BIGEarl
Well-known member
January 9, 2010: Southern Presidentials Traverse
Trails: Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop Trail, Eisenhower Loop Trail, Webster Cliff Trail
Summits: Monroe, Eisenhower, and Pierce
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Bombadil (Pat), Marshie (Jay), and me
Most hikes in the Crawford Notch area start with a visit to the Highland Center. We all planned to meet there, take care of final hike prep, check the latest forecast and conditions, etc. Slowly, the group assembled and we were ready for the day. We made a quick stop at the turnout on Route 302 near the Webster-Jackson trailhead to drop a couple vehicles and we were off for Marshfield Station and our hike. The day was cold, overcast with a forecast for clearing, and the wind on the ridge was blowing strong; weather history shows 67 mph from the northwest and -2 degrees which generally agrees with the information we received at the Highland Center. Brisk!
As we arrived, others were already there preparing to hike. One of the people we met was ScenicNH (Erin). I hadn’t seen Erin for well over a year and now twice in consecutive weekends. I asked if he could join our hike but he had other plans for the day. I guess I need to work on my pick-up lines. Erin is a real pleasure to hike with.
We all started the day on snowshoes right from the parking area and they stayed on until we reached Route 302 in Crawford Notch. That’s right; we were able to make it up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail without crampons. Two others that were in the lot when we arrived set off first, then Erin, and finally us. Erin quickly took the lead position and was hiking in a fresh layer of powder over a soft but packed trail, then we passed the other two guys a short distance into the trail – they were bare booting their hike and moving very slow due to the postholing – neither had snowshoes.
The early part of the hike to Gem Pool is a mild approach on the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail. The trail is generally clear sailing with most of the blowdowns from a few weeks ago cleared or buried. There’s enough elevation to help with a good warm-up but that’s about it. I think we all did some layer adjusting in this section as we came up to temperature. From Gem Pool to the LOC Hut the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail gets serious. It’s only one mile but includes 1550 feet in elevation gain. Steep! We stayed with the snowshoes. Sue and Jay were on MSR Lightning Ascents while Pat and I were on MSR Denali EVO Ascents. Before long we all had the televator bars up and we were digging in. The trail was packed but soft. Generally the surface was solid enough to hold but there were occasions when we all slipped back while attempting to move higher. A little extra care was needed when setting the snowshoes to make sure they were taking a good bite. Above the first crossing we climbed into a sheltered area on the trail and stopped for a quick break. All of us had a very early start to the day to make it to the Highland Center at the planned meet time. By now breakfast was long gone and we needed to add some fuel. With that out of the way we continued the climb. Soon we hit the treeline and were enjoying fantastic views to Washington. To the west we could see a great deal of undercast covered the area and it was headed in our direction.
I decided to try a heavier sock than the one that I was using and we made a quick stop in the dungeon for the change. Getting out of the wind for a few minutes felt good but the cold started to dig in and we needed to get back into the hike and generate some heat. We left the dungeon and headed around to the east side of the LOC Hut where the wind was mostly blocked and we were enjoying full sun. Nice, but still very cold. We took careful aim and set off for the summit of Monroe.
The climb to Monroe was a little tougher than usual. The wind was fierce and gusty. We were all adequately layered up but the force of the wind made the job of staying upright difficult. There were times when we stepped where the wind blew us and not necessarily where we were intending. Monroe was definitely an interesting first summit for the day. Reaching the small ridge that leads back to the actual summit area we were near the east edge of it with a pretty good drop-off to the east. With a very strong west wind I was concerned a gust could make one of us lose our footing and go over the edge. I motioned for the others to move to a safer area. We hit the summit, got the usual pictures, and headed south for Eisenhower. The clouds had moved in from the west over the area to our south. We couldn’t see Eisenhower but were pretty sure it was where we left it after our last visit.
We left Monroe on the usual route that passes over Little Monroe and connects with the Crawford Path. The Crawford Path passes around the east side of Monroe/Little Monroe and we could see a trace of the trail down below. Logic seemed to suggest if we could drop down from the ridge to the east we would find calmer conditions and a break from the wind eventually landing on the Crawford Path. Logic wasn’t working in our favor and we never found any dead air on our exit from Monroe.
Somewhere along the way Jay checked the thermometer on his pack - it showed -10 degrees.
As we hiked south the conditions deteriorated along with visibility. I believe the visibility dropped to a couple hundred feet but we could always see a faint image of the sun so navigation wasn’t that tough. Eventually we made it to the area where the Crawford Path, Edmands Path, and the Eisenhower Loop all generally meet. The trail since leaving the LOC Hut was not broken and we found more of the same for our climb of Eisenhower. We started into the climb and were initially on a bushwhack finding spruce traps and large snow-filled areas between boulders that we sunk into. Roughly a third of the way through the climb we hit the trail and were able to generally stay with it to the summit. Jay found an area of dead air where we all stopped briefly to have a drink and enjoy a break from the wind. Soon we made the final climb to the summit cairn, got our pictures, and headed south knowing there was some shelter in the areas of dense growth between Eisenhower and Pierce.
