Presidential Traverse: an expression of gratitude.

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blaze

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Scarborough, Maine
Our group of seven successfully completed the Madison to Pierce Presidential Traverse yesterday, Saturday March 6th.

We hit the trail at 4:23 AM. We ended up splitting into two groups, some of whom circumvented some summits and some of whom didn’t, so we did not all finish together, although we did hike together for much of the day.

The group of four that I finished with, that would be Kathy B, Tim G, Kevin P and myself, emerged from the woods at Crawford Notch at 6:20 PM, just a whisker under fourteen hours, and just under “book” time (14:10, according to Mohamed Ellozy’s very helpful Presi Traverse Page . Daymond N, Pat J and Nico W emerged shortly thereafter, after some navigational errors in the gathering dark. There were some tense moments at the Highland Center until all parties were present and accounted for.

I won’t go into the gory details on who in our group of seven bagged which peaks, because I’m not sure I can remember, and I can’t imagine you’d care. But I will say, that same group of four bagged all the summits that we had planned to do. Madison, Adams, Jefferson, Clay, Washington, Monroe, Eisenhower, Pierce. We went over Franklin as well, but modestly prevents me from referring to that as a “summit.”

Random notes for others contemplating a traverse, or planning a hike in the Presis.


  • Valley Way was firm and well packed. Indeed, at that absurd hour of the morning, it was even a bit icy. I regretted leaving my microspikes behind (I opted to carry crampons and snowshoes) but in the end snowshoes may have been the better choice anyway, not for flotation but for traction and for the “ascent” heel lift, which I appreciated more and more as the day progressed. Please do remember though, we went up Valley Way well before sunup, with temps in the teens. Conditions may be much softer on a sunny afternoon.
  • Above treeline, there is a lot of snow, as has been reported. The trail is hard to follow in places. Cairns and blazes are buried in many spots. I’m sure we got off trail several times… sometimes but not always deliberately. Snowshoeing is excellent though. By and large we didn’t sink in far. IMO, snowshoes are still essential. We never used the crampons, but I would not attempt a traverse in winter without carrying them.
  • As has also been reported, use extra caution coming off Pierce on the Crawford Path. Numerous parties have gotten confused here and others (including us) have followed the tracks of the confused, and so gotten confused ourselves. We finally did find the true path but we lost ~30 minutes blundering around in deep snow to find the path. We ran across a large group, clearly very tired and clearly not seasoned winter hikers, who’d dropped far down into the trees before they realized their error and turned back, for a demoralizing and difficult bushwhack back up to the actual trail. They were heading down Crawford Path, bushed but otherwise okay, when we passed them.
  • Stuff that worked well: Trekking poles with snow baskets. I would never have made it without ‘em! Snowshoes with “ascent” heel lifts. Leukotape for preemptive blister control. Bag Balm between the toes. At least four liters of fluid. We saw no running or standing water anywhere.
  • We also had navigational difficulties climbing out of Edmands Col. We got back on the trail quickly though. I noticed that our footprints were filling in quickly here as the snow blew.
  • Other than Washington itself, the wind was particularly brisk on Madison. I started “losing my hands” on the climb up from the hut, and stopped to pull on the shell mitts. That and the moaning wind on the summit rattled me a bit. I wondered what we’d see for wind on the higher summits. But at least that day, Adams and Jefferson did not seem to be getting hit as hard as Madison.

Firsts:
  • Kathy B, Kevin P – first presi traverse, tagging all the summits! Huzzah!
  • Daymond N, Nico W – first Valley Way to Crawford Notch traverse! You guys rock!
  • Pat J – first Valley Way to Crawford Notch traverse in winter! Outstanding!
  • Tim G and Jonathan (blaze) – first presi traverse in winter, tagging all the summits. Also for me, my first presi traverse as a fifty year old. Bring on the next fifty years.

Now for the “expression of gratitude” part… I am profoundly grateful to have had the opportunity and the ability to do this. Even a greater gift though, is to have done it with such capable and cheerful companions. I could slather this report in superlatives to describe the views, the weather, the company, and the entire experience. But it seems more appropriate to just say thank you.

Photos will be posted soon.
 
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Lenticular clouds over Mount Washington.

p618906769-4.jpg


Full photo gallery (slideshow, gallery)
 
Great to hike with your group for a while. Couldnt have asked for better weather. Glad to hear that you made it out. I also got some great pics of those lenticular clouds over Washington. Congratulations on a great effort.

Delaware Steve
 
Great to hike with your group for a while. Couldnt have asked for better weather. Glad to hear that you made it out. I also got some great pics of those lenticular clouds over Washington. Congratulations on a great effort.

Delaware Steve

Steve,

Congratulations to you and your buddy as well! You guys were smokin'. Started later than us and finished earlier! Incredible. Did you go over Jackson and Webster? When did you get out?

Hope you found a lift back to Gorham without resorting to a cab. We looked for you at Highland Center but I suspect you were long gone by then.

So we gave a ride to Gary from VT instead. Gary, if you're reading this, you gave us WAY too much pizza money for the ride! I didn't realize how much it was until we were back in the motel room. Nice hiking with you for a bit; hope you had a safe drive home.
 
Well played, Blaze...congrats!

Our group of four finished our full traverse about a half-hour before you guys did. (Of course, it was a little different than yours, since we started ours on Thursday! And we were carrying 40-50lb packs... :rolleyes:)

From Sphinx Col, we hit Washington's summit at 10:30A and it was dead calm, which we didn't expect at all. One of our team had a wind meter and measured 40mph steady on Monroe and again on Eisenhower, but the forecast was calling for the winds building later in the day, so they may have been a bit higher when you guys came through.

Awesome day to be above treeline though, that's fer sure!
 
What an accomplishment!!! Congratulations to you and the entire team!

Your bullet-point presentation of "random notes" and "firsts" was truly excellent and made for easy and enjoyable reading!!
 
what a great series of cloud photos...stunning

also enjoy the shots coming up to Pierce

looks like quite the day and certainly a great accomplishment
 
Thank you for the kind words! They are greatly appreciated.

Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.
- Mark Twain, a Biography

Paradox - loved the Mark Twain quote. Reading it reminded me of another one that was recently called to my attention:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

To me, that captures the spirit of what we do, all of us, who pursue adventures in the mountains.
 
Great to have met your group at our tent site

Great photos of your journey...great to have met you with my son and granddaughter at our tent site below Washington...was the best of days
 
We didnt end up doing Jackson or Webster. Wanted to but the trail didnt appear to be broken out, and you saw the mess on that end of the trail. Didnt really notice anything heading over to Mizpah until we hit the trail sign for Crawford path. Still a great day. We met a trio coming down about an hour from 302, and they gave us ride back. Thanks for your offer. Hope to see you out there again.
 
That is a nice shot -- but I think these two are worth a look, too, for composition/color/etc.:

http://jonathantr.zenfolio.com/pt1003/h2f2cacfa#h3889a163

...and:

http://jonathantr.zenfolio.com/pt1003/h2f2cacfa#h23bab8d9

And, finally, I like this one because of the miniature person sitting on the subject's shoulder:

http://jonathantr.zenfolio.com/pt1003/h2f2cacfa#h2a8362a4

(Seriously) Some very nice pictures and congratulations on your traverse!

WOw, those are great, esp the first one you posted. The thing I like about the one I put on, was the fact that there sign was nearly buried, above treeline. Freaking awesome!
 
WOw, those are great, esp the first one you posted. The thing I like about the one I put on, was the fact that there sign was nearly buried, above treeline. Freaking awesome!

That is pretty cool -- it tells quite the story with the snow depth. But I like the composition, too.
 
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