Nothing starts a hike off like a spaghetti dinner at Mr. Pizza and a night at Hiker's Paradise. It's wonderful to be able to sleep in instead of getting up early to make the drive to northern New Hampshire. I shouldn't rub it in, though, my hiking companion Poison Ivy had to be on the road at 3:15am in order to meet me at 7:30 to leave a car at Pinkham Notch and head over to Lowe's Store. After paying the parking fee, we were on Lowe's Path at 8:15.
This is a decent trail, mildly rising 1200 feet over the 1.8 miles we'd be on it. Unfortunately, although it passes through nicely wooded areas, we were struggling with the oppressive humidity. Any breeze would have been welcome, but it was not until we gained significantly more elevation that we would be able to cool down. The humidity also meant that the footing was slippery due to wet rock conditions.
There are two options to get to the RMC facilities in the Northern Presidentials. One would have been to continue on Lowe's Path; however, since our destination was Crag Camp, I chose to follow a route that I'd done last Autumn with Max, and we turned onto the King Ravine Trail. This is a very easy section of trail, nearly level to its arrival at the 5-way junction with the Amphibrach and Randolph Path known as the Pentadoi. From there, the hard climbing would begin. While there are several attractive cascades and the footing was firm and simple, the Spur Trail rises 1300 feet in only 0.9 miles and there's no easy way to do that with a full pack. The only consolation was that we were finally getting some views through the trees, and corresponding breezes.
Just when it seems like the trail can't possibly go any further without falling off the side of the ridge into King Ravine, we saw Crag Camp's 4247' footings through the trees. It was a quarter 'till noon, perfect to claim our bunks, fill our water, and have lunch before heading up to Mt. Adams.
We shouldered our lightened packs and continued up the Spur Trail. Above the camp it again climbs painfully steep up to the side trail to Knight's Castle, a prominent knob and amazing viewpoint. We saw our journey ahead of us, the summits of Adams and Madison in the clouds but not showing much evidence of wind. In fact, the entire weekend we would not have any winds of consequence beyond a steady breeze.
As we got above treeline, the trail mellowed out as it curved towards Adams. Trail karma was in play, however, and the footing became dicey as we had to carefully step from rock to rock for long stretches. After the giant cairn of Thunderstorm Junction, the trail becomes somewhat vague, marked inconsistently by low cairns as we climbed awkwardly over the rough summit cone in the fog. And then I heard voices, saw a trail sign, and we were on the 5774' summit at 3:15. The breeze and fog made for a chill, but the post-glacial pile of boulders that makes up the summit cone is varied enough that we were able to find sheltered locations to sit and relax for a bit. This was my 42nd 4000-footer, and Ivy's 39th.
After seeing no signs that the fog would be lifting, we took the obligatory summit photos and started down. By the time we got to Thunderstorm Junction, the summits of both Adams and Madison would blow clear and beautiful. While we missed out on the views topside, we would at least still enjoy the cool, dry air that came in. Ivy took off to fill in her section hiking of the AT between Jefferson and the Junction, while with every step I took back down the Spur Trail, I mourned the fact that the next morning we would have to re-ascend that trail, and with full packs.
Back at Crag Camp, I relaxed and enjoyed the great views out the cabin windows. That is, until I sliced my finger open while cutting a lemon to make lemonade. If you're going to cut yourself, don't do it with a knife dripping with lemon juice. After some artistic bandaging with duct tape, I found my "VFTT" nalgene bottle recognized by a fellow hiker. In fact, he introduced himself saying that he had one of my pictures as his computer's desktop background! It was a great pleasure to meet Bob and hang out with him and his children Sam and Sarah over the weekend. Many great stories and laughs were shared over dinner and throughout the evening.
Ivy got back earlier than expected, and we were able to play a number of cribbage games before drooping eyelids won out. In retrospect, it's quite justified - that day, we'd hiked only 6.7 miles but ascended over 4400 feet.
That night, clouds would come and go, rain would fall then clear. Obnoxious roommates would talk while we were trying to sleep, and squeaky wood framing meant every move I made woke me back up. Morning finally came, showing a highly unstable atmosphere as clouds above and below blew in the wind and roiled in the ravines. A heavy downpour came through, enough to muck up the trails, soak the trees, and ruin the footing. Fortunately, the breeze would remain and above treeline the ground would be dry by the time we were up there.
