poison ivy
Well-known member
We couldn’t have been blessed with better weather for our planned night hike of Mt. Washington on Saturday -- with fairly warm temperatures and the stars glittering overhead like diamonds in a clear sky. MEB, Little Sister, Jen, Giggy, MtnPa, HikerBob & I gathered at the Mountain House on Friday night to discuss our route and gear -- eventually settling on hiking up via the Jewell Trail and hopefully following the Crawford Path out over the southern Presidentials.
At 11:30, we woke HikerBob & Giggy from their attempts at naps. We headed out to spot cars at the Ritz and Edmands Path before piling in HikerBob’s van for the short ride to Marshfield station. Headlamps blazing, we marched over onto the Jewell Trail at 12:30 a.m. The air was a little crisp with temperatures hovering around freezing, but we were all quite warm. I had never been on the Jewell Trail before but it proved the perfect route to wake us up a little without being too difficult. The rocks glittered under the glow of our headlamps so the trail seemed aptly named.
We stopped at the Jewell Trail’s outlook for a midnight snack and to break open MEB’s glow sticks, which we tucked in our caps like Robin Hood’s feathers. A slight breeze puffed over us, but felt strangely warm as we took in the view of the few remaining snowy patches along the ridges of Washington, Monroe and Eisenhower above us. While there was a forecast for an aurora borealis due to high sunspot activity, my attempts to convince everyone that the red glow over in Littleton’s direction was an aurora met with skepticism.
Back on the trail, we soon busted out above treeline, where the trail alternated between bare boulders and a few patches of hard packed snow. With a half-moon above us and a bit of snow around us, I was able to switch off the headlamp and hike by moonlight until we hit some of the more jagged rocks. The wind became a little steadier and blowing about 10 to 15 miles per hour, so most of us added another layer. For the most part, it was an easy ascent… there was one patch of snow where about half the group used crampons but the spikes came off as quickly as they went on because we found ourselves on rock again.
We finally reached the cairns of the Gulfside Trail and followed it (kind of -- being toward the back of the group, I‘m not sure if we lost it or veered off purposely) over to the Cog’s Tracks, which we followed for our final push up Mt. Washington. Looking off toward Marshfield, a few of us saw two shooting stars -- perhaps precursors to next week’s Leonids meteor shower. The wind was blowing a little harder here and the snow a lot crustier… plus I was starting to feel a little tuckered so I was very relieved to finally see the glowing lights of the Mt. Washington observatory just a few feet away. That final mile or so had been tough!
When we reached a sheltered spot near the observatory’s entrance, it was about an hour before sunrise but the sky was already glowing orange. We found one other hiker, tucked into his sleeping back in the sheltered nook, who had come up from Pinkham and spent the night on the steps. We watched as the slopes of the northern Presidentials brightened and the sky to the east glowed first orange, then purple, then yellow as the 6:30 a.m. sunrise time approached. We cheered when the blazing orange ball first poked above the horizon and announced the arrival of a warm and beautiful day.
Once we had our fill of watching the sun settle into the sky, we packed up our gear and headed down toward Mount Monroe. Most everyone had put on their crampons and I somehow missed that while tagging the summit of Mt. Washington, I think. So it wasn’t until they headed down a steep snowfield that I realized my mistake. I was about halfway down an icier than it initially looked snowfield when I realized I really needed the crampons on my feet, not hanging on my pack. But I was not in a spot where I could stop and put them on either. HikerBob came up and helped me brace my feet against his poles so I could get down the steepest part and put my crampons on. The trek down several other snowfields to the Tuckerman Crossover Trail was a lot more fun once I wasn’t terrified of slipping!
We headed over to Lakes of the Clouds for breakfast and rest up a little more and watch Mt. Monroe glow in the early morning light. HikerBob, Jen and I decided to head up over Mt. Monroe while the rest of the group decided to head around in order to red line a piece of the Crawford Path, so we agreed to meet on the flip side before continuing along together. The views of the surrounding peaks were absolutely incredible, though the frequency of clouds blowing in overhead seemed to be increasing.
The ascent up Monroe just about did me in and I decided that I would probably head down Edmands Path instead of heading over Pierce. HikerBob agreed and we marched on along the Crawford Path, which was pretty much clear of snow, passing Mt. Franklin and heading to Edmands Path, which we reached around 10:30 a.m. I was surprised when we arrived at the junction that everyone had decided that sleep sounded more appealing that Pierce so we all decided to call it a day. The weather also got a little blusty at that point too, which played a role in the decision as well.
So, we all turned onto the Edmands Path, which was surprisingly snowy above the stone gate -- especially since we had seen so little of it anywhere else. My feet were absolutely pounding by the time we were heading down the rocky part of the trail and I told HikerBob that I was ready for the trolley to come pick me up. By that point, I was moving pretty slowly and it was about 12:30 -- twelve hours after we started this adventure that we stepped onto the parking lot.
HikerBob reminded me that last winter when I hiked Mt. Washington I said I’d never hike it again. Now, I think night hiking in primo weather with a great team is the way to go… this hike was definitely my favorite Mt. Washington ascent. Thanks to this terrific team of hikers for including me in their plans and to MtnPa for his generosity in giving us a spot to gather pre- and post- hike at the Mountain House. This was really just a fantastic hike.
My pictures from the hike can be found here.
- Ivy
At 11:30, we woke HikerBob & Giggy from their attempts at naps. We headed out to spot cars at the Ritz and Edmands Path before piling in HikerBob’s van for the short ride to Marshfield station. Headlamps blazing, we marched over onto the Jewell Trail at 12:30 a.m. The air was a little crisp with temperatures hovering around freezing, but we were all quite warm. I had never been on the Jewell Trail before but it proved the perfect route to wake us up a little without being too difficult. The rocks glittered under the glow of our headlamps so the trail seemed aptly named.
We stopped at the Jewell Trail’s outlook for a midnight snack and to break open MEB’s glow sticks, which we tucked in our caps like Robin Hood’s feathers. A slight breeze puffed over us, but felt strangely warm as we took in the view of the few remaining snowy patches along the ridges of Washington, Monroe and Eisenhower above us. While there was a forecast for an aurora borealis due to high sunspot activity, my attempts to convince everyone that the red glow over in Littleton’s direction was an aurora met with skepticism.
Back on the trail, we soon busted out above treeline, where the trail alternated between bare boulders and a few patches of hard packed snow. With a half-moon above us and a bit of snow around us, I was able to switch off the headlamp and hike by moonlight until we hit some of the more jagged rocks. The wind became a little steadier and blowing about 10 to 15 miles per hour, so most of us added another layer. For the most part, it was an easy ascent… there was one patch of snow where about half the group used crampons but the spikes came off as quickly as they went on because we found ourselves on rock again.
We finally reached the cairns of the Gulfside Trail and followed it (kind of -- being toward the back of the group, I‘m not sure if we lost it or veered off purposely) over to the Cog’s Tracks, which we followed for our final push up Mt. Washington. Looking off toward Marshfield, a few of us saw two shooting stars -- perhaps precursors to next week’s Leonids meteor shower. The wind was blowing a little harder here and the snow a lot crustier… plus I was starting to feel a little tuckered so I was very relieved to finally see the glowing lights of the Mt. Washington observatory just a few feet away. That final mile or so had been tough!
When we reached a sheltered spot near the observatory’s entrance, it was about an hour before sunrise but the sky was already glowing orange. We found one other hiker, tucked into his sleeping back in the sheltered nook, who had come up from Pinkham and spent the night on the steps. We watched as the slopes of the northern Presidentials brightened and the sky to the east glowed first orange, then purple, then yellow as the 6:30 a.m. sunrise time approached. We cheered when the blazing orange ball first poked above the horizon and announced the arrival of a warm and beautiful day.
Once we had our fill of watching the sun settle into the sky, we packed up our gear and headed down toward Mount Monroe. Most everyone had put on their crampons and I somehow missed that while tagging the summit of Mt. Washington, I think. So it wasn’t until they headed down a steep snowfield that I realized my mistake. I was about halfway down an icier than it initially looked snowfield when I realized I really needed the crampons on my feet, not hanging on my pack. But I was not in a spot where I could stop and put them on either. HikerBob came up and helped me brace my feet against his poles so I could get down the steepest part and put my crampons on. The trek down several other snowfields to the Tuckerman Crossover Trail was a lot more fun once I wasn’t terrified of slipping!
We headed over to Lakes of the Clouds for breakfast and rest up a little more and watch Mt. Monroe glow in the early morning light. HikerBob, Jen and I decided to head up over Mt. Monroe while the rest of the group decided to head around in order to red line a piece of the Crawford Path, so we agreed to meet on the flip side before continuing along together. The views of the surrounding peaks were absolutely incredible, though the frequency of clouds blowing in overhead seemed to be increasing.
The ascent up Monroe just about did me in and I decided that I would probably head down Edmands Path instead of heading over Pierce. HikerBob agreed and we marched on along the Crawford Path, which was pretty much clear of snow, passing Mt. Franklin and heading to Edmands Path, which we reached around 10:30 a.m. I was surprised when we arrived at the junction that everyone had decided that sleep sounded more appealing that Pierce so we all decided to call it a day. The weather also got a little blusty at that point too, which played a role in the decision as well.
So, we all turned onto the Edmands Path, which was surprisingly snowy above the stone gate -- especially since we had seen so little of it anywhere else. My feet were absolutely pounding by the time we were heading down the rocky part of the trail and I told HikerBob that I was ready for the trolley to come pick me up. By that point, I was moving pretty slowly and it was about 12:30 -- twelve hours after we started this adventure that we stepped onto the parking lot.
HikerBob reminded me that last winter when I hiked Mt. Washington I said I’d never hike it again. Now, I think night hiking in primo weather with a great team is the way to go… this hike was definitely my favorite Mt. Washington ascent. Thanks to this terrific team of hikers for including me in their plans and to MtnPa for his generosity in giving us a spot to gather pre- and post- hike at the Mountain House. This was really just a fantastic hike.
My pictures from the hike can be found here.
- Ivy
