DreamFarmer
Active member
Mark (Oldsmores), Val (Valerie , fvrwld), Rich (Little Rickie) and me ,Clay, (Dreamfarmer, Rookie) figured we give this traverse a try but stopped after we got to Mt Washington due to disappointment, boredom and lack of a challenge (it was “opposite day”).
We arrived at hikers Paradise on Friday, had a leisurely afternoon, and actually got to bed early ! Our packs were done and waiting in the Van.
There was the potential to get 6 hours of sleep before the 3:15 alarm went of….if only I could’ve slept. This was my first trip to “The Whites” and I was too excited ! So my night was something like , in bed by 8, asleep by 9, awake at 11ish to look at the clock , back to sleep until 12ish, look at the clock, back to sleep until 1….lay awake until 3, back to sleep until 3:15….I told my self at least my body was resting ! I hope I never loose the sense of excitement…but it’s a PITA sometimes !
We were at the Appalachia trailhead by 4AM where several parties were assembling for their shot at the “Traverse”. We were quickly on the Valley Way trail heading for the Madison Hut. This was a nice trail and well marked, but you had to look around a little for the dark brown signs. There are signs at every intersection and there are many intersections. We were happy about the temperature and the lack of precipitation.
We were passed by a couple groups including BIGEarl and Sue just before the Madison Hut. It was so neat to finally see the hut in “real life”. It was a great morning and there were lots of people around the hut. We lingered at the hut for a while and then dropped packs and headed for Madison. The views were great and my eyes were popping out of their sockets !
I was a kid in a candy store and the views were my candy ! There’s Washington !, there’s the highway ! look there’s hikers going up Adams ! Lookdown at the hut ! Cool, Awesome, WOW ! If the views closed down for the rest of the day, so be it, I was fulfilled and thankful already.
I was beginning to understand how hiking this Range was very challenging in regards to foot placement. You must rivet your attention to where your next step will be. You really have to stop if you want to look around. There is incredible potential for falling and hurting yourself . I would never try this without 2 trekking poles, although some of our party used one.
So we went back down Madison to the hut, filled up on water and headed to Adams by way of the Gulfside Trail which is part of the Appalachian Trail. You will see a few of the trails have a name and then an “(AT)” after it meaning it is the Appalachian Trail.
It wasn’t too hard to figure out where to go between the signs and the map. We stopped on top of Adams and had some food and admired the views. The gulfs, the peaks, all that
Rock, the clouds hitting the peaks and shooting upwards...it was a visual smorgasbord .
A number of people had there dogs with them and I pondered how much easier all this “rock hopping” would be with 4 legs instead of 2 !
The next part of the hike was the best as far as I was concerned.
We came down Adams on a different trail then we had ascended and found the giant cairn where it meets the Gulfside Trail. From there we headed towards Edmunds col and Mt Jefferson. From the Giant Cairn to Edmunds Col was just a great place to be. It’s like a high meadow. It’s relatively easy walking, the views are interesting and there are neat rock formations . As we worked our way towards the col, we could see some rain clouds coming at us. By the time we reached the plaque, we had changed into our raingear and were being pounded with cold rain. It didn’t look like it would last long and it didn’t.
I was happy to have the experience. As we came out of the col, we passed a little area still covered with snow, another enhancement to the experiences of the day.
It was cooler now and the clouds were thickening and blowing across the peaks, visibility came and went. We chugged along up to the peak of Jefferson and took another break.
There were about 20 people hanging out near the peak when we got there. They all left and were replaced by another 20 before we continued on.
We headed down and continued on towards Clay. The views were opening up now and we could see Clay with Washington in the background. Ahhh…..Clay…what a great name for a mountain ! We took a break at the bottom of the col and I whipped out my 2 lb bag of peanut M&M’s…yummy ! I was pumped to go get my “Clay on Clay” picture !
The views were opening up all over now and we moved along quickly to the summit, took pictures and continued along to the end of the loop. We kept an eye on the railroad which seemed very active. At the southern end of the Clay loop it was 4:20 and the decision was made to stop after the climb to Washington. I knew most of the hard work would be done by the time we summited Washington, but I knew there we many downhill miles left and I wasn’t too sure how much rock hopping I would be doing after dark.
The walk up to Washington was interesting. We walked along the tracks.
The R/R car came down from the top and stopped. We continued walking and then started noticing a decline in the quality of air…hmm….where’s that coming from ? Then we looked down hill and could see the black smoke heading our way and eventually the other engine coming up the hill came into sight. It seems odd that all that black smoke is
OK in this day and age. We stayed close to the tracks when the engine climbed back up the hill so all the black smoke blew over us. We did get pelted with bits of cinders that fell from the smoke but this only enhanced my experience of the day !
At the top of Washington I called our hotel for a ride back and we were picked up about a half hour later. We picked up our van and headed for showers , clean clothes and cold beer (not in that order) and then the 3 of us went to pick up Val who had hiked down to the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. Her new nick-name is “the lioness”.
This was a great 3 days with outstanding company. A very rich hiking experience.
We arrived at hikers Paradise on Friday, had a leisurely afternoon, and actually got to bed early ! Our packs were done and waiting in the Van.
There was the potential to get 6 hours of sleep before the 3:15 alarm went of….if only I could’ve slept. This was my first trip to “The Whites” and I was too excited ! So my night was something like , in bed by 8, asleep by 9, awake at 11ish to look at the clock , back to sleep until 12ish, look at the clock, back to sleep until 1….lay awake until 3, back to sleep until 3:15….I told my self at least my body was resting ! I hope I never loose the sense of excitement…but it’s a PITA sometimes !
We were at the Appalachia trailhead by 4AM where several parties were assembling for their shot at the “Traverse”. We were quickly on the Valley Way trail heading for the Madison Hut. This was a nice trail and well marked, but you had to look around a little for the dark brown signs. There are signs at every intersection and there are many intersections. We were happy about the temperature and the lack of precipitation.
We were passed by a couple groups including BIGEarl and Sue just before the Madison Hut. It was so neat to finally see the hut in “real life”. It was a great morning and there were lots of people around the hut. We lingered at the hut for a while and then dropped packs and headed for Madison. The views were great and my eyes were popping out of their sockets !
I was a kid in a candy store and the views were my candy ! There’s Washington !, there’s the highway ! look there’s hikers going up Adams ! Lookdown at the hut ! Cool, Awesome, WOW ! If the views closed down for the rest of the day, so be it, I was fulfilled and thankful already.
I was beginning to understand how hiking this Range was very challenging in regards to foot placement. You must rivet your attention to where your next step will be. You really have to stop if you want to look around. There is incredible potential for falling and hurting yourself . I would never try this without 2 trekking poles, although some of our party used one.
So we went back down Madison to the hut, filled up on water and headed to Adams by way of the Gulfside Trail which is part of the Appalachian Trail. You will see a few of the trails have a name and then an “(AT)” after it meaning it is the Appalachian Trail.
It wasn’t too hard to figure out where to go between the signs and the map. We stopped on top of Adams and had some food and admired the views. The gulfs, the peaks, all that
Rock, the clouds hitting the peaks and shooting upwards...it was a visual smorgasbord .
A number of people had there dogs with them and I pondered how much easier all this “rock hopping” would be with 4 legs instead of 2 !
The next part of the hike was the best as far as I was concerned.
We came down Adams on a different trail then we had ascended and found the giant cairn where it meets the Gulfside Trail. From there we headed towards Edmunds col and Mt Jefferson. From the Giant Cairn to Edmunds Col was just a great place to be. It’s like a high meadow. It’s relatively easy walking, the views are interesting and there are neat rock formations . As we worked our way towards the col, we could see some rain clouds coming at us. By the time we reached the plaque, we had changed into our raingear and were being pounded with cold rain. It didn’t look like it would last long and it didn’t.
I was happy to have the experience. As we came out of the col, we passed a little area still covered with snow, another enhancement to the experiences of the day.
It was cooler now and the clouds were thickening and blowing across the peaks, visibility came and went. We chugged along up to the peak of Jefferson and took another break.
There were about 20 people hanging out near the peak when we got there. They all left and were replaced by another 20 before we continued on.
We headed down and continued on towards Clay. The views were opening up now and we could see Clay with Washington in the background. Ahhh…..Clay…what a great name for a mountain ! We took a break at the bottom of the col and I whipped out my 2 lb bag of peanut M&M’s…yummy ! I was pumped to go get my “Clay on Clay” picture !
The views were opening up all over now and we moved along quickly to the summit, took pictures and continued along to the end of the loop. We kept an eye on the railroad which seemed very active. At the southern end of the Clay loop it was 4:20 and the decision was made to stop after the climb to Washington. I knew most of the hard work would be done by the time we summited Washington, but I knew there we many downhill miles left and I wasn’t too sure how much rock hopping I would be doing after dark.
The walk up to Washington was interesting. We walked along the tracks.
The R/R car came down from the top and stopped. We continued walking and then started noticing a decline in the quality of air…hmm….where’s that coming from ? Then we looked down hill and could see the black smoke heading our way and eventually the other engine coming up the hill came into sight. It seems odd that all that black smoke is
OK in this day and age. We stayed close to the tracks when the engine climbed back up the hill so all the black smoke blew over us. We did get pelted with bits of cinders that fell from the smoke but this only enhanced my experience of the day !
At the top of Washington I called our hotel for a ride back and we were picked up about a half hour later. We picked up our van and headed for showers , clean clothes and cold beer (not in that order) and then the 3 of us went to pick up Val who had hiked down to the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. Her new nick-name is “the lioness”.
This was a great 3 days with outstanding company. A very rich hiking experience.
How did you guys handle hiking on the rocks for so many hours? I attempted a partial traverse during the beginning of the month and didn't make it nearly as far as you did - my knees couldn't handle it.