At 8am, we started up the Spur Trail again, with (ugh) our full packs. The vegetation on the edges of the trails soaked our arms while we watched the amazing weather. As the wind came out of the Great Gulf, it seemed to pull fog right out of the ground, almost like drifting snow. We had this ahead of us on the trail, a beautiful undercast in the valleys below, sun above ... it was an amazing above-treeline experience until we got on the Gulfside Trail and entered the fog. At times, visibility was barely ten feet. It's a good thing that the trail here is distinguishable on the ground since we often couldn't see to the next cairn. With no visual cues, it felt like forever to get to Madison Hut.
This was my first time at the hut, but we'd only be staying long enough to eat a quick snack and top off our water. As we went back out to the trail, the clouds briefly parted, then filled in again. This weather would continue for the next half-hour as we enjoyed the great rock scramble that is the climb up Mt. Madison. The Osgood Trail up from the hut was just plain fun, and when the views were present they were spectacular. At 11:15 we arrived at the 5367' summit, #43 for me, #40 for Ivy.
Celebrations were short, as we could see that the Osgood Ridge stretched on for quite a distance. Being above treeline it was hard to tell distance, and in fact that ridge goes on forever. Each time the fog would clear, we would see that we had yet another bump to climb over. We were getting worn down, and Ivy took a bad fall. At this point, unfortunately, it became more of a trek to just get to the car than a hike to enjoy, and there were still over 5 miles to go.
Treeline corresponded to the fog line, and we were in the clouds as we descended to Osgood Junction. We turned into the Great Gulf Wilderness on the Osgood Cutoff, thoroughly enjoying the flat trail. It's a rare treat in the Whites to be on a trail that doesn't double as a water runoff and therefore is still smooth, uneroded soil - our knees were very grateful for the respite from rock-stepping. After that, it's pretty much a blur - we met up with the Madison Gulf Trail, crossed Parapet Brook and the West Branch of the Peabody River, rose up through the gray past Lowe's Bald Spot to the Auto Road, and slogged down the Old Jackson Road. We got to Pinkham Notch at 6pm, after 9.6 miles of hiking with 2250 feet of ascent.
I took the opportunity to weigh my pack on the big outdoor scale and was surprised it came in at 34 pounds. Having an ultralight sleeping bag, no tent, and minimal remaining food, I expected less. I think the pack itself, an Osprey Crescent 90, is partly responsible. Anyway, we washed up and went back to Lowe's to retrieve the other car. There, I spied lightning in the distance, which was growing dramatically. My only goal was to get through Franconia Notch before the storm hit, and I fortunately succeeded. Of course, I also would have loved to have been up at Crag Camp for that storm's arrival - the lightning was incredible.
As always, pictures are online. Next weekend we go across the street to tackle the Wildcats and the Carter-Moriah Range.
This is a decent trail, mildly rising 1200 feet over the 1.8 miles we'd be on it. Unfortunately, although it passes through nicely wooded areas, we were struggling with the oppressive humidity. Any breeze would have been welcome, but it was not until we gained significantly more elevation that we would be able to cool down. The humidity also meant that the footing was slippery due to wet rock conditions.
There are two options to get to the RMC facilities in the Northern Presidentials. One would have been to continue on Lowe's Path; however, since our destination was Crag Camp, I chose to follow a route that I'd done last Autumn with Max, and we turned onto the King Ravine Trail. This is a very easy section of trail, nearly level to its arrival at the 5-way junction with the Amphibrach and Randolph Path known as the Pentadoi. From there, the hard climbing would begin. While there are several attractive cascades and the footing was firm and simple, the Spur Trail rises 1300 feet in only 0.9 miles and there's no easy way to do that with a full pack. The only consolation was that we were finally getting some views through the trees, and corresponding breezes.
Just when it seems like the trail can't possibly go any further without falling off the side of the ridge into King Ravine, we saw Crag Camp's 4247' footings through the trees. It was a quarter 'till noon, perfect to claim our bunks, fill our water, and have lunch before heading up to Mt. Adams.
We shouldered our lightened packs and continued up the Spur Trail. Above the camp it again climbs painfully steep up to the side trail to Knight's Castle, a prominent knob and amazing viewpoint. We saw our journey ahead of us, the summits of Adams and Madison in the clouds but not showing much evidence of wind. In fact, the entire weekend we would not have any winds of consequence beyond a steady breeze.
As we got above treeline, the trail mellowed out as it curved towards Adams. Trail karma was in play, however, and the footing became dicey as we had to carefully step from rock to rock for long stretches. After the giant cairn of Thunderstorm Junction, the trail becomes somewhat vague, marked inconsistently by low cairns as we climbed awkwardly over the rough summit cone in the fog. And then I heard voices, saw a trail sign, and we were on the 5774' summit at 3:15. The breeze and fog made for a chill, but the post-glacial pile of boulders that makes up the summit cone is varied enough that we were able to find sheltered locations to sit and relax for a bit. This was my 42nd 4000-footer, and Ivy's 39th.
