This journey began in April when I bought the AMC White Mountain Guide and maps. I had thought about visiting the Whites many times, but didn’t get around to it because I was always too busy hiking in the Adirondacks. When great mountains are just outside your door, why look elsewhere? But I was naturally curious. Not that I was even thinking of climbing all 48 4000 footers, mind you, but I assembled a spreadsheet combining hikes and mountains based on proximity, while keeping the challenges (miles and vertical ascent) similar to my experiences “over here”.
I initially came up with a list requiring 15 days, but due to some changes as I went along, I finished in 17 hiking days. I had always intended to do a Presidential Traverse and made my first attempt on June 23rd, starting from Appalachia (N to S). As I reported earlier, I climbed Madison and Adams, but aborted the trip on Jefferson because of poor visibility, rain, and high wind. If I were an ordinary peakbagger, I would have just taken the easy way and only climbed the Crawford Path (Pierce, Eisenhower, Monroe, and Washington) and back to finish. But I really wanted to see what I missed on that cloudy day. The entire range in a day was still my goal but I had to wait more 16 days for better weather and a second chance.
This time I left my car at Appalachia and got the AMC shuttle to Crawford Notch the afternoon before the big hike. The mountains were still heavily clouded-in and light rain was falling, but I was counting on the weather forecasters to have it right. Getting an early start with partly cloudy skies, I set off up the Crawford Path (which was surprisingly dry) to Mt Pierce. Pierce was a nice summit with great views of what was to come later in the day, although the clouds were mostly obscuring Mt Washington. Eisenhower, 1.7 miles away, seemed to be a lot more than 500 feet higher. After some more ups and downs I arrived at Mt Monroe and then at the Lakes of the Clouds hut, but Washington remained mostly out of sight in the clouds.
According to the book, Mt Washington is just 1.5 miles from the hut, but not the way I did it! Somehow, I missed the junction and instead of going up the mountain I contoured N on the Westside trail. After a while (it sure seemed like more than 1.5 miles), I reached the cog railway, and realized that something was wrong. No problem, I thought, I’ll just follow it to the summit. That worked, and I saw the Gulfside trail which led back to the Crawford Path and the summit of Mt Washington. Oh, well, who cares about an additional 1.2 miles when you’re on a 20 mile hike?
Although it was early in the day, I knew I still had a lot more climbing to do. So after using the restroom and topping-off my water bottles I was off to the Gulfside trail and the remaining three peaks. I really didn’t want to struggle again with cloudy conditions and no views. After the first half hour or so, however, the clouds moved out and I had spectacular views of the Great Gulf, Clay, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison (Washington remained cloudy most of the day). I got to see the rocky terrain and features of these great mountains which I missed entirely on my previous trip. My favorite is Adams with its massive base tapering to very small summit, just big enough for just a few people. After a quick climb of Madison, I was soon on my way down 4000 ft to the Appalachia trailhead. By this time I had walked on enough rocks for one day, and even looked forward to having my tired feet step on a softer surface like mud or soil on the trip out.
Sometime during the day while climbing these seven peaks, I realized that I had seen more people on this one day than I had on all the other NH4k peaks combined. It was a fantastic trip and great hiking day, but maybe you can guess which peaks are on my list for a second visit.
I initially came up with a list requiring 15 days, but due to some changes as I went along, I finished in 17 hiking days. I had always intended to do a Presidential Traverse and made my first attempt on June 23rd, starting from Appalachia (N to S). As I reported earlier, I climbed Madison and Adams, but aborted the trip on Jefferson because of poor visibility, rain, and high wind. If I were an ordinary peakbagger, I would have just taken the easy way and only climbed the Crawford Path (Pierce, Eisenhower, Monroe, and Washington) and back to finish. But I really wanted to see what I missed on that cloudy day. The entire range in a day was still my goal but I had to wait more 16 days for better weather and a second chance.
This time I left my car at Appalachia and got the AMC shuttle to Crawford Notch the afternoon before the big hike. The mountains were still heavily clouded-in and light rain was falling, but I was counting on the weather forecasters to have it right. Getting an early start with partly cloudy skies, I set off up the Crawford Path (which was surprisingly dry) to Mt Pierce. Pierce was a nice summit with great views of what was to come later in the day, although the clouds were mostly obscuring Mt Washington. Eisenhower, 1.7 miles away, seemed to be a lot more than 500 feet higher. After some more ups and downs I arrived at Mt Monroe and then at the Lakes of the Clouds hut, but Washington remained mostly out of sight in the clouds.
According to the book, Mt Washington is just 1.5 miles from the hut, but not the way I did it! Somehow, I missed the junction and instead of going up the mountain I contoured N on the Westside trail. After a while (it sure seemed like more than 1.5 miles), I reached the cog railway, and realized that something was wrong. No problem, I thought, I’ll just follow it to the summit. That worked, and I saw the Gulfside trail which led back to the Crawford Path and the summit of Mt Washington. Oh, well, who cares about an additional 1.2 miles when you’re on a 20 mile hike?
Although it was early in the day, I knew I still had a lot more climbing to do. So after using the restroom and topping-off my water bottles I was off to the Gulfside trail and the remaining three peaks. I really didn’t want to struggle again with cloudy conditions and no views. After the first half hour or so, however, the clouds moved out and I had spectacular views of the Great Gulf, Clay, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison (Washington remained cloudy most of the day). I got to see the rocky terrain and features of these great mountains which I missed entirely on my previous trip. My favorite is Adams with its massive base tapering to very small summit, just big enough for just a few people. After a quick climb of Madison, I was soon on my way down 4000 ft to the Appalachia trailhead. By this time I had walked on enough rocks for one day, and even looked forward to having my tired feet step on a softer surface like mud or soil on the trip out.
Sometime during the day while climbing these seven peaks, I realized that I had seen more people on this one day than I had on all the other NH4k peaks combined. It was a fantastic trip and great hiking day, but maybe you can guess which peaks are on my list for a second visit.