Leaving Eisenhower was a little more difficult that normal. The early part of the trail was fairly easy to follow because of the large cairns. As we dropped down from the upper elevations we lost the trail and generally worked from memory on our exit. Eventually we found ourselves on the edge of a huge field of spruce traps. We knew the Crawford Path was on the other side, but how should we approach getting from where we were to where we wanted to be? Jay started in and soon was deep in a trap. I think we all decided a direct course wasn’t a good choice. I kept looking for the trail corridor and managed to find the hole in the spruce where we needed to go. In a very short time we were at the south junction of the Eisenhower Loop and the Crawford Path. That was easy!
We continued south on an unbroken trail. In the summer there are a few places on the Crawford Path that are confusing. Bury it under a few feet of snow and the Crawford Path turns into a test. The open areas all looked the same and the trail corridor through the sections of spruce was often hidden by trees bent over from the heavy snow. There was no sign of prior traffic and the trail was heavily drifted in through the scrub. More than once we headed off in the wrong direction but were always able to quickly locate the route. Roughly half-way to Pierce we found the trail tracked out. Life got easier. It seemed hikers from the south reached this point and decided it was time to head back. We continued south and came upon a couple (man and son) that may have camped in the area the night before. The reason I think this is; first we passed a tracked out route off the trail that may have led to a campsite, and second because a short distance south the trail was not broken and once again very tough to follow. It looked like the area that was tracked out was the result of the father and son trying to locate the trail north and south of their camp location. We continued south with the man and boy not far behind (a couple times they were right on our heels). Eventually we made it to the Webster Cliff Trail junction, made the turn, and headed for the summit of Pierce. We also started making comments concerning Jackson. It looked like we were all ready to call it a hike and exit via the Crawford Path.
At the summit of Pierce there were no views, just clouds. We got more summit pictures and noticed the trail south was not broken. That sealed things. We headed back to the Crawford Path and our exit. The wind was still beating us up. We hit the Crawford Path and made our way through the final exposed hiking for the day and back into the trees. Finally, we got a break from the persistent high wind.
The hike out was an easy cruise down the huge ramp of the Crawford Path. Nearly all of the blowdowns from a few weeks ago were gone, buried, or have tracked-out paths around them. It was an easy walk out. In what seemed like a very short time we reached the Mizpah Cutoff and not long after we hit the trailhead and Route 302. Sue headed to the Highland Center and the rest of us headed for the vehicles.
It was a little disappointing to call it a hike before hitting Jackson. We were all tired and I believe we had a full day just making it over Monroe, Eisenhower, and to Pierce. We’ll visit Jackson later, it’s not going anywhere.
Pictures will follow.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop Trail, Eisenhower Loop Trail, Webster Cliff Trail
Summits: Monroe, Eisenhower, and Pierce
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Bombadil (Pat), Marshie (Jay), and me
Most hikes in the Crawford Notch area start with a visit to the Highland Center. We all planned to meet there, take care of final hike prep, check the latest forecast and conditions, etc. Slowly, the group assembled and we were ready for the day. We made a quick stop at the turnout on Route 302 near the Webster-Jackson trailhead to drop a couple vehicles and we were off for Marshfield Station and our hike. The day was cold, overcast with a forecast for clearing, and the wind on the ridge was blowing strong; weather history shows 67 mph from the northwest and -2 degrees which generally agrees with the information we received at the Highland Center. Brisk!
As we arrived, others were already there preparing to hike. One of the people we met was ScenicNH (Erin). I hadn’t seen Erin for well over a year and now twice in consecutive weekends. I asked if he could join our hike but he had other plans for the day. I guess I need to work on my pick-up lines. Erin is a real pleasure to hike with.
We all started the day on snowshoes right from the parking area and they stayed on until we reached Route 302 in Crawford Notch. That’s right; we were able to make it up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail without crampons. Two others that were in the lot when we arrived set off first, then Erin, and finally us. Erin quickly took the lead position and was hiking in a fresh layer of powder over a soft but packed trail, then we passed the other two guys a short distance into the trail – they were bare booting their hike and moving very slow due to the postholing – neither had snowshoes.
The early part of the hike to Gem Pool is a mild approach on the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail. The trail is generally clear sailing with most of the blowdowns from a few weeks ago cleared or buried. There’s enough elevation to help with a good warm-up but that’s about it. I think we all did some layer adjusting in this section as we came up to temperature. From Gem Pool to the LOC Hut the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail gets serious. It’s only one mile but includes 1550 feet in elevation gain. Steep! We stayed with the snowshoes. Sue and Jay were on MSR Lightning Ascents while Pat and I were on MSR Denali EVO Ascents. Before long we all had the televator bars up and we were digging in. The trail was packed but soft. Generally the surface was solid enough to hold but there were occasions when we all slipped back while attempting to move higher. A little extra care was needed when setting the snowshoes to make sure they were taking a good bite. Above the first crossing we climbed into a sheltered area on the trail and stopped for a quick break. All of us had a very early start to the day to make it to the Highland Center at the planned meet time. By now breakfast was long gone and we needed to add some fuel. With that out of the way we continued the climb. Soon we hit the treeline and were enjoying fantastic views to Washington. To the west we could see a great deal of undercast covered the area and it was headed in our direction.
