Pierce tag and return to the trail junction, we resisted the tug which has pulled some hikers down into the valley left better unexplored- it was obvious on this day to see how that happens. There was a large drift blocking the correct way on Crawfords to the left. To the right, was the "mirage path"- windblown rock and open. Resist the tug. Now we had the lovely last 3 mile gentle descent on the snowy path. This was not too soft for Inge and Peter to pull out their garbage bags and luge down. Inge’s infectious laughter drew the attention of the nearby wildlife. One little pine marten tried to outrun her but quickly realized it needed to retreat off trail. Neither Peter nor Inge walked the rest of the way until we hit 302. Carl and I stayed on our feet so we could better discuss the virtues and texture of McDonalds soft ice cream.
A mighty fine day and our only “perilous” moments occurred on drives home. Great company, great hike, great day.
Lucky Laura
LOL! now lets talk about Stewart's ice cream....but that would bring us back to NY where the real hikers know how to eat ice cream! Ha! 