After seeing no signs that the fog would be lifting, we took the obligatory summit photos and started down. By the time we got to Thunderstorm Junction, the summits of both Adams and Madison would blow clear and beautiful. While we missed out on the views topside, we would at least still enjoy the cool, dry air that came in. Ivy took off to fill in her section hiking of the AT between Jefferson and the Junction, while with every step I took back down the Spur Trail, I mourned the fact that the next morning we would have to re-ascend that trail, and with full packs.
Back at Crag Camp, I relaxed and enjoyed the great views out the cabin windows. That is, until I sliced my finger open while cutting a lemon to make lemonade. If you're going to cut yourself, don't do it with a knife dripping with lemon juice. After some artistic bandaging with duct tape, I found my "VFTT" nalgene bottle recognized by a fellow hiker. In fact, he introduced himself saying that he had one of my pictures as his computer's desktop background! It was a great pleasure to meet Bob and hang out with him and his children Sam and Sarah over the weekend. Many great stories and laughs were shared over dinner and throughout the evening.
Ivy got back earlier than expected, and we were able to play a number of cribbage games before drooping eyelids won out. In retrospect, it's quite justified - that day, we'd hiked only 6.7 miles but ascended over 4400 feet.
That night, clouds would come and go, rain would fall then clear. Obnoxious roommates would talk while we were trying to sleep, and squeaky wood framing meant every move I made woke me back up. Morning finally came, showing a highly unstable atmosphere as clouds above and below blew in the wind and roiled in the ravines. A heavy downpour came through, enough to muck up the trails, soak the trees, and ruin the footing. Fortunately, the breeze would remain and above treeline the ground would be dry by the time we were up there.
At 8am, we started up the Spur Trail again, with (ugh) our full packs. The vegetation on the edges of the trails soaked our arms while we watched the amazing weather. As the wind came out of the Great Gulf, it seemed to pull fog right out of the ground, almost like drifting snow. We had this ahead of us on the trail, a beautiful undercast in the valleys below, sun above ... it was an amazing above-treeline experience until we got on the Gulfside Trail and entered the fog. At times, visibility was barely ten feet. It's a good thing that the trail here is distinguishable on the ground since we often couldn't see to the next cairn. With no visual cues, it felt like forever to get to Madison Hut.
This was my first time at the hut, but we'd only be staying long enough to eat a quick snack and top off our water. As we went back out to the trail, the clouds briefly parted, then filled in again. This weather would continue for the next half-hour as we enjoyed the great rock scramble that is the climb up Mt. Madison. The Osgood Trail up from the hut was just plain fun, and when the views were present they were spectacular. At 11:15 we arrived at the 5367' summit, #43 for me, #40 for Ivy.
Celebrations were short, as we could see that the Osgood Ridge stretched on for quite a distance. Being above treeline it was hard to tell distance, and in fact that ridge goes on forever. Each time the fog would clear, we would see that we had yet another bump to climb over. We were getting worn down, and Ivy took a bad fall. At this point, unfortunately, it became more of a trek to just get to the car than a hike to enjoy, and there were still over 5 miles to go.
Treeline corresponded to the fog line, and we were in the clouds as we descended to Osgood Junction. We turned into the Great Gulf Wilderness on the Osgood Cutoff, thoroughly enjoying the flat trail. It's a rare treat in the Whites to be on a trail that doesn't double as a water runoff and therefore is still smooth, uneroded soil - our knees were very grateful for the respite from rock-stepping. After that, it's pretty much a blur - we met up with the Madison Gulf Trail, crossed Parapet Brook and the West Branch of the Peabody River, rose up through the gray past Lowe's Bald Spot to the Auto Road, and slogged down the Old Jackson Road. We got to Pinkham Notch at 6pm, after 9.6 miles of hiking with 2250 feet of ascent.
I took the opportunity to weigh my pack on the big outdoor scale and was surprised it came in at 34 pounds. Having an ultralight sleeping bag, no tent, and minimal remaining food, I expected less. I think the pack itself, an Osprey Crescent 90, is partly responsible. Anyway, we washed up and went back to Lowe's to retrieve the other car. There, I spied lightning in the distance, which was growing dramatically. My only goal was to get through Franconia Notch before the storm hit, and I fortunately succeeded. Of course, I also would have loved to have been up at Crag Camp for that storm's arrival - the lightning was incredible.
As always, pictures are online. Next weekend we go across the street to tackle the Wildcats and the Carter-Moriah Range.
