DiamondRidge
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- Joined
- May 27, 2009
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3 weeks ago a friend and I decided we'd go for a hike on Monday the 8th. I wanted to do a 4k, she said she had to do Washington before she'd do any of the other 4ks (somewhere in her head, it was a good idea to get the biggest done first). So, the trip began to take shape around making sure that Washington got to be first... And, being the rulebender that I am, I found a way to sneak another peak in there first... I told her that since Clay didn't have a spot on the 48, it woudn't really count as her first 4k, even if we hit it before tagging Washington... After looking at the maps, reading the bible (aka the AMC Whites Guide), and reading TRs, I had a couple different possible routes planned, and then the waiting began - mainly waiting to see the weather forecast... Sunday night - checked the Higher Summits forecast - "in the clear under clear skies"! SCORE! Jewell Trail here we come! A quick email to my hiking buddy and another to the best friend on the planet to let them know the plan and then off to bed - it'd be an early start!
Monday morning I woke up before my alarm and got on the road by 4:30 - wanted to be at the Highland Center by 6:00 - saw a live deer and 2 dead moose on my way up. I was treated to spectacular mountain views all the way up 93 and over 3 and 302. Franconia Ridge was backlit by the rising sun and there was no cloud cover at all. Driving into Twin Mountain I was welcomed to the Mt Washington Valley with a stunning view up to the summit of Washington, clear enough to see the towers and the observatory from the valley. Got to the Highland Center early, so I took a quick drive down to the Flume and the falls on the side of 302, just to take a gander, then up to check out the car spotting situation.
Got back to HC in time to take a quick nap before my buddy drove in. We then proceeded up Mt Clinton Road, left a car at the Crawford Path parking lot and then on up to Base Road where we would start our adventure. After a quick bit to apply sunscreen and check gear, we were signing the register at the bottom of Jewell and on our way up. Jewell was a pleasant walk up the mountain. I thought the guide writers must have been joking when they said Jewell was "constant but seldom steep" - turns out they weren't - it really is as advertised - constant, but seldom steep... Saw some late Trilliums and early Jack-in-the-Pulpits as well as some yet to be identified by us flowers along the trail on the way up. Almost to treeline we came upon what appeared to be a campsite at the side of the trail and some very curious Gray Jays who we just had to stop and visit with for awhile. When we broke out above treeline we were stopped by STUNNING views - and they just got better from there.
When we got to the trail junction below Clay I let my hiking buddy know that the book had said we could either go around and summit Clay via the trail or that we could reach it by scrambling up the rocks above the junction - the scramble looked like fun, so we went for it. At the top of Clay I got a brand new appreciation for why they call it the Great Gulf... Holy Wow!
Played around on Clay for awhile - taking in the views, checking out the pretty alpine flowers, and appreciating the beauty all around us. Then it was time to head down so that we could head up Washington...
I was somewhere between amused and distracted by the presence of the Cog train on the trail... I knew it was up there, and knew we'd see it and hear it, but I didn't quite realize how very present it is on that side of the mountain, nor how much it would change the experience of the summit approach. The step up onto the tracks to cross them was a little high for my short legs, so I had to grab onto the tracks and ended up with grease on my hands - weird - here I was near the top of the highest mountain in the northeast, and I've got grease on my hands... hmmm... But, onward we went. Lots of fun scrambling later and there it was - the summit sign! Mt Washington Summit! YAY! The tourists that were clad in flip flops and shorts proved to be useful for something other than making fun of by taking a picture of the two of us at the summit for me We spent quite a bit of time on the summit, enjoying the endless views and the relatively still day that it was up there before heading off down Crawford Path towards LOTC and beyond...
Got down to LOTC and quickly stepped inside to sign the register and say hello to the croo - mainly to be seen there in case someone had to come out looking for us later - point last seen and all that :wink:
Then off to climb Monroe - who looked very substantial, even after coming off of Washington. Up and up we went, and then - oila! We were standing on the summit - some pictures and enjoying of the view - and we were on our way back down again. The "trail" gets a bit hard to follow along some of the summit loops, but we figured as long as we were headed in the direction of the next viewable cairn and were staying off the vegetation, we were doing pretty well
In the col a quick check in with each other to be sure we were still strong and ready to keep going - yup, still going strong. Yup, its still fun.. Ok - still going southward...
Up and over Franklin - seems to me that it deserves a spot on the list, but hey, who am I to question those that make the rules :roll: Someone has clearly taken the survey coin from the top of Franklin - you can see the pin that it used to be attached to, but the coin is no longer there Since this was my first trip up Franklin, I'm not sure if that's been the case for awhile or not, but it is now...
We reached the junction with Edmund's Path (one of our planned ditch routes if we were tired) and, with nothing more than a look passed between us, kept going right on past it...
Headed up Eisenhower, stayed briefly at the summit (the wind had picked up a bit and it was chilly) and then back down and into the col between Eisenhow and Pierce...
In the col we came upon two college aged guys layering up. They looked to be carrying full packs and were appropriately dressed for the day... They asked where they could camp between there and Washington... ummm... you can't (legally).... They seemed surprised by this and asked about shelter. We informed them that they could get shelter at the hut which was "over yonder hills".... From my inside sources I know that there were no rescue calls for two college aged guys lost on the southern presis that night, so they must have figured it out
We decided that we both wanted dinner sooner rather than later, so we decided that Pierce would be our last peak of the day. We reached the junction, took the quick trip up to the summit of Pierce, breathed deeply, and headed down Crawford Path towards the car and, goddess willing, some warm dinner...
We managed, in the dark, to miss the cutoff from Crawford Path down to the Mt Clinton road parking lot, so, when we saw the light at the end of the trail we had the realization that we now had a short (but very long) roadwalk ahead of us... Crap, poor planning on my part... But, the good news is, that, after a long day on the trail, walking on the sand of the shoulder feels really good on tired feet
We reached my well decorated car (which my hiking buddy kissed upon arriving at it), dropped the packs and promptly took our boots off - wow, that felt good! A quick drive up the Base Road to get the truck and we were off to find food... The bad news - when you head into North Conway in the middle of the night, your food choices are VERY limited.... You know you are hungry when a bagel from Dunkin' Donuts tastes good - but it was good, very good...
All in all - a beautiful, amazing, incredible day! I'm still on the hiker's high...
Monday morning I woke up before my alarm and got on the road by 4:30 - wanted to be at the Highland Center by 6:00 - saw a live deer and 2 dead moose on my way up. I was treated to spectacular mountain views all the way up 93 and over 3 and 302. Franconia Ridge was backlit by the rising sun and there was no cloud cover at all. Driving into Twin Mountain I was welcomed to the Mt Washington Valley with a stunning view up to the summit of Washington, clear enough to see the towers and the observatory from the valley. Got to the Highland Center early, so I took a quick drive down to the Flume and the falls on the side of 302, just to take a gander, then up to check out the car spotting situation.
Got back to HC in time to take a quick nap before my buddy drove in. We then proceeded up Mt Clinton Road, left a car at the Crawford Path parking lot and then on up to Base Road where we would start our adventure. After a quick bit to apply sunscreen and check gear, we were signing the register at the bottom of Jewell and on our way up. Jewell was a pleasant walk up the mountain. I thought the guide writers must have been joking when they said Jewell was "constant but seldom steep" - turns out they weren't - it really is as advertised - constant, but seldom steep... Saw some late Trilliums and early Jack-in-the-Pulpits as well as some yet to be identified by us flowers along the trail on the way up. Almost to treeline we came upon what appeared to be a campsite at the side of the trail and some very curious Gray Jays who we just had to stop and visit with for awhile. When we broke out above treeline we were stopped by STUNNING views - and they just got better from there.
When we got to the trail junction below Clay I let my hiking buddy know that the book had said we could either go around and summit Clay via the trail or that we could reach it by scrambling up the rocks above the junction - the scramble looked like fun, so we went for it. At the top of Clay I got a brand new appreciation for why they call it the Great Gulf... Holy Wow!
Played around on Clay for awhile - taking in the views, checking out the pretty alpine flowers, and appreciating the beauty all around us. Then it was time to head down so that we could head up Washington...I was somewhere between amused and distracted by the presence of the Cog train on the trail... I knew it was up there, and knew we'd see it and hear it, but I didn't quite realize how very present it is on that side of the mountain, nor how much it would change the experience of the summit approach. The step up onto the tracks to cross them was a little high for my short legs, so I had to grab onto the tracks and ended up with grease on my hands - weird - here I was near the top of the highest mountain in the northeast, and I've got grease on my hands... hmmm... But, onward we went. Lots of fun scrambling later and there it was - the summit sign! Mt Washington Summit! YAY! The tourists that were clad in flip flops and shorts proved to be useful for something other than making fun of by taking a picture of the two of us at the summit for me
We spent quite a bit of time on the summit, enjoying the endless views and the relatively still day that it was up there before heading off down Crawford Path towards LOTC and beyond...Got down to LOTC and quickly stepped inside to sign the register and say hello to the croo - mainly to be seen there in case someone had to come out looking for us later - point last seen and all that :wink:
Then off to climb Monroe - who looked very substantial, even after coming off of Washington. Up and up we went, and then - oila! We were standing on the summit - some pictures and enjoying of the view - and we were on our way back down again. The "trail" gets a bit hard to follow along some of the summit loops, but we figured as long as we were headed in the direction of the next viewable cairn and were staying off the vegetation, we were doing pretty well
In the col a quick check in with each other to be sure we were still strong and ready to keep going - yup, still going strong. Yup, its still fun.. Ok - still going southward...
Up and over Franklin - seems to me that it deserves a spot on the list, but hey, who am I to question those that make the rules :roll: Someone has clearly taken the survey coin from the top of Franklin - you can see the pin that it used to be attached to, but the coin is no longer there
Since this was my first trip up Franklin, I'm not sure if that's been the case for awhile or not, but it is now...We reached the junction with Edmund's Path (one of our planned ditch routes if we were tired) and, with nothing more than a look passed between us, kept going right on past it...
Headed up Eisenhower, stayed briefly at the summit (the wind had picked up a bit and it was chilly) and then back down and into the col between Eisenhow and Pierce...
In the col we came upon two college aged guys layering up. They looked to be carrying full packs and were appropriately dressed for the day... They asked where they could camp between there and Washington... ummm... you can't (legally).... They seemed surprised by this and asked about shelter. We informed them that they could get shelter at the hut which was "over yonder hills".... From my inside sources I know that there were no rescue calls for two college aged guys lost on the southern presis that night, so they must have figured it out
We decided that we both wanted dinner sooner rather than later, so we decided that Pierce would be our last peak of the day. We reached the junction, took the quick trip up to the summit of Pierce, breathed deeply, and headed down Crawford Path towards the car and, goddess willing, some warm dinner...
We managed, in the dark, to miss the cutoff from Crawford Path down to the Mt Clinton road parking lot, so, when we saw the light at the end of the trail we had the realization that we now had a short (but very long) roadwalk ahead of us... Crap, poor planning on my part... But, the good news is, that, after a long day on the trail, walking on the sand of the shoulder feels really good on tired feet
We reached my well decorated car (which my hiking buddy kissed upon arriving at it
), dropped the packs and promptly took our boots off - wow, that felt good! A quick drive up the Base Road to get the truck and we were off to find food... The bad news - when you head into North Conway in the middle of the night, your food choices are VERY limited.... You know you are hungry when a bagel from Dunkin' Donuts tastes good - but it was good, very good... All in all - a beautiful, amazing, incredible day! I'm still on the hiker's high...
