BIGEarl
Well-known member
February 24, 2011: Southern Presidentials
Trails: Crawford Path, Mt. Eisenhower Loop, Webster Cliff Trail, Webster-Jackson Trail
Summits: Mt. Eisenhower, Mt. Pierce, Mt. Jackson
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
The day started with a small surprise. The National Weather Service posted a forecast that showed a temperature of a little above zero at the start of our day and warming into the low 20’s. The actual we found at the start was -10 degrees. My first move was to add a layer. The forecast for the day suggested we would have terrific conditions to start but the afternoon would be a little more difficult with quite a bit of wind and snow. We decided to visit Eisenhower first and save the sheltered part of the hike for the afternoon.
Sue and I hiked this one from the Highland Center. Our first trail was Crawford Path. We crossed Route 302 and found the trail solid, smooth, and ideal MicroSpike territory. We pulled out the traction and set off for a day in the Southern Presidentials. The Crawford Path is clear sailing all of the way to the junction with Webster Cliff Trail and beyond. The first ~3 miles is a huge ramp that leads from Crawford Notch to the treeline. We slowly made our way along this section stopping as needed but trying to keep moving and keep warm. The sky was clear and the sun was up, but not up high enough to be hitting us. We were hiking in the shade on the early part of Crawford Path.
As we approached the treeline the sun finally started to hit the trail. Slowly the trees became smaller, gradually less dense, and finally we were in the open with clear sky and incredible Presidentials views. It’s been a while since Sue and I have hiked in this area and we just stopped and looked. These views never get old. After a while we were on our way to our first target for the day – Mount Eisenhower.
We wandered past the Webster Cliff Trail junction and continued north on Crawford Path. Usually, the section of Crawford Path between Pierce and Eisenhower is drifted in and requires snowshoes. We stayed with MicroSpikes all the way through. There was no postholing at all but we did find a few sections of hard ice that required a little extra caution. We reached the junction with Eisenhower Loop Trail and made another of our many stops to enjoy the surroundings. The day was warm and at the time the wind was very low.
Soon we started up to the summit of Eisenhower. We only gained a small amount of elevation and could tell the wind was increasing. We made steady progress toward the summit and the wind speed increased along with the elevation. By the time we reached the summit it was pretty uncomfortable. I don’t have a handheld weather station but would guess we were experiencing mid 30’s mph. The wind speed wasn’t extreme at all, but still enough to make us want to get our pictures and take off for Pierce. After a few minutes on the summit for pictures and enjoying the views we made the u-turn and headed back out to the Webster Cliff Trail and our next target.
By the time we reached the Webster Cliff Trail we had also nearly climbed Pierce. We made the turn from the Crawford Path and took the short walk to the summit of Pierce. The wind was coming across Pierce at a pretty good rate too. We stopped for a few minutes to enjoy a little more “above-the-treeline” time for the day before diving into the sheltered part of our hike.
The trail leaving Pierce is more of a bushwhack than anything else. At least half of the route between Pierce and the Mizpah hut is not on the actual route of the trail. It’s a bushwhack but not a tough one. The main feature of the route is common in the area – postholes. This section has been hiked mainly by bare booters. It’s currently packed very well but it’s rough. Sue and I were still on our MicroSpikes and they did the job all of the way to Mizpah. After a brief stop there we were on our way to Jackson.
Now comes the really messy part of the hike. The trail from Mizpah to Jackson has seen very little traffic. It looked like perhaps one or two sets of snowshoes had been through. We stayed with MicroSpikes for a short time but soon decided to make a change to snowshoes. The snowshoes worked well. Webster Cliff Trail between Mizpah and Jackson is really tough. There are lots of blowdowns and lean-overs along the way. Many places the trail is completely blocked. In some places it is extremely difficult to even identify the trail. The snow depth is another problem. The few blazes we saw were at the surface of the snow. I believe most blazed are under the snow right now.
We continued to follow the old tracks and they continued to head in generally the right direction. Eventually, we realized we were not hiking a trail at all but were simply bushwhacking our way to Jackson. We didn’t plan for this. The bushwhack route was all over the place; drifting east and then west, but more to the east. Since we were still generally headed toward our target we decided to stay with it. Eventually we managed to reach the areas of the bogs. We entered the first one on the extreme east side and should have actually been on the west side. We both knew we were well east of the trail but since we were still generally headed toward our target we decided to stay with it. We crossed the bog, made the steep climb that exists between the bogs and were soon on the east side of the second, and larger of the bogs. As we walked along we looked to the west and there was a couple sections of the bog bridges exposed above the snow. We made our way to the ease and were once again “on trail”
As fast as we got back on-trail we managed to lose it again. Soon, we were bushacking Jackson, again. This time we were much closer and the wandering was limited. The route started to climb and son we came to a place we both recognized. After briefly looking around we found a blaze and knew we were again on the actual trail. We were in the final couple hundred yards leading to the open ledges of Jackson. From there all we needed to do was climb. It’s pretty much a straight up to the treeline and on to the summit.
A short distance above the treeline we found large areas of bare ledge and decided to remove the snowshoes instead of beating them up on the rocks. On our bare boots we could move from one clear ledge area to another and finish the ascent. We hit the summit, got some pictures, even met another hiker while we were there, but no Gray Jays this time through.
Once we were ready to leave we briefly discussed exit footwear. The decision came to crampons because of the very steep exit. We stowed our snowshoes and went with the crampons. They worked well, all of the way to Crawford Notch. We had a pleasant on-trail finish to our day in the Presidentials and managed to complete the hike without a headlight. Nice!
After a quick visit to The Highland Center we were on the highway south and trying to decide our plans for the remainder of the week.
Thanks Sue. It’s always a treat to spend some extended time above the treeline in great conditions.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Crawford Path, Mt. Eisenhower Loop, Webster Cliff Trail, Webster-Jackson Trail
Summits: Mt. Eisenhower, Mt. Pierce, Mt. Jackson
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
The day started with a small surprise. The National Weather Service posted a forecast that showed a temperature of a little above zero at the start of our day and warming into the low 20’s. The actual we found at the start was -10 degrees. My first move was to add a layer. The forecast for the day suggested we would have terrific conditions to start but the afternoon would be a little more difficult with quite a bit of wind and snow. We decided to visit Eisenhower first and save the sheltered part of the hike for the afternoon.
Sue and I hiked this one from the Highland Center. Our first trail was Crawford Path. We crossed Route 302 and found the trail solid, smooth, and ideal MicroSpike territory. We pulled out the traction and set off for a day in the Southern Presidentials. The Crawford Path is clear sailing all of the way to the junction with Webster Cliff Trail and beyond. The first ~3 miles is a huge ramp that leads from Crawford Notch to the treeline. We slowly made our way along this section stopping as needed but trying to keep moving and keep warm. The sky was clear and the sun was up, but not up high enough to be hitting us. We were hiking in the shade on the early part of Crawford Path.
As we approached the treeline the sun finally started to hit the trail. Slowly the trees became smaller, gradually less dense, and finally we were in the open with clear sky and incredible Presidentials views. It’s been a while since Sue and I have hiked in this area and we just stopped and looked. These views never get old. After a while we were on our way to our first target for the day – Mount Eisenhower.
We wandered past the Webster Cliff Trail junction and continued north on Crawford Path. Usually, the section of Crawford Path between Pierce and Eisenhower is drifted in and requires snowshoes. We stayed with MicroSpikes all the way through. There was no postholing at all but we did find a few sections of hard ice that required a little extra caution. We reached the junction with Eisenhower Loop Trail and made another of our many stops to enjoy the surroundings. The day was warm and at the time the wind was very low.
Soon we started up to the summit of Eisenhower. We only gained a small amount of elevation and could tell the wind was increasing. We made steady progress toward the summit and the wind speed increased along with the elevation. By the time we reached the summit it was pretty uncomfortable. I don’t have a handheld weather station but would guess we were experiencing mid 30’s mph. The wind speed wasn’t extreme at all, but still enough to make us want to get our pictures and take off for Pierce. After a few minutes on the summit for pictures and enjoying the views we made the u-turn and headed back out to the Webster Cliff Trail and our next target.
By the time we reached the Webster Cliff Trail we had also nearly climbed Pierce. We made the turn from the Crawford Path and took the short walk to the summit of Pierce. The wind was coming across Pierce at a pretty good rate too. We stopped for a few minutes to enjoy a little more “above-the-treeline” time for the day before diving into the sheltered part of our hike.
The trail leaving Pierce is more of a bushwhack than anything else. At least half of the route between Pierce and the Mizpah hut is not on the actual route of the trail. It’s a bushwhack but not a tough one. The main feature of the route is common in the area – postholes. This section has been hiked mainly by bare booters. It’s currently packed very well but it’s rough. Sue and I were still on our MicroSpikes and they did the job all of the way to Mizpah. After a brief stop there we were on our way to Jackson.
Now comes the really messy part of the hike. The trail from Mizpah to Jackson has seen very little traffic. It looked like perhaps one or two sets of snowshoes had been through. We stayed with MicroSpikes for a short time but soon decided to make a change to snowshoes. The snowshoes worked well. Webster Cliff Trail between Mizpah and Jackson is really tough. There are lots of blowdowns and lean-overs along the way. Many places the trail is completely blocked. In some places it is extremely difficult to even identify the trail. The snow depth is another problem. The few blazes we saw were at the surface of the snow. I believe most blazed are under the snow right now.
We continued to follow the old tracks and they continued to head in generally the right direction. Eventually, we realized we were not hiking a trail at all but were simply bushwhacking our way to Jackson. We didn’t plan for this. The bushwhack route was all over the place; drifting east and then west, but more to the east. Since we were still generally headed toward our target we decided to stay with it. Eventually we managed to reach the areas of the bogs. We entered the first one on the extreme east side and should have actually been on the west side. We both knew we were well east of the trail but since we were still generally headed toward our target we decided to stay with it. We crossed the bog, made the steep climb that exists between the bogs and were soon on the east side of the second, and larger of the bogs. As we walked along we looked to the west and there was a couple sections of the bog bridges exposed above the snow. We made our way to the ease and were once again “on trail”
As fast as we got back on-trail we managed to lose it again. Soon, we were bushacking Jackson, again. This time we were much closer and the wandering was limited. The route started to climb and son we came to a place we both recognized. After briefly looking around we found a blaze and knew we were again on the actual trail. We were in the final couple hundred yards leading to the open ledges of Jackson. From there all we needed to do was climb. It’s pretty much a straight up to the treeline and on to the summit.
A short distance above the treeline we found large areas of bare ledge and decided to remove the snowshoes instead of beating them up on the rocks. On our bare boots we could move from one clear ledge area to another and finish the ascent. We hit the summit, got some pictures, even met another hiker while we were there, but no Gray Jays this time through.
Once we were ready to leave we briefly discussed exit footwear. The decision came to crampons because of the very steep exit. We stowed our snowshoes and went with the crampons. They worked well, all of the way to Crawford Notch. We had a pleasant on-trail finish to our day in the Presidentials and managed to complete the hike without a headlight. Nice!
After a quick visit to The Highland Center we were on the highway south and trying to decide our plans for the remainder of the week.
Thanks Sue. It’s always a treat to spend some extended time above the treeline in great conditions.
Pictures will follow.
Last edited:
