Looking at Mt. Washington from There & There & There & There (18-Sep-2010)

[1HappyHiker]

Looking at Mt. Washington from There & There & There & There (18-Sep-2010)

Before we know it, the colors will peak for the autumn of 2010. The leaves are making their metamorphosis right now (as shown in the photo below).

The snapshot shown above was taken during a loop hike that Zman & I did. This loop was part bushwhack and part on-trail hiking.
We started and ended our loop at the Jericho Road trailhead for the Rocky Branch Trail. A thumbnail sketch of our route is as follows.

We left the Rocky Branch Trail almost immediately to begin the approximate 2.3 mile bushwhack portion of the loop. This bushwhack took us over two unnamed peaks with terrific views. After completing the bushwhack portion, we joined the Mt. Parker Trail and followed it + the Davis Path + the Stairs Col Trail + the Rocky Branch Trail to complete our loop.

For round figures, the total mileage of our loop was about 9 miles, and the total duration for the hike was about 8 hours (includes breaks for snacks, picture-taking, etc).

A GoogleEarth schematic of our loop is shown below. The approximate route of the bushwhack is shown in red. The on-trail portion is shown in yellow.

We hit four major viewpoints during our loop which (in order) were as follows: 2,342 ft unnamed peak; 2,977 ft unnamed peak; South Resolution (unofficial name); and Mt. Resolution. There are views of Mt. Washington and surrounding peaks from each of those four spots, and thus this report was entitled: "Looking at Mt. Washington from There & There & There & There"!

The photos below show examples of the Mt. Washington views from each of these four locations.

1) View from 2,342 ft Unnamed Peak

2) View from 2,977 ft Unnamed Peak

3) View from South Resolution (unofficial name for 3,250 ft knob south of Mt. Resolution)

4) View from Mt. Resolution

Besides the views toward Mt. Washington, there were loads of additional views in many directions. The photos below are just a sample of some of the other views we experienced at various points during our loop.

The on-trail portion of our hike was fairly routine, although it was somewhat remarkable that we met only one other hiker on a beautiful Saturday in the Whites!

Regarding the bushwhack portion, it was never overly steep, and there were a lot of open hardwoods along the way. Overall, it was pretty easy. But so as not to sugar-coat it too much, there were some short patches of prickly conifers here & there. Also, there was one humungous swath of blowdowns that seemed to go on forever, but in reality we probably endured this mess for less than a quarter mile. Regardless of the distance, this nasty patch slowed our progress to a crawl for awhile.

Perhaps this little side note is worth mentioning. The 2,977 ft. unnamed peak is just a few hundred feet east of the Mt. Parker Trail. Although this spot is marked with a large cairn, there is no obvious herd path leading to it. If you are hiking the Mt. Parker Trail, it's worth taking a moment to whack up to this great little viewpoint. It's located about midway between Mt. Parker and South Resolution.

Happy trails,

1HappyHiker

 

[grouseking]

Wow, whatta view, especially the first view to Washington. I think that is my favorite! It looks so exposed, and looks difficult to just hang out there to enjoy the view...which adds to the wild feeling. On the other hand, views 3 and 4 are great for the opposite reason: you can sprawl out, take a nap, enjoy the vistas...do whatever you want.

Continue to post these John. You give me ideas of things do to when I am not thinking about completing my 4000 footers. While I am not a bushwhacker, I'm always looking for a new adventure that leads to a different view.

grouseking

 

[1HappyHiker]

Wow, whatta view, especially the first view to Washington. I think that is my favorite! It looks so exposed, and looks difficult to just hang out there to enjoy the view...which adds to the wild feeling. On the other hand, views 3 and 4 are great for the opposite reason: you can sprawl out, take a nap, enjoy the vistas...do whatever you want.

Continue to post these John. You give me ideas of things do to when I am not thinking about completing my 4000 footers. While I am not a bushwhacker, I'm always looking for a new adventure that leads to a different view.

Thanks for your reply Phil. As you know, it's tough to convey exactly what a place is like through photos alone. There's no substitute for actually being there (wherever "there" might be)! But anyway, you commented about places to "sprawl out, take a nap, enjoy the vistas". Any of the 4 spots we visited on this hike would be terrific for doing those things.

However, of the 4 spots mentioned in my report, you might consider doing South Resolution sometime. It doesn't entail a bushwhack.
If you head southbound from Mt. Resolution on the Mt. Parker Trail, then in about 0.6 mile you'll see a faint side path off to your right (west) which will take you to this humungous flat expanse of open rock unofficially called South Resolution.

Maybe the photo below will give you some sense of how huge this spot is. Since South Resolution is rarely visited, you would probably have the whole place to yourself. But, it's so vast that even if fellow hikers did show up, there would be plenty of room for everyone to "sprawl out, take a nap, enjoy the vistas".

 

[TDawg]

Very cool!

I was just in this area a couple weeks ago for a two night backpack along a similar route (on trail anyways.) Rocky Branch, Stairs Col Tr., then out Mt Parker/Mt Langdon with a night at Rocky #1 and Stairs Mtn.

At a few different points I looked down at your "unnamed 2342" and thought it would be a cool place to whack to. And sure enough, it is!! Here is a look at it from Stairs, just below center. What a view of Stairs Mtn. and "The Back Stairs," as I believe that other cliff is refered to.

Although I blew by your "unnamed 2977" on the Mt. Parker Trail, we did make the side trip to South Resolution and it was a fantastic spot!! Here's another pic to help convey the size of the ledge. Indeed, it is very flat and perfect for napping/hanging out/sleeping under the stars/what not.



Thanks for posting!!

 

[bubba]

Nice post. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[1HappyHiker]

Nice post. Thanks for sharing it.

Thanks! I appreciate your feedback. It's always nice to know when someone enjoyed reading a trip report.

Very cool!

I was just in this area a couple weeks ago for a two night backpack along a similar route (on trail anyways.) Rocky Branch, Stairs Col Tr., then out Mt Parker/Mt Langdon with a night at Rocky #1 and Stairs Mtn.

At a few different points I looked down at your "unnamed 2342" and thought it would be a cool place to whack to. And sure enough, it is!! Here is a look at it from Stairs, just below center. What a view of Stairs Mtn. and "The Back Stairs," as I believe that other cliff is refered to.

Although I blew by your "unnamed 2977" on the Mt. Parker Trail, we did make the side trip to South Resolution and it was a fantastic spot!!

Thanks for posting!!

Todd . . . thanks for your most cool reply! First of all, your photo from Stairs nailed it! That is "unnamed 2,342" that you spotted!

Secondly, glad you liked the photo taken from "unnamed 2,342" which shows Stairs Mountain and "The Back Stairs" (and yes, I think that is indeed the unofficial name that has been given to that cliff by the rock/cliff climbing folks).

And thirdly, if you'd known about it, you would've liked view from the "unnamed 2,977" knob. But don't feel badly that you blew past it.
I just did it on a lark, and it was the first time I'd been there myself. It just happened to turn out to be a terrific viewpoint. It could just as easily have been a complete bust. I've had more than a few of those! But hey! I think you'd agree . . . ya' gotta try stuff! And in the process, you win a few, and you lose a few!