Gear:
· ULA Ohm 2.0 pack
· Mountain Laurel Designs Spirit 48 Quilt
· Thermalrest x-lite sleep pad
· Hiking Poles
· Down Jacket Mont-Bel Ex-light
· Tarp and Bivy
· Rain Gear
Day 1
Drive North to Appalachia Trailhead:
1:00 am. Head out the door.
1:02 am. Turn around because I forgot to grab my shoes.
1:08 am. Turn around again to drive back to the house to
grab my mp3 player that I left right by the keys.
(All I’m thinking about when I leave the house is saying
goodbye to the dogs, lol)
The lightning storms started out to my North West as I drove
up 93. These were the most intense lightning storms I had seen in a long time.
Constant strikes of bolts lighting up the sky. I would try to catch a glimpse
to my left through the tree openings on the highway.
I made it to the trailhead sometime around 3:30 am. The rain
had stopped completely and the storms had passed on by the White Mountains. I
was very thankful for this. Forecast for the rest of the day was supposed to be
clear.
The trek up the popular Valley Way trail in the pitch dark
was exciting yet uneventful.
I
walked alongside a strong flowing river roaring loudly to my left. The camera
could not see anything. As I walked through the woods I started to remember this
trail from the first time I hiked it a few years ago. Every hike is different
even if on the same terrain. The first time I hiked this trail it was below
freezing and icy snow crystals lining the trees.Quite magical. This time, it is pitch black because it’s 4 in the morning. . I was making great time as I made it to the Watson Path junction but I could tell I may have started too late to catch the sunrise as planned. It was still dark as I continued on the Watson Path up to Mt Madison. I remembered that I took the Watson Path last time but I did not remember how it was. I took Watson this time because it was slightly shorter of a trek to the summit and I could loop over the summit and continue the traverse without backtracking.
*Alternative is to go straight up
Valley Way to the Madison Hut. Take a left and climb steeply up to the summit
of Madison. Turn around and return to the hut following the same path you came
up.
I did not, however, remember how difficult of a climb this
trail was. By the time I got to tree line, I was huffing and puffing. The sun
was not out and we were still a little bit clouded in. The low rising sun could
be seen peeking through the clouds.
Despite the lack of sun the conditions up
here were not too bad. The temperature was pleasant and I was complacent with
shorts, light long sleeve shirt, and a rain jacket for wind protection. I made
it to each “false summit” and then to the actual Madison summit amid scouring
winds coming from the west.
The jaunt down to Madison Hut was my first descending of the
trip. Are my knees up to the task? “Sure, of course they are!” I also had my
first slip of the day where I lodged my shin against some rock. That frickin hurt
a lot but the thought of having such a pitiful accident hindering my traverse had
me continue on forgetting about any pain. I encountered the first people of the
hike on the descent down Madison. They had no packs or anything. “Must be from
the hut.” As I walked up to the front of the hut porch area, hordes of tourists
were stepping outside to witness the view being obstructed by the last of the
clouds. "Is it worth it?"
*Madison Hut is one of many AMC
Huts built in the White Mountains. People can shell out ~$100 per person to
spend the night tucked away sometimes 5000’ up away from the elements. These
are by no means 5 star accommodations. You get breakfast and dinner, toilets,
water, and a place to sleep among a few other amenities. Very popular though!
As there was no view and I had been there before anyways. I
grabbed a honey waffle snack and moved onto the Star Lake trail.
This is probably my favorite section of the hike. The clouds
had opened up and the warm sun was beating down on me while the fierce wind
continued to keep me at a cool yet comfortable temperate. This trail brings you
right by Star Lake and skirts the top of the Great Gulf as you make your way up
and around to the towering summit of Mt Adams. As I followed this trail I
couldn’t help but think of how the conditions must have been when Kate Matrosova
attempted her traverse this past President’s Day. Terrifying!
The climb up to
the summit of Adams was fun and challenging. The weather was fantastic and I
had amazing views into the Great Gulf Wilderness and of Mount Washington in the
distance to my back.
From Adams it was on to Mt Jefferson. I have also climbed
Jefferson previously. The trail system in this area is quite extensive so it is
important to be paying attention to when the summit loops intersect as I need
to make sure I follow all of those side trails. This section was difficult at
times when the wind gusts started up but the path was easy to follow. In fact,
the entire trail is really easy to follow as long as you are paying attention
to the intersections. Well blazed, large cairns, and frequent sign posts.
Mt Clay follows Jefferson and this would be my first new
ascent this trip and first new 4k for this trip as well (even if it technically
doesn’t count). The views continued to be spectacular. From here and along the
ridge you can see west to VT, east to the Great Gulf Wilderness, North, and
South to the looming Mt Washington.
The trek from Clay to Washington was not difficult at all.
The hike was long and tedious with all the rocks but the summit was getting
closer and closer. Once I made it to the top of Washington, I stood in line to
take a quick picture of the sign.
Once again, the crowds on the top of Mt
Washington were less than pleasant. It was a nice change of pace but there are
too many people unaware of their surroundings packed into a small location. I
quickly found a seat in the cafeteria and refilled my water. It was nice having
the huts and the Summit cafeteria as I did not have to carry much water and therefore,
less weight. I made myself a delicious wrap sandwich using a sourdough wrap
with peanut butter slathered on and then topped with mint m&m trail mix. Mm
mmm! I relaxed for about an hour before I put on my wind/rain pants and
sweatshirt to head out into the cold and now view less summit.
My time at the top was up and it was now time to head off on
the rest of my trip. The remaining peaks are all lower and theoretically all
the hard stuff has already been hiked. The views heading down the Crawford path
were outstanding! The sun opened up again now that we were away from the Mt
Washington weather clouds. Very picturesque and reminiscent of a post card
photo.
This is also true when coming down to Lake of the Clouds hut. This hut
is one of the larger ones and has views looking west I believe into the Mount
Washington Valley to the Mount Washington Hotel and Bretton Woods ski area.I also stopped by here for a little bit and took advantage of the restroom facilities. I also enjoyed the company of several other hikers.
Since the summit of Washington, I have seen more and more
hikers. It was now a reasonable hour that normal people could get out of bed
and start their day. I do enjoy the company of others at times and appreciate
talking after a bit of solitude. Still though, I would rather have solitude
than be with groups of people all day.
Mt Monroe stands directly to the south of the hut and that
is where I was off to. The path up is very direct, wide, and steep. It is so
pronounced that it can actually be seen from miles away. The climb up Monroe
was fun with views now extending to the mountains south of Washington to
Crawford Notch and beyond.
This is where I noticed my phone battery was now in
the yellow (10% remaining?). Something was acting up with the phone and some
app was constantly trying to reopen and mess with the GPS. This apparently was
severely draining the battery. I had to try to save as much battery as I could because
I needed to wake up at a certain time to catch the shuttle. I would not take
any more pictures from here on out. I had 4.4 miles and three more peaks to the
next hut, Mitzpah Hut.
Mitzpah hut was also fairly crowded as the afternoon was
getting along. I started conversation and soon learned of several camp spots between
the next two peaks if needed. This was helpful but I intended to do the full
traverse ending with the summit of Mt Webster which happened to be another 3
miles away. I stopped inside to grab some more water and then headed out around
mid to late afternoon.
As I hiked I continued to look off into the sides of the
trails for camp spots. Some sites have already been established off the trail
and would be a better idea than setting up and disturbing a new spot. The
problem is these are often very difficult to find unless you have an idea of
where they could be. Sometimes they are also obvious and even have established mini
trails leading to them. I did take notice of a couple as I marched forward. My
legs and feet were starting to get sore and I could feel a hot spot or blister
forming on the bottom of my right foot. I knew about this all day and could
have prevented if I bothered to air out my feet at the huts or the top of Washington.
As I approached the summit of Mt Webster I kept my eyes on
the lookout for anything resembling a footpath or clearing off the trail. I had
spoken with a through hiker and another group who mentioned established spots
by the cliffs. One or two with actual semi fire pits already there. I made it
to the top of the summit and the cliffs. There was still plenty of daylight so
I had awesome views down into Crawford notch and of Franconia notch in the
distance. This area was very open to the elements but thankfully the weather
was still beautiful and not too windy. I made notice of two small locations
nearby. I chose one and setup my tarp in the very confined space. This took me
longer than expected because I had to get creative with the guy lines.
Once I had my camp setup and everything out of my pack, I
gathered up my cooking supplies and walked 10 seconds to the cliffs. I had a
heck of a time trying to light my esbit tablet with mini bic because of the
wind but once I got that situated, I was heating up water and then drinking
coffee in no time! By now, the sun was on its way down. When my meal of penne
pasta with marinara sauce was ready, I sat down on the rocks and ate dinner
peacefully as the sun lit up the sky with magnificent vivid colors of purples,
blues, reds, oranges, etc… The scene was surreal and my most enjoyable part of
the hike. Great way to end a Presidential Traverse!
Day 2
The night went by uneventfully and I woke up just around the
time as I thought I would. At this point I couldn’t even turn my phone on. I
realized I could use my mp3 player for a clock and along with my internal alarm
clock, I knew I had a setup I could rely on. I packed up my supplies and went
over by the cliff to grab my bear bag. I once again lit an esbit tab to heat a
little bit of water for coffee. I sipped on my coffee as the sun rose to the
right of Washington. Not quite as nice as the sun setting the night before but
still something to witness.
Not before long I was all packed up and heading down the
trail over to the Highland Center to catch the 9 am shuttle back to my car. The
trail down was fun with many viewing opportunities with several small side
trails. There was also a lot of water with waterfalls and rivers. As I waited
for the shuttle, I basked in the sun sitting in a lawn chair overlooking
Crawford Notch. Very pleasant morning as the sun began to heat up. When the
shuttle came, myself along with another couple, were lucky enough to have access
to the last few seats for walk on’s as there were several reservations. By 10
am I was back at my car! I was thankful my car was there and just as I left it.
I had previously read about vandalism and break-ins at this particular trailhead.
The trip is not over yet! I take off my shoes and pack and
get all relaxed. I am exhausted. I go to start the car and nothing. Nothing.
The car will not start. Ha! “That’s alright.” I came prepared with jumper
cables in the back. I was able to also juice up my phone a little bit to get
enough battery to make some phone calls if need be. I was very thankful for a
croo member of Lake of the Clouds hut. He happened to be down at the trailhead
with several other friends/croo members and assisted me with jumping my car. We
tried once and it didn’t work but then waited for a while longer and everything
was peachy.
Overall, another very successful and fun trip!
Thanks for reading!
Additional Pictures: