Presi Traverse 6/18: Good, Bad, and Ugly!

[dr_wu002]

I wont dingo-dog ya mate, but ya couldn't be more wrong. Frankie is my favorite summit in the southern presis, best views of em all!!!

Heya Sherp ya never did say who was the "good, bad and ugly" respectively. But ..., i can se ya with a lil cigar between yer teeth yelling ahead to the fast ones "hey Blondie! Blondie come back, Blondie you @#%&*!!" LOL

The Views from Franklin are awesome. It's my favorite too... I've actually gone for hikes where the only thing I did was summit Franklin.

I just meant that it actually has very little prominence (25') and when traveling south you might not even notice it at first. But traveling North (from Eisenhower) it looks quite impressive.

-Dr. Wu

 

[Mr. X]

...things I learned on this trip - simple stuff that I took for granted...-

Shizzmac doesn't read his PM's

 

[Jay H]

Oh, re: Franklin. I don't want to seem insulting, but could you have been on Little Monroe?

Most certainly could. I wasn't going to be sitting there studying the topo maps while I was getting drenched on. It could possibly be some other summit. After awhile, all the damm mist and fog, every summit looks the same!!!

I know theres a bunch going back to do the southern traverse in September, maybe you could join me in the "Crawford Notch circular.

Thinking of (this is from memory) doing Willey, Field, Tom, then down to Crawford Notch and then the Webster/Jackson loop. If somebody could drop me off at the trail not far south of the Highland Center, I could end where the others are going.

Jay

 

[beverly]

So, the next time anyone asks if VFTT encourages us to get out there, remember this one. On a cold rainy day in June, 16 of us were together on the Presis (Jean and Nat drove up from Hiker's), one finished her 48, and everyone else hiked for over 16 miles! It's safe to say that those who find their way here love to hike!

BTW, Seema, Blue and MtnTop are the smart ones. They waited a day and did their successful traverse under sunny skies on Sunday!

Sunday was such a terrific weather day - I couldn't imagine doing a traverse under the conditions you faced on Saturday in the rain. Sorry, SherpaK, but my 4 friends and I ordered up perfect weather for the traverse as scheduled on Sunday and it was glorious.

 

[Blue]

Yes, it was glorious on Sunday.

We took Mtn Top's 15 year old twins on their first (hopefully not last) one day Traverse. My photos of the day are located here. We were very happy to see a smiling Seema and a big backpack-wearin' Regular Brian on Adams.

 

[dr_wu002]

Yes, it was glorious on Sunday.

We took Mtn Top's 15 year old twins on their first (hopefully not last) one day Traverse. My photos of the day are located here. We were very happy to see a smiling Seema and a big backpack-wearin' Regular Brian on Adams.

Wow! I loved your photos, particularly the ones w/ the summits as islands peaking above a sea of clouds. Really beautiful. I went up Jefferson/Adams/Madison on Sunday but by the time we reached treeline, all the clouds had gone away.

How long did the traverse take??

-Dr. Wu

 

[DougPaul]

Oh, re: Franklin. I don't want to seem insulting, but could you have been on Little Monroe?

Most certainly could. I wasn't going to be sitting there studying the topo maps while I was getting drenched on. It could possibly be some other summit. After awhile, all the damm mist and fog, every summit looks the same!!!

Shouldn't be too hard to distinguish between them.

From N-S:
* From LOC hut, Crawford Path leads to junction, turn right onto
* Mt Monroe Loop--goes steeply up Mt Monroe (may require hands), over the summit, then follows a broad ridge (~.1mi) to Little Monroe (small bare low summit) where it turns left and drops steeply down (climbs down big rocks--defintely requires hands) and rejoins Crawford Path. (turn right.)
* Follow Crawford Path ~.3mi.
* 100-200yd long spur leads left to Franklin (steep drop-off from summit into Oakes Gulf). Very small gradual rise: 20--30 ft. Spur follows edge of steep drop-off to the left down into Oakes Gulf. Backtrack to Crawford Path.
* Crawford path traverses down to the right of Franklin and reaches Edmond's Path in ~.9mi.

If you went over Monroe and continued on the path, you went over Little Monroe. (It is possible to bushwack from a point between the Monroes down to Crawford Path. Highly depreciated due to very rare plants in the area.)

If you took Crawford Path around the Monroes, there is a narrow (one path width) rocky spot just past Monroe summit where one could take a lethal fall into Oakes Gulf. Can be uncomfortable for about 10 ft.

Franklin requires the out and back on the spur trail/herd path. I think there is a cairn at the junction, don't recall if there is a sign.

Hopefully the above description will enable you to determine if you went over Little Monroe and/or Franklin. (I was there about a year ago on a nice sunny day. Sure is easier to figure out where you are in clear weather...)

Doug

 

[HikerBob]

On a nice sunny day THIS is the view south from south Monroe. Franklin true summit is the small bump that juts out into Oakes Gulf.

There is a lightly travelled path that diverges from the Crawford Path which can just be seen heading in a straight line for Eisenhower.

THIS is looking back from near the start of the Franklin path and THIS (ignoring the idiot in the red shirt) is the view from Franklin back towards Monroe and Washington.

The path then continues south converging back to the Crawford Path.

I thought Franklin offered some nice views for a very minor diversion that few folk seemed interested in taking when I was there.

Bob

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

HP2005 High Pointers convention Presi traverse

Are any VFTT folks interested in assisting with a Presi traverse on Friday, September 2nd, as part of the NH2005 High Pointers convention? I am looking for both leaders and car spotters, including end points and bail out points. You can send me a personal email if preferred, although I will be away from email from about June 19th to July 18th. I will post a generic link to NH2005, once it is up on the High Pointers Web page.

 

[SherpaKroto]

Gris:
The Good: friends and Presis
The Bad: weather, slick rocks, and no views
The Ugly: Jean's hand, Donna's shin, and Giggy's blisters. And if you ask anyone else, my moon (but c'mon, how can you pass up mooning the cog at 50?)

On this day we weren't quite the bugs, but we were barely dodging the windshield!

 

[Gris]

The "bad" would be yer new avatar - with so many good ones to choose from why that!