Mt. Pierce, Mt. Eisenhower & Mt Jackson 3-7-20

Distance: 11.8 mi.
Elevation: 2,920 ft (overall) 4,911 ft (total)
Time: 1:54 (Pierce) 3:01 (Eisenhower) 4:01 (Pierce) 5:31 (Jackson) 6:37 (Road) 6:52 (Total)
Trails: Crawford Connector, Crawford Path, Eisenhower Loop, Webster Cliff Trail, Webster Jackson Trail, Route 302

With the official winter hiking season almost over, I needed to get at least a second hike in for the season. The weather was looking pretty good other than a little windy. Given the forecast, I decided it was time to get some of the southern presidentials checked off the list. These would give the chance of great views while providing shelter in the trees for most of the hike. My plan for today was Mt. Pierce, my favorite southern presidential peak, and Mt. Eisenhower. If weather, time, and energy allowed, maybe I would add on either Mt. Monroe of Mt. Jackson.

From the Mt. Clinton Rd parking lot I used the Crawford Connector to get over to the Crawford Path. This short trail was well packed from everyone else previously this winter. Once on the Crawford Path the trail was even smoother. It was like super highway and was perfect for microspikes. The hike up the trail went quicker than I thought it would as I played leapfrog with a group of other hikers. The trail has a steady incline for almost the whole length of it which made it easier to keep a nice pace that was a bit quicker than I expected. Once up to the ridge though, the trees stopped sheltering me from the wind and it was time to adjust layers and put on either some goggles or sunglasses. I started off by tagging Mt. Pierce since it is so close to the junction. It is almost my favorite of the southern peaks on the range due to its great views while still having partial tree cover which is different than all the peaks to the north.

Packed trail heading up the Crawford Path

The summit of Mt. Pierce was a good place to adjust layers, get on my goggles, and strap on my snowshoes. The Crawford Path should be decently packed, but I expected some drifting and would rather have snowshoes on for that instead of not have them on for the well packed sections. The area around the junction of the Crawford Path and Webster Cliff Trail was the first place snowshoes were useful as there wasn't one set path here and there was certainly some drifting in the snow. After this though the trail was pretty easy to follow and had only a little bit of unpacked snow on top of it most of the time.

View from Mt. Pierce

At this point the wind speeds became more evident. You start to come out of the trees more and until you are completely exposed. The wind was blowing in from the west and I was glad to have my goggles on. It was cold enough I also needed to think about having my face covered as well. I covered what I could, but too much covering and the goggles would just fog up. I was generating enough body heat that I was warm enough with some of my face exposed.

Mt. Eisenhower getting closer

As I neared the summit of Mt. Eisenhower the wind was starting to blow the snow around as well which helped make my face colder. Once up onto the summit of Eisenhower I bundled up more and made sure I was covered up well. There is no shelter other than the summit cairn and I wanted to stay and enjoy the views for a while even if it was cold and windy. After a nice break here and plenty of pictures, it was time to head out. I had decided I wasn't going to try and add Mt. Monroe to this hike because it was too much time exposed to the elements. I probably had enough gear, but better gear would have made that much distance more enjoyable. So I turned around and headed back towards Mt. Pierce.

Mt. Eisenhower summit cairn

Mt. Washington from Mt. Eisenhower

The hike back to Pierce went well with the wind still blowing and the sun still shining. I headed back up to the summit to take in the views again and because I forgot to get a picture of Miles here the first time. It was busier this time with more hikers that were coming up just to tag Mt. Pierce. I checked the time and it was still earlier than I had planned. Since I was still feeling good and had the time, I decided I would add on Mt. Jackson to today's hike. If I wasn't feeling it, I could always bail out after the hut and come back down using the Mizpah Cutoff.

Getting back towards Mt. Pierce

The hike down to the hut was good except the last tenth or two. Most of the trail was pretty well packed and there was only a few tight places due to snow laden trees. The last stretch though is a bit steeper dropping down to the hut and the track was pretty messed up here. It seems a number of hikers have hiked through here without snowshoes which made for lots of deep, messy, and irregularly space holes to avoid. It took care to stay out of them with my snowshoes and a couple of times I avoided the trail all together to stay out of them. There were some people gathered at the hut and also a pair of hikers that were setting up a tent in the opening. I was still feeling good so I decided to go all the way to Jackson from here.

Heading south after Mt. Pierce

Mizpah Hut with some snow up against the doors

The trail to Mt. Jackson was a mix of conditions. In places it was clear others had used snowshoes, in some places it looked like only people without snowshoes had been through, and in other places the trail was drifted in. There was only one place where the trail was hard to follow. In an open area there were tracks leading in two directions. I checked out both directions and picked the one that looked better. I'm not sure if I picked the right one or not, but the path eventually had to push through a small band of thicker spruce trees, so it probably wasn't actually the trail. It was a short off trail path that quickly came back onto the trail though. The rest of the hike to the summit went smoothly and even the steep last section of rock wasn't bad.

Mixed trail conditions heading over to Mt. Jackson

Getting close to Mt. Jackson

The summit of Jackson was windy so I bundled back up again before spending some time taking pictures and enjoying the last big views of the day. It felt good to look all the way back up to Mt. Eisenhower and see how far I had hiked today. After ample time enjoying the summit to myself, I decided it was time to head down off the mountains for the day. Just below the summit and back into the trees, I took off some layers and switched over to microspikes. The trail from here down was like a packed highway again and the spikes would make for a faster descent.

View from Mt. Jackson

Willey Range from Mt. Jackson

View west from Mt. Jackson

On the way down I passed a few people headed up, but traffic was pretty light being later in the day. I made good time on the way down as there aren't many steep sections through here and the conditions were so good. The only difficult part of the descent was a couple sections of ice where the lower part of the trail has some short steep and rocky sections in the warmer months. Other than that the worst part was needing to walk the side of the road back to my truck once I was down.

Packed trail coming down from Mt. Jackson

View of today's three peaks from the entrance of the Mt. Washington Hotel
From the rounded dome of Mt. Eisenhower on the left to small open summit of Jackson on the right

Google Earth representation of the hike

For all the pictures from the hike, just go to my gallery on SmugMug

Southern Presidential Range 5-5-15 thru 5-6-15

Since I was having computer problems around the time of this hike, I seem to have forgotten to put together anything about it. So a little bit late, here it is.

DAY 1

Distance: 5.11 mi.
Elevation: 2,368 ft (overall) 2,602 ft (total)
Time: 3:20 (Mizpah) 4:24 (Pierce) 5:11 (Mizpah)
Trails: Crawford Path, Mizpah Cutoff, Webster Cliff Trail

A friend of mine from college was coming to NH for a week this spring and was hoping to do some hiking while here before visiting family. Since she was bringing another friend, she wanted to give him a partial hut experience by staying at Mizpah Hut during self service season. This was fine with me since it would be a much cheaper way to stay at the hut. Being as the hut is so close to the trail head, I don't foresee myself paying full price to stay here at least until my daughter is old enough to hike and do an overnight here.

Even though it was already May, I knew there was still going to be snow higher up. I didn't expect it to be as deep as it was though. Leaving from the Highland Center where the others spent the night, the ground was still bare and there wasn't much mud. It didn't take long however to start coming across patches of ice in the trail. The last remains of the winter mono-rail. Gradually the ice become a constant fixture of the trail. there was just enough grit on the ice that you could still get good traction with careful foot placement.

Starting to see ice

The ice eventually turned into snow and a well established and solid mono-rail. The hard path wasn't overly wide, but it was stable and easy to distinguish. This meant not much sinking in. Up to the Mizpah Cutoff, conditions had been good. Being a regular hiker year round and knowing the conditions so far this spring, I had my snowshoes with me and should have put them on here. Being the largest hiker of the group and the most familiar with these trails, I was in the lead. With the lower use of this trail, the firm mono-rail wasn't as firm and became hard to find in some places. I especially started to sink in more and more. Many steps were seeing me sink in about knee deep into the snow.

Mizpah Cutoff

Finally I had had enough and put on my snowshoes (enough being stubborn). This made it easy going for me from here to the hut. But my friends didn't have any snowshoes, so they still had to go slowly. They were trying to find the hard spots before sinking in and even going as far as using large sticks to test conditions before taking their next step. Eventually we all made it to the hut and dropped off our overnight gear and extra supplies.

Leaving Mizpah for Pierce

From here we planned to summit Mt. Pierce and maybe venture a bit further depending on conditions. Without the others having snowshoes, we didn't want to get over ambitious with our plans. The hike up from the hut was a bit slow. I was still in the lead and using snowshoes, but my friends were finding lots of places where they were postholing. The snow was getting deeper as we went on and in places it was hard to push through the branches blocking the trail. Most of the branches were bent over into the trail due to the snow load on them. They then got stuck there, which meant they were across the trail even at a height that would normally be easy to pass through.

View from bare section of trail

In some places higher up the snow wasn't overly deep. This was mainly the few places were there is exposed rock in the summer that gets lots of sun. Just before the summit, I stuck my trekking pole into the snow just off trail. Trying to put it in handle first, I never did hit solid ground. Based on the length of my trekking pole, this meant the snow was still about 4 feet deep. The cairn at the summit of Mt. Pierce was just barely poking out of the snow. I know from being here before that this cairn is a little over 4 feet tall.

We spent some time above treeline in the sun and taking in the views. It was a gorgeous day out and it was nice to be wearing shorts and a t-shirt... even if I was still wearing snowshoes on my feet. The hike back down to the hut went a bit quicker being downhill. We also weren't quite as worried about getting wet from the melting snow since we had dry gear back in our bunks. It was amazing to see how much softer the snow had gotten though in the short time since we had come up through here.

Summit of Mt. Pierce

Coming back down to the hut

Back at the hut for the evening and in dry clothes again, we all made up our own meals and talked with the caretaker. She informed us we were to be the only guests for the night, so it should be very quiet. We enjoyed talking with her enough, we all spent the next few hours together in the kitchen just telling stories. The caretaker has hiked the AT before, and my college friend is hoping to hike it next year. So we went over lots of stories from her hike.

DAY 2

Distance: 5.12 mi.
Elevation: 248 ft (overall) 803 ft (total)
Time: 1:52 (Jackson) 4:14 (Parking Lot)
Trails: Webster Cliff Trail, Webster-Jackson Trail, Saco Lake Trail

After a small breakfast and a bit of time for things to warm up, we started our hike over towards Mt. Jackson. It's easy to tell this section of trail doesn't see much traffic in the winter. There was very little sign of tracks or anything firm snow underneath from past hikers. I was smart today and started off on my snowshoes, but my friends were going to have to hope for the best still. A little ways down the trail we did find some recent moose tracks. It had hiked down the trail briefly before venturing back into the trees.

The trail along the ridge was mostly easy to follow. It's a well established trail that is nice and wide by normal standards. In a couple places today though, the branches and trees were bent down across the trail. There were also a couple places were it wasn't clear which opening in the trees was the correct one. I believe the blazes might have been partially buried, but we were able to stay on course well. My friends were still constantly sinking into the show, but it had gotten to the point where we were all laughing about it. We even took a couple pictures of me standing on top of the snow with them sunk into the snow appearing much shorter than I am.

Webster Cliff Trail

Small bog near Mt. Jackson

The summit of Mt. Jackson was bare rock from the sun and it was another great day. Again, it was nice to be snowshoeing in shorts and a t-shirt with temps near 50. We finally starting seeing other hikers now too. Coming down the mountain, I stayed in my snowshoes as long as I could. With this trail much more traveled than the ridge, it was easier for all of us to stay on top of the snow. But things were softening up quickly. Once the snow became patchy, I took of my snowshoes and tied them to my pack. We had a nice smooth hike after this. there was a bit of mud in places, but he ground was mostly dry and quite firm (a relief to my friends). The hike down from here went smoothly with some others still headed up. We even went around the back side of Saco Lake so the others could see that short trail too.

Mt. Jackson summit

Mt. Jackson summit

Ice and snow coming down

View from Bugle Cliff

TOTALS
Distance: 10.23 mi.
Elevation Gain: 3,405 ft (total)
Time: 9:25

All in all this was a fun hike. It was nice to hang out with a college friend and meet one of her friends. I was certainly glad I brought my snowshoes just in case. It was interesting to see just how deep the snow could still be up high where down low you couldn't find much anywhere. It also dawned on me after this hike that from my first hike of the winter season where I saw snow until now had been 7 months. So for more than half a year now, I had been hiking in at least some snow for parts of my hikes. Over half the year with snow on the ground and still more to melt.

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Presidential Traverse 6-17-12 through 6-19-12

DAY 1

Distance: 3.996 mi.
Elevation: 4,055 ft.
Time: 5:23 (Mt. Madison) 5:44 (Madison Spring Hut)
Trails: Valley Way, Sylvan Way, Brookbank Trail, Brookside Trail, Watson Path, Gulfside Trail

I have been wanting to do a Presidential Traverse for a while now. Not just because I could get 8 peaks off the 4K list, but because it seemed like it would be a great hike. I finally figured out a time where I would be able to take some time off and still be able to get a place to sleep at the huts. Thankfully, in the end, the weather worked out great for me. It was sunny each day with a few clouds from time to time and no real chance of rain until after I should be back at my truck and headed home. Mt wife was a little nervous about me going on this hike. It would be my first overnight hike plus it was the entire Presidential Range. In the end, she let me go. I just had to check in when I could.

I parked at Mt. Clinton Road and reserved a spot on the hiker shuttle up to the Appalachia Trail head. On the shuttle, I met a nice couple about my age from the Carolinas that was also doing the traverse and staying at the same huts. They just weren't going to be bagging each peak like I was. I started off up the Valley Way Trail heading for Sylvan Way. My intention was the head up the Howker Ridge Trail to the summit. Where the trail crosses the brook though, I got a bit messed up. I thought the trail was going to follow the brook up a bit before then heading away from it. Well, either I didn't pay enough attention to the signs or something. It seemed the signs could have been better here with an intersection on both sides of the brook. Well, I ended up going up the Brookbank Trail. Once I figured out I wasn't going to hit the Sylvan Way Trail, I just changed my plans some. I probably should have gone back and went up as planned since my wife had my planned itinerary, but I didn't.

The Brookbank was a nice trail though. It follows the brook as you would think from its name. It also go past a couple small waterfalls which is part of why I wasn't just heading up the popular trails anyways. Eventually you cross the brook and join back up to the Valley Way Trail. After a short bit on this, I hopped off onto the Brookside Trail. This had another couple waterfalls on it and was still away from the crowds. I only saw 3 other people before I got to the end of this trail.

While on this trail, I stopped at a brook crossing to take a picture of a snake that was getting some sun. When I started across the brook, I thought "if I have any problems it will be on that rock." Well, just before stepping for that rock, my foot slipped out and down I went, left foot and leg under water. I got back up and finished crossing just to set my pack back down. I wrung out my sock and as much of my boot as I could. I had 4 pairs of socks for 3 days, and didn't really want to break out an extra pair already, especially when the boot would get it wet still. After hiking a bit, I also took off my wedding ring as I must have tweaked that finger while going down. I could tell my finger was swelling up some and didn't want to have the ring cutting off circulation. It was good I did this as it did swell up pretty good. A week later and I still can't get the ring back on quite yet. I must have sprained it or something. It was/is still usable though.

After the Brookside Trail, I headed up the Watson Path to the summit of Mt. Madison. This trail was pretty steep from the start and didn't really seem to let up much. I am sure it was partly from the heavier pack being prepared for 3 days of hiking, but this trail really tired out my legs. They got a bit sore by the end and were cramping up a bit too. On this trail, you all of a sudden pop out of the trees and into the alpine zone. From here the trail starts to get real rocky, like the rest of the northern peaks on the range. I finally made it up to the summit. Just over 4,000 ft of gain in about 3.6 miles so far. I had something to eat and took in the great views all around. This was where I first started to see more people. After a while on the summit, it was time to make my way down to the hut and check in so I could get a bunk and rest before supper. This part of the hike went quick and my legs were glad to be going down.

The hut was great and looks real good after the remodel. Supper was very tasty and just what was needed. I chatted with some of the other hikers and then watched the sunset. If I recall, there were just over 40 of us there for the night. As expected, my cell phone didn't work here, so I would do my first check in with my wife from the summit of Mt. Washington. Prepaid AT&T phones don't seem to work as well as others in the northern half of the state.

Snake that was getting some sun, just before I slipped in the brook

Brookside Trail

Duck Falls

Watson Path coming to tree line

Watson Path above tree line

Carter Notch

View from Mt. Madison

Madison Spring Hut

Sunset at the Hut

Route for day 1

DAY 2

Distance: 7.011 mi.
Elevation: 1,506 ft. (Overall) 3,396 ft. (Total)
Time: 1:03 (Mt. Adams) 2:56 (Mt. Jefferson) 5:49 (Mt. Washington) 7:09 (Lakes of the Clouds Hut)
Trails: Gulfside Trail, Air Line Trail, Jefferson Loop Trail, Clay Loop Trail, Tuckerman Ravine Trail, Tuckerman Crossover

With my legs getting so tired yesterday, I decided I would take the Air Line Trail up Mt. Adams this morning rather than the Star Lake Trail. From Madison, this looked less steep. Getting up to the summit was rocky and slow going, but I found this makes it much easier to pace yourself. Maybe it was because of the rocky trail, or being so quick after the start of the day, but Mt. Adams was possibly my favorite peak of all of them this trip. The undercast clouds were starting to break up by now which made the sights even better from the summit. After enjoying the views some, it was time to head on as today was going to have plenty of ups and downs before I got done.

Off towards Mt. Jefferson I was headed. Having never hiked on the northern end of the Presidential Range, I was a bit surprised with how rocky the trail was once I was down off of the summit. The couple I met from the Carolinas mentioned that the rocks were the hardest part for them since the trails near them typically don't have many rocks or even roots. The trail through here went fast though and of course had great views. Hitting the Jefferson Loop Trail, some clouds were trying to come over the range, but didn't last long. Having never hiked this much two consecutive days before, I was a bit slower than normal getting up Jefferson and was ready for the rest at the summit. The views from here were great too. Best of all, the highest peak for the day (Washington) was getting closer.

Going down Jefferson was quick and I was soon in Sphinx Col ready to head up Mt. Clay. I figured I would go over Clay to stay on top of the ridge with more views. The distance was the same and the gain was only a little more this way. On the peak of Clay I rested my feet some and changed my socks. My boot was still a bit wet from falling in the brook yesterday. From the summit, it appears that the next hump is actually higher, but once you get over there, the summit looks higher. This was an interesting illusion. Once my feet dried out a bit, I headed out for Mt. Washington. Nearing Washington the trails got busier with plenty of people that looked like they headed down from the parking lot for short hikes. Going up Washington was good with a great view over the Great Gulf as you walk right along the top edge. It was a steep long drop from here if anything were to happen. When I got to the summit, I had it to myself for a few minutes as there wasn't any large crowd waiting for their pictures next to the sign. It probably helps it was a Monday, but the timing was good between trains showing up at the summit too.

I went inside the Sherman Adams building for a cold drink and a rest. I had thought about going on a tour of the Observatory, but didn't want to be late to the hut since I wasn't going the shortest route. I tried to call my wife from here to let her know things were going well, but one pay phone was broken and the other only gave my busy signals no matter who I tried calling. I guess I would have to borrow a cell phone so she wouldn't be worried about me. I headed down the Tuckerman Ravine Trail to the junction before taking the Tuckerman Crossover to the hut. I'd never been this close to the ravine yet, and it was quite the sight. I took my time to the hut and arrived with plenty of time to find a bunk, get my stuff settled, and go soak my feet in the cold water before supper time. It was another great meal followed by a good sunset. It was interesting to see that all of the croo try to get out to watch the sunset even though they see so many. I was able to borrow a cell phone from the couple I had become friends with so I could check in with my wife and let her know all was well.

Undercast past King Ravine

Rocky path to the summit of Mt. Adams

Washington and Jefferson from Adams

Rocky terrain nearing Jefferson

A few clouds trying to hide the view

View from Jefferson

Looking back from Mt. Clay

Great Gulf

It was nice to have the summit to myself when I showed up

Clouds held back by the Carter Range

Tuckerman Ravine

The croo enjoying the sunset with the hut master striking a pose

Route for day 2

DAY 3

Distance: 8.782 mi.
Elevation: 321 ft. (Overall) 1,457 ft. (Total)
Time: 0:16 (Mt. Monroe) 1:41 (Mt. Eisenhower) 2:47 (Mt. Pierce) 4:28 (Mt. Jackson) 6:30 (Trail head)
Trails: Mt. Monroe Loop, Crawford Path, Eisenhower Loop, Webster Jackson Trail

Today would be the longest day as far as mileage was concerned, but the least amount of elevation gain. I started with the quick hike up Mt. Monroe right after breakfast before most others headed out. I had hiked down to Monroe from Washington before, so this peak wasn't 100% new to me. I still provided great views and I was also able to see the thru hiker Angry Bird heading down the Crawford Path on his way to Zealand Falls Hut for tonight. He was 3 weeks into his hike heading south. Heading down from Monroe and over the small hump of Mt. Franklin went pretty quick and easy. The trails were now getting more solid and it was pretty nice.

I worked my way up Mt. Eisenhower and it was starting to get a bit uncomfortable. Today was expected to be the hottest of the three I would hike and it was already feeling it. Once on the summit I took a seat on the shady side of the summit cairn and the cool rocks felt nice. Since it was getting hot and this summit was a bit dull (very round with not much for plants or features), I headed down.

The hike towards Mt. Pierce went well and it was nice to have brief bits in the trees. I had been above treeline for a couple days now, plus the pockets of shade felt nice. Where the Crawford Path heads back down to the Highland Center, I caught up to the couple from the Carolinas. They had passed me while I was up on the summit. They were heading back down from here since they wanted to get back to Boston to their hotel for the night before an early flight out. We said our goodbyes and I thanked them for serving in the military. They are both in the Army and she even parachutes for her job there. It was a short quick walk up to the summit of Mt. Pierce. This summit is more like I am used to with the trees around part of it and less rocks.

From here I headed down the trail again. I made the trek down into the col and stopped off at the Mizpah Spring Hut after a steeper descent near it. I wanted to sit down in the shade and this was great spot to do it. Plus I could top off on cold water too. There was a group of 4 LOTC croo members here for lunch that had run down the trail past me earlier. They would soon be running back up the trail so they could prepare for supper. I don't think I could do that.

The trail to Mt. Jackson went by pretty quick with plenty of bog bridges and some interesting scenery. I personally think the steep climb just before the summit is some cruel joke though after this much hiking in three days. There was only a father and son on the summit when I showed up, but soon more started making their way here. After something to eat and letting my feet dry and rest again, I decided it was time to head out. After hiking along for three days, the 10-12 people that were now on the summit made things just seem crowded. Kind of a funny feeling. Plus I was also getting sore/tired legs and looking forward to getting back home. The trail was a bit steep and rocky to start down, but eventually it got easier. It seems to take a while before you get to the junction though. From here it was a pretty easy trek out. I was a bite slower than normal with my tired legs, but cooling off at a brook crossing gave me new life. I just love cool mountain streams. Back to the road, I made the quick walk back to my truck. I was glad to put on some dry clothes and get my pack off my back.

All in all the hike was great. The weather couldn't have been much better. The hike was harder than I expected, but still good. I would certainly do it again. Staying at the huts was pretty nice too. I had never spent the night in one before, although I have been to most of them. I did learn a few things. 1. Bring more socks and better socks. 2. Apply sunscreen at the start of day 2 rather than near the end. 3. I did better than I would have expected after 3 days of consecutive hiking.

View from Mt. Monroe

Closing in on Mt. Eisenhower

Trees and shade again

View from Mt. Pierce

Plenty of bog bridges

Mizpah Spring Hut

Mt. Washington in the clouds a bit

I'll come back and hike Mt. Webster some other day

Route for day 3

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE