BIGEarl
Well-known member
August 27, 2008: Presidential Traverse
Trails: Valley Way, Osgood Trail, Gulfside Trail, Air Line Trail, Jefferson Loop Trail, Trinity Heights Connector, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop, Eisenhower Loop, Webster Cliff Trail, Webster-Jackson Trail
Summits: Madison, Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Monroe, Eisenhower, Pierce, Jackson
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), and me
A few weeks ago, on June 21, we hiked a Presidential Traverse. Our day didn’t go quite as planned. We did a poor job of managing time. We stopped at the Madison Hut before and after climbing to the summit of Madison, we spent too much time on each summit, we spent too much time at lunch on Washington, and we generally enjoyed the scenery too much to get the hike done. When we hit the summit of Pierce it was dark and late. We decided to skip Jackson and call it a hike at Pierce. Madison to Pierce is a popular Presidential Traverse. We left the day a little disappointed that we didn’t also hike Jackson, but time got away from us. We decided to come back for another pass.
The day started early heading north from Nashua at 2:00am. We stopped at the AMC Highland Center in Crawford Notch to use the facilities and check the weather conditions. When we arrived I parked just past the front door, near the enclosure for the dumpster, and Sue parked before reaching the door. The Mount Washington Observatory had not posted the NWS High Summits Forecast and the person at the front desk didn’t seem to know how to read the weather information on the MWO website for current conditions, so we assumed nothing had changed since the 1:00am reports. On leaving we stopped outside to admire the completely clear sky and all the stars. Sue got into her car and I jumped into the truck planning to head for the turnout on Route 302 to leave a vehicle. When I started the truck a very large, well-fed bear came running out of the dumpster area, roughly ten yards from where we were standing looking at the sky. This was an interesting start to the day. We dropped Sue’s car at the turnout and headed for Appalachia to start the hike.
At 5:00am we were heading out on Valley Way. We both started with an extra layer but would remove and add it back multiple times during the early morning. Roughly half way to the Madison Hut Sue mentioned hearing sticks breaking on the right side of the trail. We looked but could see nothing. A while later she made the same report but this time on the left side of the trail. We looked and there it was, a moose. After looking a little closer we noticed there were two moose, a cow and a calf, roughly fifteen yards off the trail. We pulled out the cameras and started snapping pictures. Eventually, they wandered off. Bear, moose and we haven’t worked up a serious sweat – it’s going to be a good day!
We continued on this initial climb reaching the area of the hut and made a short stop before heading to the summit. Within a couple minutes we were climbing for the summit of Madison. There was a steady breeze but probably not more than 10 – 15 mph from the north (nothing like a couple weeks earlier with 45 mph). We hit the summit, got our pictures, and headed out. There would be no repeat of June 21. Back at the hut we stopped to top off our water supplies and I made a quart of Gatorade, we had a quick snack, and headed south on Gulfside for our next target, Adams.
From the hut to Adams is only .9 miles and 950 feet of elevation. We worked our way along Gulfside to Air Line, made the turn, and headed for the summit. In a little under an hour we were on the summit of Adams and getting our summit shots. As quickly as we arrived we were gone, headed for Thunderstorm Junction and south to Mount Jefferson. Once we were off the summit of Adams it was time to delayer for the day. We made a quick hike to Edmands Col. There, I converted from pants to shorts, re-tied my boots, and we were off for the summit. First, we covered nearly half of the climb by way of Gulfside. At the junction with the Jefferson Loop Trail we turned right and headed straight up to the big cairn at the summit area. I had detailed hike notes as usual and we were paying close attention to our progress against plan. We were doing great, a little ahead of plan. We hit the summit above the big cairn, got the summit shots, paused to admire the scenery with the 360 degree view, and were off for Mount Washington.
The overall conditions were great – both weather and trails even though hiking the Northern Presidentials can be hard on the feet and knees. We made the hike to Washington with a brief refuel stop mid-way planning to have our lunch break on Washington. When we reached the Gulfside – Westside trails junction there was quite a bit of Cog activity (two Cogs were passing each other) and we were distracted. We continued on the Westside trail to the tracks before noticing the wrong turn. No problem, we paralleled the tracks uphill. The Cog workers seemed to look at us a little strangely, perhaps they expected to see a couple full moons.
Before long we were on the summit of Mount Washington where there seemed to be a lighter than usual crowd. We noticed a large number of Coggers, all with their hair in place looking as fresh as could be on the trail near the summit (Cogger = ride the Cog up, ride their Skechers back down, and claim to have hiked Washington). Good for them. The hiker water source in the summit building was out-of-order. We looked around for another but there was none. We decided to move our lunch stop to the Lakes of the Clouds (LOC) Hut. This helped us avoid losing time on Washington. We hit the Crawford Path and headed for the hut. After clearing Washington we were well past the mid point of the hike and the final four 4K’s in the Southern Presidentials were all small by comparison to those of the Northern Presidentials. We wandered into the LOC Hut, and went to work. We planned to have lunch, reload with water, I needed to make another quart of Gatorade (actually two since I immediately drank one), make any needed gear adjustments, visit the “facilities” and head out for Monroe. We didn’t waste any time and soon were hiking the Monroe Loop Trail for the summit. There were several others that also set off from the hut for Monroe but their lack of gear seemed to indicate they were doing a quick up and down. We hit the summit and one of the others provided some assistance with the summit pictures. We visited briefly and were off for Eisenhower. During the conversation the fellow looked at Trail Trotter and me and said “you know, there are lot’s of hikers much younger than the two of you that can’t do this hike”. I expected some sort of interesting response from Sue, but nothing. At this point we’re running roughly 15 to 30 minutes behind plan – not bad.
I’ve done this hike multiple times and have always looked forward to leaving Monroe. The rough hiking conditions of the Northern Presidentials seem to continue to Monroe but then the trail eases up between Monroe and Eisenhower. We came to the northern Eisenhower Loop junction with the Crawford Path and headed for the summit. This is my favorite approach to Eisenhower. There are a few switchbacks and in no time, with nearly no effort, we found ourselves approaching the summit. There we got a few quick summit shots, had a quick refreshment, and headed for Pierce. Only two left.
Most of the mud pits that we found between Eisenhower and Pierce a few weeks ago were generally dry. The remaining wet areas were easy to pass. Trail Trotter set a fast pace across this section and I was generally able to stay with her. She did stop a couple times for some water and allowed me to close the widening gap. Before we knew it we reached the Crawford Path – Webster Cliff Trail junction and headed for the summit cairn. A couple minutes and we were on our way to 4K #8 for the day, Jackson.
We made our way across the short section leading to above the Mizpah Hut, got a couple pictures of Jackson from an exposed area, and headed down to the hut. Arriving at the hut we found quite a few people lounging outside. We made a quick stop, visited briefly with a couple that inquired about our day’s activities, and then headed out for the final summit.
The Webster Cliff Trail from the hut to Jackson is a small test. There are a good number of PUDs that are not at all welcomed at the end of a long day. I knew what to expect ahead of time and prepared Sue. We were able to reach the final climb in a reasonably good frame of mind and headed for the open summit of Jackson. It was late, the light was very low, and we had pulled out the headlights to help light the way.
We made it through the short, steep climb to the open ledge and walked across to the summit cairn. A few pictures at the cairn were all we got because of the darkening conditions. Quickly, we set off on the Jackson Branch of the Webster-Jackson Trail for the Route 302 trailhead and the waiting car. It’s a short 2.6 mile walk out from the summit of Jackson but the trail is very steep ledge at the start and very rough for a significant part of the remainder combining to make a long 2.6 miles. Add to the trail conditions the fact that we’re really tired and it’s dark. We set no records in hiking out from Jackson. We made it to the trailhead roughly 45 minutes over book time. Considering time lost at the various stops, not bad. Just as I thought after seeing the moose, it was a good day.
Sue and I hit our hike target for August and had plenty of fun along the way.
Thanks Sue, I’ll look into coming up with another long one for more entertainment. As you already know, I’ve got some ideas.
Pictures to follow.
Trails: Valley Way, Osgood Trail, Gulfside Trail, Air Line Trail, Jefferson Loop Trail, Trinity Heights Connector, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop, Eisenhower Loop, Webster Cliff Trail, Webster-Jackson Trail
Summits: Madison, Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Monroe, Eisenhower, Pierce, Jackson
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), and me
A few weeks ago, on June 21, we hiked a Presidential Traverse. Our day didn’t go quite as planned. We did a poor job of managing time. We stopped at the Madison Hut before and after climbing to the summit of Madison, we spent too much time on each summit, we spent too much time at lunch on Washington, and we generally enjoyed the scenery too much to get the hike done. When we hit the summit of Pierce it was dark and late. We decided to skip Jackson and call it a hike at Pierce. Madison to Pierce is a popular Presidential Traverse. We left the day a little disappointed that we didn’t also hike Jackson, but time got away from us. We decided to come back for another pass.
The day started early heading north from Nashua at 2:00am. We stopped at the AMC Highland Center in Crawford Notch to use the facilities and check the weather conditions. When we arrived I parked just past the front door, near the enclosure for the dumpster, and Sue parked before reaching the door. The Mount Washington Observatory had not posted the NWS High Summits Forecast and the person at the front desk didn’t seem to know how to read the weather information on the MWO website for current conditions, so we assumed nothing had changed since the 1:00am reports. On leaving we stopped outside to admire the completely clear sky and all the stars. Sue got into her car and I jumped into the truck planning to head for the turnout on Route 302 to leave a vehicle. When I started the truck a very large, well-fed bear came running out of the dumpster area, roughly ten yards from where we were standing looking at the sky. This was an interesting start to the day. We dropped Sue’s car at the turnout and headed for Appalachia to start the hike.
At 5:00am we were heading out on Valley Way. We both started with an extra layer but would remove and add it back multiple times during the early morning. Roughly half way to the Madison Hut Sue mentioned hearing sticks breaking on the right side of the trail. We looked but could see nothing. A while later she made the same report but this time on the left side of the trail. We looked and there it was, a moose. After looking a little closer we noticed there were two moose, a cow and a calf, roughly fifteen yards off the trail. We pulled out the cameras and started snapping pictures. Eventually, they wandered off. Bear, moose and we haven’t worked up a serious sweat – it’s going to be a good day!
We continued on this initial climb reaching the area of the hut and made a short stop before heading to the summit. Within a couple minutes we were climbing for the summit of Madison. There was a steady breeze but probably not more than 10 – 15 mph from the north (nothing like a couple weeks earlier with 45 mph). We hit the summit, got our pictures, and headed out. There would be no repeat of June 21. Back at the hut we stopped to top off our water supplies and I made a quart of Gatorade, we had a quick snack, and headed south on Gulfside for our next target, Adams.
From the hut to Adams is only .9 miles and 950 feet of elevation. We worked our way along Gulfside to Air Line, made the turn, and headed for the summit. In a little under an hour we were on the summit of Adams and getting our summit shots. As quickly as we arrived we were gone, headed for Thunderstorm Junction and south to Mount Jefferson. Once we were off the summit of Adams it was time to delayer for the day. We made a quick hike to Edmands Col. There, I converted from pants to shorts, re-tied my boots, and we were off for the summit. First, we covered nearly half of the climb by way of Gulfside. At the junction with the Jefferson Loop Trail we turned right and headed straight up to the big cairn at the summit area. I had detailed hike notes as usual and we were paying close attention to our progress against plan. We were doing great, a little ahead of plan. We hit the summit above the big cairn, got the summit shots, paused to admire the scenery with the 360 degree view, and were off for Mount Washington.
The overall conditions were great – both weather and trails even though hiking the Northern Presidentials can be hard on the feet and knees. We made the hike to Washington with a brief refuel stop mid-way planning to have our lunch break on Washington. When we reached the Gulfside – Westside trails junction there was quite a bit of Cog activity (two Cogs were passing each other) and we were distracted. We continued on the Westside trail to the tracks before noticing the wrong turn. No problem, we paralleled the tracks uphill. The Cog workers seemed to look at us a little strangely, perhaps they expected to see a couple full moons.
Before long we were on the summit of Mount Washington where there seemed to be a lighter than usual crowd. We noticed a large number of Coggers, all with their hair in place looking as fresh as could be on the trail near the summit (Cogger = ride the Cog up, ride their Skechers back down, and claim to have hiked Washington). Good for them. The hiker water source in the summit building was out-of-order. We looked around for another but there was none. We decided to move our lunch stop to the Lakes of the Clouds (LOC) Hut. This helped us avoid losing time on Washington. We hit the Crawford Path and headed for the hut. After clearing Washington we were well past the mid point of the hike and the final four 4K’s in the Southern Presidentials were all small by comparison to those of the Northern Presidentials. We wandered into the LOC Hut, and went to work. We planned to have lunch, reload with water, I needed to make another quart of Gatorade (actually two since I immediately drank one), make any needed gear adjustments, visit the “facilities” and head out for Monroe. We didn’t waste any time and soon were hiking the Monroe Loop Trail for the summit. There were several others that also set off from the hut for Monroe but their lack of gear seemed to indicate they were doing a quick up and down. We hit the summit and one of the others provided some assistance with the summit pictures. We visited briefly and were off for Eisenhower. During the conversation the fellow looked at Trail Trotter and me and said “you know, there are lot’s of hikers much younger than the two of you that can’t do this hike”. I expected some sort of interesting response from Sue, but nothing. At this point we’re running roughly 15 to 30 minutes behind plan – not bad.
I’ve done this hike multiple times and have always looked forward to leaving Monroe. The rough hiking conditions of the Northern Presidentials seem to continue to Monroe but then the trail eases up between Monroe and Eisenhower. We came to the northern Eisenhower Loop junction with the Crawford Path and headed for the summit. This is my favorite approach to Eisenhower. There are a few switchbacks and in no time, with nearly no effort, we found ourselves approaching the summit. There we got a few quick summit shots, had a quick refreshment, and headed for Pierce. Only two left.
Most of the mud pits that we found between Eisenhower and Pierce a few weeks ago were generally dry. The remaining wet areas were easy to pass. Trail Trotter set a fast pace across this section and I was generally able to stay with her. She did stop a couple times for some water and allowed me to close the widening gap. Before we knew it we reached the Crawford Path – Webster Cliff Trail junction and headed for the summit cairn. A couple minutes and we were on our way to 4K #8 for the day, Jackson.
We made our way across the short section leading to above the Mizpah Hut, got a couple pictures of Jackson from an exposed area, and headed down to the hut. Arriving at the hut we found quite a few people lounging outside. We made a quick stop, visited briefly with a couple that inquired about our day’s activities, and then headed out for the final summit.
The Webster Cliff Trail from the hut to Jackson is a small test. There are a good number of PUDs that are not at all welcomed at the end of a long day. I knew what to expect ahead of time and prepared Sue. We were able to reach the final climb in a reasonably good frame of mind and headed for the open summit of Jackson. It was late, the light was very low, and we had pulled out the headlights to help light the way.
We made it through the short, steep climb to the open ledge and walked across to the summit cairn. A few pictures at the cairn were all we got because of the darkening conditions. Quickly, we set off on the Jackson Branch of the Webster-Jackson Trail for the Route 302 trailhead and the waiting car. It’s a short 2.6 mile walk out from the summit of Jackson but the trail is very steep ledge at the start and very rough for a significant part of the remainder combining to make a long 2.6 miles. Add to the trail conditions the fact that we’re really tired and it’s dark. We set no records in hiking out from Jackson. We made it to the trailhead roughly 45 minutes over book time. Considering time lost at the various stops, not bad. Just as I thought after seeing the moose, it was a good day.
Sue and I hit our hike target for August and had plenty of fun along the way.
Thanks Sue, I’ll look into coming up with another long one for more entertainment. As you already know, I’ve got some ideas.
Pictures to follow.
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