I decided to try a heavier sock than the one that I was using and we made a quick stop in the dungeon for the change. Getting out of the wind for a few minutes felt good but the cold started to dig in and we needed to get back into the hike and generate some heat. We left the dungeon and headed around to the east side of the LOC Hut where the wind was mostly blocked and we were enjoying full sun. Nice, but still very cold. We took careful aim and set off for the summit of Monroe.
The climb to Monroe was a little tougher than usual. The wind was fierce and gusty. We were all adequately layered up but the force of the wind made the job of staying upright difficult. There were times when we stepped where the wind blew us and not necessarily where we were intending. Monroe was definitely an interesting first summit for the day. Reaching the small ridge that leads back to the actual summit area we were near the east edge of it with a pretty good drop-off to the east. With a very strong west wind I was concerned a gust could make one of us lose our footing and go over the edge. I motioned for the others to move to a safer area. We hit the summit, got the usual pictures, and headed south for Eisenhower. The clouds had moved in from the west over the area to our south. We couldn’t see Eisenhower but were pretty sure it was where we left it after our last visit.
We left Monroe on the usual route that passes over Little Monroe and connects with the Crawford Path. The Crawford Path passes around the east side of Monroe/Little Monroe and we could see a trace of the trail down below. Logic seemed to suggest if we could drop down from the ridge to the east we would find calmer conditions and a break from the wind eventually landing on the Crawford Path. Logic wasn’t working in our favor and we never found any dead air on our exit from Monroe.
Somewhere along the way Jay checked the thermometer on his pack - it showed -10 degrees.
As we hiked south the conditions deteriorated along with visibility. I believe the visibility dropped to a couple hundred feet but we could always see a faint image of the sun so navigation wasn’t that tough. Eventually we made it to the area where the Crawford Path, Edmands Path, and the Eisenhower Loop all generally meet. The trail since leaving the LOC Hut was not broken and we found more of the same for our climb of Eisenhower. We started into the climb and were initially on a bushwhack finding spruce traps and large snow-filled areas between boulders that we sunk into. Roughly a third of the way through the climb we hit the trail and were able to generally stay with it to the summit. Jay found an area of dead air where we all stopped briefly to have a drink and enjoy a break from the wind. Soon we made the final climb to the summit cairn, got our pictures, and headed south knowing there was some shelter in the areas of dense growth between Eisenhower and Pierce.
Leaving Eisenhower was a little more difficult that normal. The early part of the trail was fairly easy to follow because of the large cairns. As we dropped down from the upper elevations we lost the trail and generally worked from memory on our exit. Eventually we found ourselves on the edge of a huge field of spruce traps. We knew the Crawford Path was on the other side, but how should we approach getting from where we were to where we wanted to be? Jay started in and soon was deep in a trap. I think we all decided a direct course wasn’t a good choice. I kept looking for the trail corridor and managed to find the hole in the spruce where we needed to go. In a very short time we were at the south junction of the Eisenhower Loop and the Crawford Path. That was easy!
We continued south on an unbroken trail. In the summer there are a few places on the Crawford Path that are confusing. Bury it under a few feet of snow and the Crawford Path turns into a test. The open areas all looked the same and the trail corridor through the sections of spruce was often hidden by trees bent over from the heavy snow. There was no sign of prior traffic and the trail was heavily drifted in through the scrub. More than once we headed off in the wrong direction but were always able to quickly locate the route. Roughly half-way to Pierce we found the trail tracked out. Life got easier. It seemed hikers from the south reached this point and decided it was time to head back. We continued south and came upon a couple (man and son) that may have camped in the area the night before. The reason I think this is; first we passed a tracked out route off the trail that may have led to a campsite, and second because a short distance south the trail was not broken and once again very tough to follow. It looked like the area that was tracked out was the result of the father and son trying to locate the trail north and south of their camp location. We continued south with the man and boy not far behind (a couple times they were right on our heels). Eventually we made it to the Webster Cliff Trail junction, made the turn, and headed for the summit of Pierce. We also started making comments concerning Jackson. It looked like we were all ready to call it a hike and exit via the Crawford Path.
At the summit of Pierce there were no views, just clouds. We got more summit pictures and noticed the trail south was not broken. That sealed things. We headed back to the Crawford Path and our exit. The wind was still beating us up. We hit the Crawford Path and made our way through the final exposed hiking for the day and back into the trees. Finally, we got a break from the persistent high wind.
The hike out was an easy cruise down the huge ramp of the Crawford Path. Nearly all of the blowdowns from a few weeks ago were gone, buried, or have tracked-out paths around them. It was an easy walk out. In what seemed like a very short time we reached the Mizpah Cutoff and not long after we hit the trailhead and Route 302. Sue headed to the Highland Center and the rest of us headed for the vehicles.
It was a little disappointing to call it a hike before hitting Jackson. We were all tired and I believe we had a full day just making it over Monroe, Eisenhower, and to Pierce. We’ll visit Jackson later, it’s not going anywhere.
Pictures will follow.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Last edited:
