On an early September weekend, Chris and I decided to adventure over to New Hampshire to cross a few peaks off our list. We hadn’t had much luck finding time to climb over the summer, so we were fairly excited to get back on the trail again after being out of the swing of things for a few months. The first decision to make was going to be which hike to tackle for Saturday, and determining what our goals were going to be for the weekend. Since I wasn’t really in great physical shape at the time, I decided we should focus on a straight up and down hike with a good payout versus a longer, trudging traverse. I had my eye on Carrigain for a while because of the fire tower views from the summit, so we decided that would be a good starting point for the weekend.
From the place we were staying, Carrigain was only a few miles up the road, so we were able to get to the trailhead road pretty quickly. The road is called Sawyer Pond Road, and while it is a dirt road, it is fairly well maintained and easy to drive on for the couple miles you travel on it until you reach the parking lot. The lot has a decent amount of spaces, and we were able to park without any trouble. we got out packs and made our way across the road to the start of the trail. It would be about 5 miles up to the summit from the road, fairly flat/steady for the fire mile and three quarters and climbing at a good clip for the rest of the way. This would be our first high peak in a few months, so it was exciting to finally get back on the trail for a good climb again.
The first few miles of the trip were fairly uneventful, as we worked our way very gradually through the thick forest of the Sawyer Pond region. After 1.7 miles we reached a turnoff as the Carrigain Notch trail continued on to the right of the mountain, eventually taking hikers towards the Vose Spur and beyond. Our trail, the Signal Ridge Trail, forked to the left and almost immediately started ascending uphill from here. Given how little I had been hiking over the summer, I found the ascent to be a bit challenging, going at a sluggish pace as we made our way up the long 3+ mile ascent. We were able to see some nice valley views to the south and east through the trees, which always give me just that little bit more motivation to keep trucking along as things get tougher. We made our way at a calm pace and we eventually ended up at a nice clearing with some fantastic views of the mountains to the east.
The exposed ridge line we got to was quite a nice view to behold, but I was admittedly a bit confused because I knew this couldn’t be the summit because the summit of Carrigain was fairly wooded with a large fire tower. Sure enough, as we moved along the ridge line I could see one more large bump to the north with a prominent tower capping the summit. We stopped on the ridge line for a bit, simply because the views and the fresh air were too good to pass up, and then made one last push for the final few tenths of a mile to the summit proper.
Knowing the summit was only a little further gave Chris and I that little bit of extra energy needed to get up the last bit of climbing before we reached the summit. Overall, I was very pleased with the trail up to the top, as the whole trail was rather well maintained and easy to climb despite some steep gradients. It wasn’t too long from the dip after the ridge line that we could see the steel frames of the fire tower which indicated we had finally reached the summit of Mount Carrigain! I wasted no time looking around the forested summit, and instead headed straight up the fire tower to catch the sensational views I was expecting to find up top over the tree line. The views up top did not disappoint at all, revealing a 360 panorama of parts of the Pemi loop and the western and southern portions of the Presidential range. I feel like I’ve had multiple occasions where I’ve raved about a mountain in the Whites being one of the best summit views I’ve ever seen, and this summit definitely deserves these credits as well. The views up top aren’t as close or dramatic as some of the views you get in the middle of either the Pemi loop or the Presidential Range, but getting to see both in one single far away shot was unique and exciting. The summit experience definitely met my expectation quite well, even though some strong winds from an offshore tropical system met us above tree line and cut our time above tree line a bit short. We took in the sights for a few minutes, and headed back down to finish our first high peak hike of the summer, just as the summer was ending.
Recommendations: This is a hike I would definitely recommend to any serious hiker who enjoys an easily navigable hike with good payout views. The hike can get steep at times, but falls short of what should be considered “technical.” The views up top make this a real worthwhile hike, and the distance of only 10 miles makes it an easily doable day hike for most seasons.
After a long winter without hiking, Chris and I decided it was finally time to start a new hiking season in New Hampshire. Even though it was early May and there would still be plenty of snow at high elevations, I had some extra vacation time to use up, so a long weekend away seemed like the thing to do. I drove up to the Adirondacks to meet up with Chris and we took the 5 hour drive from there to get to Waterville Valley where we would stay and hopefully get one or two climbs in.
We set out on a Saturday morning in hopes of a finding a suitable climb for a late spring afternoon. We bounced around a few different climb ideas, but I focused in on a trail I knew was going to be fairly dry, relatively low in elevation, and lacking in exposure; Mount Moriah. At only 9 miles round trip and without any stream crossings, I thought this would be the best warm-up hike for mid-May. We got to the trailhead around 10 AM after travelling for a bit and found the last parking spot down the road at a power line crossing clearing, put on our gear, and started down the road to get going on our first high peak of 2019.
Once we got to the trailhead, we saw the first somewhat confusing thing for the day. The Carter-Moriah trail signs were all pointing the opposite of way of the obvious trail. I kind of figured this was the obvious start of the climb, but I’d also read about suspension bridge as part of the climb, so I decided to take a look on the other side of the bridge to see if maybe there was another trailhead on that side that might be the proper start of the trail. Turns out this foray was basically just a waste of time because the bridge just leads to a residential street, so we went back to the trailhead and realized that the real problem was that the sign had been uprooted and was left leaning against a tree, which was the only reason why the arrows had pointed the wrong way. After a little delay in searching around a bit, we finally started our hike in earnest from here.
The initial ascent up the mountain was very similar to Mount Garfield; steady, very earthen, and not terribly hard to handle. We quickly got up in elevation, seeing some nice views of the mountains around Gorham through the trees. Supposedly we would reach a smaller summit, Mount Surprise in 2 miles time, and while we reached a couple of different open spots along the way, it was hard to pin down what exactly Mount Surprise was because we never really fell off significantly after any of the clearings we got to, as one would expect when summiting a mountain. We did stop for a second at what I now believe was the real “summit” of Mount surprise for a quick break. We hadn’t witnessed any spots of snow up until that point so we had been making pretty good progress, especially considering that I wasn’t coming into the hike in great physical condition. We didn’t spend too much time here; just enough to regroup and mentally prepare for what might be a tough hike at higher elevations for the last 2.5 miles.
Once we got back into the thick of the woods, we started noticing a few spots of hard packed snow on the trails. We ran into a hiker descending right at the start of these snow spots, and he ensured us that this section ended rather quickly, although the snow higher up was much heavier. We both carried light traction in our packs, figuring that would be enough to manage the snow pack in mid-May, so we weren’t terribly concerned with what might be coming. The snow section ended quickly so neither of us really needed any traction help just yet, and we continued on up the trail at a mild pace. Putting aside the spring trail conditions, the gradient of the Carter-Moriah trail is very forgiving and allows for a somewhat leisurely 4000 footer hiking experience. Despite that weekend not really being in the prime of hiking season, we probably encountered at least two dozen different hikers on the trail that day, all braving the melting monorails to enjoy what was otherwise a very pleasant mid-fifties and partly cloudy afternoon. It was reassuring to know that we weren’t the only ones crazy enough to brave melting snow to get a climb in, like we had been on a few other occasions before. We kept on going steadily uphill until we finally reached the winter wonderland we were expecting to see, probably about a mile and a half from the summit.
Once the snow pack started, we could tell what kind of conditions we were in for. Because rain had come in the night before, there was a good bit of melting, so the monorails were not as stable as they might’ve been a week before. My first attempt on a bog bridge was an immediate fail as I slipped off the monorail and went about 2 feet deep into a bog with my right boot. Despite this unfortunate moment, I continued on a ways with just my boots until we started getting a bit steeper. Once I heard Chris behind me mentioning he was gonna slip on the tractions, I went ahead and found a rock to sit on uphill where I could do the same. I hadn’t had to use my devices for about 2 years, so I was interested in seeing how they would hold up for me. I didn’t recall them being as a snug of a fit on my boots as they were, but I did get new boots since the last time I used them so I wasn’t terribly put off, and I continued on uphill with a little bit more grip then I did before.
From this point on Chris and I took it rather steadily going up to the summit, since the monorail was a bit soft. Even with traction we were still post-holing from time to time, but there were no major episodes on the way up (at least none that I can recall). Chris mentioned to me as we were going along that he’d basically lost track of how long we had been going or how many miles we had travelled. I’ve never been particularly good at estimating time or distance anyway, but I definitely concurred with that sentiment, hoping that the summit would just be around the corner each turn we took. After a few more slips, a few more turns, and a broken strap on my traction device, we started seeing the trees thin out, and we knew we were close to the top. It wasn’t too much longer before we saw the Moriah summit sign, just barely popping out the snow despite being a good 4-5 feet off the ground, and we had finally arrived at our first peak of the year!
Once you get past the height of land on the summit of Moriah, there is a really nice lookout that features tremendous views of both the Presidential and Carter ranges, well worth the struggle through the snow getting to it. We could see just how much snow was still left on the Presidential Range especially, and it wasn’t too hard to imagine that above 5,000 feet it was probably still cold enough to keep that snow for another few weeks, if not a month more! Right as we got out to the lookout to take in the views, we could also feel the winds start whipping about as well, making it a bit uncomfortable to be out in the open. On a nice day, this summit would be a really cool place to spend some time, but given the blustery conditions, we left after about 10 minutes up top, and headed right back down to finish out our day.
We headed down the mountain at a small interval behind four other groups who were at the summit with us, which made navigating the crumbling monorails a bit challenging. All of us seemed to be struggling with the trail conditions, so we had to gingerly make our way around each other as we stopped and started on the tougher slopes downhill. Eventually Chris and I managed to get enough momentum to get clear of the others and had the trail to ourselves for the most part. We took one long-ish break on the way down, where I was able to notice the traction device on my right boot, the one that went very deep into a bog, had not only snapped in one, but three different spots and had rode up over the toes of my boots. It was basically useless to me from that point on, but we were basically out of the snow by then anyway, so I just packed it back away and kept on going until we reached Surprise again, and from there we knew it would be a straight forward last 2 miles out.
Right as we got close to the trailhead we stopped and took in a very strange sight on the early slopes of the climb. The wreckage of what appeared to be an old car was discarded right off the side of the trail maybe about a quarter mile from the road down below. We somehow missed this sight on the way up, but we couldn’t help but stop and wonder about this for a bit. The slopes weren’t terribly steep at this point in the trail, but they also weren’t flat, so it seemed crazy to think someone manage to get this wreckage up the slopes like that. After being momentarily taken aback, we kept going and finished off the day by heading back down the street to the parking lot, completing our first climb of 2019 right around 5 PM.
Recommendations: Moriah is a pretty easy climb overall, and pays off with a pretty cool summit view of the major mountain ranges in the area. The climb itself is fairly steady and doesn’t feature any major obstacles that novice hikers might find challenging, so I would highly recommend this climb to anyone. Hiking in early May can be a bit challenging though so, as always, be mindful of the weather conditions before you set out for a hike.
Two weeks before my wedding and what better way to prepare than hiking random mountains. We decided it was of the most interest to climb Slide and possibly Hunter down in the Catskills. Considering I had never really been to that part of the state I was looking forward to something new. We arrived at the trailhead a little later than I had hoped but nonetheless we threw on the gear and checked out the trail register. Judging by the parking lot I figured we would be seeing a fair number of hikers on what was so far a crap weather day.
The 5.4 round trip hike started with an immediate stream crossing, which was easily navigated via rocks and was not really moving with too much ferocity. After that we started on a consistent yet forgiving climb up the mountain. It didn’t take too long to have a hiccup on the day as Andrew’s ankle decided to succumb to a rogue rock that came out of nowhere. Actually the rock probably didn’t come out of nowhere, Andrew just rolled the ankle. After accepting the minor pain that would likely be accompanying him for the remainder of the afternoon Andrew got up and we pressed on.
The trail continued on a consistent ascent until we reached a junction. We hung a right down what I would describe as an old logging road. Whether or not its was I really have no idea but the quality of the trail was top notch for sure. We kept on this for only a brief period of time before reaching a second trail junction. We decided to follow the red trail markers to the summit as it seemed to be the more direct route even though it was likely to bring a steeper ascent.
The trail from this point was once again a easy to moderate yet consistent ascent to the summit. After what was probably 30 minutes the second trail we saw earlier had merged with ours and at this point the trail seemed like it was trying to flatten out. The sun was trying its best to burn off the fog but never really was too successful. At this point the prospects of getting any sort of view were starting to dwindle away. We got passed by a hiker heading in the opposite direction letting us know that we were close and that there wasn’t much to see. With this in mind we pressed on to find our summit. After walking on nearly flat ground for about 5 minutes we found a piece of concrete or cement in the ground and after walking around a little more we figured that this was it. Needless to say we were underwhelmed.
We made our way down to a small lookout we passed before arriving at our summit only to be greeted by clouds, fog, and no views. We took a few minutes to relax before making our way down and out for the day.
Recommendation to hikers: By far the easiest hike I have done for a 4000 footer, the views were non existent, on a clear day I assume you will get something to look at so it is definitely a hike I’d recommend for a good weather day.
As Fall was beginning to creep on us, it was time to get another hike in. After taking a break from peak-bagging for one trip, it was time to keep going with our Northeast 111 list. Since driving to New Hampshire for a day hike from New York would be a bit much to try for, we decided to grab one of the 2 Vermont 4,000 footers we had yet to try. I told Chris he could pick whichever one of the two sounded good, and we decided on doing Mount Mansfield on that day. We decided we would meet at the trailhead at about 10 AM for what should be a fairly short hike of about 2.5 miles to the summit.
Getting to any of the summits in Vermont from Albany is always a bit of a trip, but getting to Mansfield was the furthest trip thus far. It took me the better part of 3.5 hours before I managed to pull into Stowe, when I got a text from Chris saying that he ran into some unexpected traffic and would meet me a bit later than expected. This actually wasn’t a horrible thing since it gave me an opportunity to wander around and try to figure out where the best place to park was. I saw a bus stop looking parking area and a roadside parking area just north of the Long Trail on Google Maps, and decided to check out both to see if either were ideal. The roadside parking was very limited and was blocked in by poles, giving me the feeling that it wouldn’t be a great parking spot, and the bus-stop parking spot was more of a picnic area than anything else, even though it was only a short walk from the actual trail crossing on the highway. Instead, I managed to catch a hiker parking sign right by the ski resort area, and pulled into the first parking lot where another sign was. It was tough to tell which spot was the best to park in, but it seemed like this was the best spot to start at, so we met at that parking lot and took off from the connector trail just across the road.
The connector trail takes you about a quarter mile down the road, and turns into a boardwalk going across a marshland, before going back into the woods and crossing the road to start the ascent of Mansfield in earnest. From the looks of the map, this would be a pretty unrelenting climb, and that’s what it ended up being. We started ascending immediately, and we also could feel the heat of the day pretty quickly as well. We only started hiking around 11 AM so we were starting to get into the heat of the day anyway, but it was definitely some of the hottest conditions we’d hiked in over the last year or two. We got up the mountain a little ways and stopped at a small clearing to catch our breaths before continuing on.
Usually when we climb a mountain, we tend to be in our own space on the mountain, usually at a solid pace between whoever’s ahead of us and who’s behind us, but it was a bit of a different experience this day. Because of the heat and humidity, we found ourselves starting and stopping more than usual to begin with, and so did the other groups going up around us. We ended up either leap-frogging or hiking alongside 5 or 6 other groups for the majority of the climb, which made for a unique hiking experience. As we made our way up towards the Taft Lodge along the way uphill, we began to level out just a bit, and we also got to see some of the interesting choices of trail names in the Mansfield region. We passed Hell Brook Trail and Obscenity Trail as we continued along the Long Trail, and while both seemed interesting based on labels, we thought it’s be best to keep pushing forward instead of finding out just why those trails are named as they are. It was at this spot in the trail where we could start to see the gigantic wall of earth that we would soon be scaling to get to the summit of Mount Mansfield.
As we got close to the top where I noted that the path would turn south, we came across the splinter path to the first sub-peak, which is noted on the map as “The Adam’s Apple.” Apparently from a top view, the whole summit vicinity of Mansfield and its sub-peaks looks like a human face, so all of the peaks are labeled as different parts of a face. Even though it wasn’t too far off the path, we decided to skip the Adam’s apple and head straight for “The Chin” which is the highest point of land on Mansfield. From this point, we only had about 0.3 miles to go to the summit, but we could see it would be some pretty steep climbing up to the top. For the next 20/30 minutes or so we spent some time negotiating some very interesting and difficult features on our way to the summit the mountain. Every section kind of reminded me of different spots we’d climbed over the last few years, and it provided just enough resistance on the way up to make it extra fun. Once we got over the last hard climbing section, we could see the white ropes start on the side of the path, encouraging people to stay off the alpine vegetation, and from there it was just a small walk until we finally summitted Mansfield for our fourth Green Mountain high peak!
Mansfield’s summit is probably the nicest of all the high peaks in Vermont, with views all around with plenty of different features and angles to look around at. Considering it’s a relatively short climb that can be accessed from a few different points, there was a fairly substantial crowd up top on the afternoon we went up. The good thing about Mansfield is it does have a fairly wide summit, capable of accommodating the crowds so sharing the peak with 50 people didn’t feel like being at a subway station at all. From the west we could see the whole ski area (and even the lot we parked in) and from the east we could see for miles, and even caught a glimpse of Lake Champlain way in the distance. Overall, it was a pretty nice summit experience, so we stuck around up top long enough to explore around and have a snack before heading back down.
The trip down was fairly quick considering how consistent the trail was after that initial tough descent. Most of the struggle going uphill was due to the heat, but since going downhill is a bit less stressful, the heat wasn’t a big deterrent on the way back. We made great time getting downhill, past all the landmarks we’d passed along the way, and we were down to the roadside less than 4 hours after we began our day. Crossing the road on the Long Trail is a bit perilous considering there’s no crosswalk and the road kind of rises and falls at the crossing, leaving motorists a bit blind to crossing climbers, so do take caution at this part if you plan on climbing Mansfield. After crossing it was a 5-10 minute walk back along the boardwalk and back to the little welcome center across from our parking lot. As we got back to the parking lot, we could clearly see the summit we just came from, and remarked about how much quicker that climb was than we even anticipated.
Recommendations: Mansfield is such a nice climb, that’s easy to do in an afternoon, and challenging enough to make you feel like you’re getting a workout in. It’s a fairly steady climb from the trailhead at Smuggler’s Notch, even though according to Chris, travelling from the north through the notch is a challenging drive, so perhaps it’s best to approach the drive to the trailhead from the south. Mansfield is just hard enough of a climb for me to say it’s preferable that you should be in at least decent hiking shape to try it out, but it’s also a quick enough climb where you can take your time if you’re struggling. The views at the top are 360 degrees, and it’s a highly recommendable climb for the views alone!
As Labor Day was approaching, it was about time for another climb after travelling to Vermont just a few weeks back to climb Abraham and Ellen. Despite the fact that Chris and I were anxious to keep plugging away at the Northeast 111, I really wanted to get back to the Adirondack High Peaks at least once for the season. It was a bit of a tough decision, but I decided that pausing our peak-bagging conquest for a trip might not be the worst thing. I personally think I’ve gotten a bit caught up in getting new peaks and lost a little bit of touch with the fun of just climbing for the hell of it. Chris agreed with my idea, and we decided to meet up at Marcy Field and try to grab one of the 4,000 foot non-counters in the High Peaks, Yard Mountain, and do a loop hike over Big Slide to finish the day off.
I met Chris at Marcy Field around 9 AM to start the day, since it was Labor Day weekend and I was fairly confident a spot at the garden trailhead wouldn’t be in the cards at that hour. The plan for the day was to try a lesser travelled route by climbing Yard Mountain from the south via the Klondike Trail that starts at John’s Brook Lodge and finishing over Big Slide and returning to the Garden via The Brothers trail. I’m always interested in approaching climbs using different approaches, and I figured it would be a fun approach to try out. After taking a much improved shuttle bus ride over to the trailhead, we got going on the trail towards JBL a little bit before 10 AM. As we remarked along the way, we’d taken the trip towards JBL 2 or 3 times before, but it’s always surprisingly long and drawn out, without much of note to discuss, until you get closer to the Lodge. They did recently erect a very nice trail map signboard right before the Lodge, which was a cool sight, and will undoubtedly be very helpful to hikers looking to plot out climbs from the lodge. We took a rest at the lodge for a second, before starting our journey in earnest.
Despite the fact that I attempted to do some re-con on the climb we would be doing, I failed to realize the Klondike trail actually started directly behind the lodge building itself. Somehow I’d missed that trail every time we’d stopped in that field over the years, but in fairness, it is kind of easy to miss because it’s a particularly narrow trail. Even though the trail is marked, as you travel along it you do get the feeling, much like I suspected, that the trail is not raveled as much as a lot of the other trails in that region. The trail is not terribly eroded, making it less obvious to follow in spots, and is a bit overgrown in certain areas, giving it the feeling of a herd path more than a maintained trail. Still, it was a nice wilderness trail to travel on, and didn’t offer any difficulties along the way to our trail junction. From the bottom of the Yard trail it was only going to be about 1.3 miles to the summit, even though a lot of the elevation would be right towards the end. We took a quick break at the sign and started on our way up.
At this point in the day we started getting enveloped in cloud cover, despite the sunny conditions that were present at the trailhead. There were a few brief rain showers that started and stopped as we travelled along the trail towards and up to the summit, though those eventually went away as we started to climb in earnest. What didn’t go away, however, was the cloud coverage, and while we enjoyed the breeze it brought, it also became clear that our potential to get summit views from the day would be negatively impacted. The climb along the back side of Yard Mountain was actually quite interested as you get to traverse around some pretty fascinating cliffs along the side of the mountain. The dramatic nature of the geology around that part of the mountain made the scenic route a very enjoyable choice, and some of the spots on the cliffs do allow for some cool obstructed views of the valley to the southwest. The trail started to level out once we got over the cliff section, and as we got closer to the summit we unfortunately also ascended into the clouds we saw coming in. Despite the unfortunate weather, we reached the summit of Yard Mountain shortly after the clouds came through, and we took a break upon the summit to look around.
Yard Mountain’s summit was honestly one of the more confusing moments I’ve had on the summit of a mountain in the high peaks. Since Yard doesn’t count as a 46er summit, it seems like the summit area is less detailed and streamlined as some of the other mountains. I saw at least 3 distinct spots that could have been the actual summit of the mountain, but neither Chris nor I could find any kind of summit marker other than the sign that indicated how far it was to get to Big Slide from there. On top of that, we only found one spot that appeared to have any kind of lookout view, and because of the thick cloud cover we didn’t get to verify what kind of view we got anyway. It was a little disappointing to see the summit was as non-distinct as it ended up being, but the climb up made it worth the trip anyway, so we took a brief break on top, and headed over to Big Slide.
The trip to Big Slide was more of a ridge walk than anything else, which I did anticipate considering the reason Yard doesn’t count as a 46er hike is because it doesn’t feature enough topographical prominence against Big Slide, which is the predominant mountain of the two. We were sort of hoping that the clouds would blow over at some point, but that never happened until much later in the day. Once we got to the summit of Big Slide we encountered our first crowd of the day, since many people don’t end up including Yard in their trips to Big Slide, or at least so it appears. Unfortunately for us, and the crowd up top, the spectacular views we should’ve seen on top of the mountain were shrouded by thick clouds on that afternoon. Despite the lack of a scenic view, the breeze was very nice up top, and the rocky summit provided a nice spot to have a longer lunch break to rest up for the hike back.
As we worked our way down some of the steep spots of Big Slide, and got to a lower elevation, we were able to walk out of the clouds right by the time we got to the brothers section of the brothers trail. It was at that spot where we finally got to see our first scenic views of the day. It was a shame that it was so cloudy at high elevation, but the views at the brothers are fantastic and definitely worth checking out. From there it was a pretty straight forward walk back to the Garden parking lot, and we were out of the woods around 3:30 or so (if I remember correctly). We waited at the booth for a little while for a crowd to start gathering so we could take the shuttle back to Marcy Field and head on out. The attendant told us it was nice and sunny the entire day at low elevation, which was a little upsetting to hear, but despite the lacking views on the day, it was a fun hike and a nice way to spend a Sunday getting in what will likely end up being my only Adirondack hike of 2018!
Recommendations: Yard Mountain really doesn’t have one of the nicest summit area in the High Peaks, so if you’re a fan of the views, I wouldn’t recommend tagging this mountain on (even though I’m a big fan of the ascent from the Klondike trail personally). Big Slide is always a nice hike for anyone because it’s relatively short, provides amazing views on a good day, and offers some nice challenging spots to conquer before you summit.
Difficulty: Yard – 5, Big Slide – 4
Views: Yard – 1, Big Slide – 8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpCgBUI7F6o
A few weeks after our trip up to the presidential range in the White Mountains, Chris and I decided it was time to tackle another hike in the Green Mountains of Vermont. We were looking forward to getting a couple peaks in a short(ish) trip, so we decide that a climb of Abraham and Ellen would be next on our plate. We set out around 7 in the morning, and made our way to Vermont, anticipating a good day for our second Vermont hike!
As we made our way into central Vermont, we started to check the roads and sights for our turn-off to get towards the trailhead. I did have a general idea where the trailhead at Lincoln Gap would be, but I decided to follow Chris and let his GPS lead the way since it clearly looked to be a bit off the beaten path. Once we got through Bristol, Vermont, a charming, rustic small town, we turned off on Lincoln Gap Road and started a very interesting journey. The road paralleled a stream for a distance, and passed through a very small town before we eventually lost most traces of civilization, including the pavement! The road continued as a well maintained dirt road for a while before it suddenly started climbing and twisting pretty significantly. I can say with confidence that that mile or two uphill on the dirt road was probably the toughest condition I’ve put my Corolla through, but it handled it like it a champ, and we eventually reached pavement again right as we got to the Gap and saw the trailhead. Getting to the trailhead isn’t the simplest thing, but the benefit of starting at a high elevation was nice, as we had a good 13 miles to do and were only starting around 10:30 AM. We grabbed our packs and gear quickly and started along the Long Trail towards Abraham.
Considering it took us a lot longer to get to the trailhead then we imagined it would, I took it upon myself to start off with a pretty high pace, since I kind of wanted to get back before it got too late. We started ascending immediately, but the trail never really got to be terribly steep or technical. It was a fairly straight forward trail through the forest for about 1.7 miles until we intercepted the Battell Trail and got to the Battell shelter. This was not only a nice spot to take a quick break, but also a landmark to let me know we were less than a mile from the summit of Abraham.
The climb up from there was about as consistent as the first section, and before we knew it we were starting to flatten out as we finally reached the flat, rocky summit of Mount Abraham!
The summit area of Abraham was actually a pretty cool experience, considering I wasn’t expecting too much from it. The summit is fairly flat, and relatively large, with a great deal of bare rock to accommodate the decent crowd that formed up top. The drop from the summit isn’t terribly cliff-like, but it’s also fairly dramatic and gives you an amazing view of prairies and small farms dotting the forest to the west. It’s a very unfamiliar view to see all these houses in the valley at the bottom of the mountain, since most high peaks are deep within wilderness areas, but the scenery was very beautiful and unique enough to leave a lasting memory for me. We took a few minutes to get a drink and a snack up top before heading down the Long Trail for what would be a 3.5 mile rolling walking towards our second summit of the day.
A look towards Ellen
By the time we got off the summit of Abraham, Chris started mentioning to me that his knee was not holding up terribly well, but unsurprisingly, that didn’t slow us down one bit. After getting to a sub-peak with a nice summit area, we ended up wandering around ski trails before eventually finding that the trail sneakily took a weird turn into the woods that we didn’t obviously see at first.
Once in the woods, we encountered some pretty extensive blow-down in the trail, which we had to negotiate carefully, but that didn’t slow us down much either, since we were really just on a mission to get that last peak and get out. It really was just one of those hikes where you put your head down and persevere even when you know it’s not gonna be the greatest view or the greatest condition.
We went up and down a few sub-peaks on our way, but we finally ended up on the unmarked summit of Ellen sometime around 2 PM. Initially I walked by it, and got down to the ski trails just north, just to make sure there wasn’t a greater summit down the line. Unfortunately, the height of land was the little spot in the woods we passed, which really didn’t have much of a summit area to enjoy. It was heavily wooded and had no particularly notable features or even partial views. It was a bit of a deflating moment after the additional 2 hour walk we took from Abraham to get there, but at the very least, we managed to get another peak crossed off our list!
Lets put one more pebble on the cairn on Ellen…
The hike back over the sub-peaks was a bit annoying, especially for Chris since his knee was really starting to scream at him, but we made it back to the summit area of Abraham in very short order, and we were welcomed by a much better view than we had there earlier in the day. Instead of seeing clouds at the ridge to the west, we could now see well past it, getting a really nice view of central Vermont from up above. We enjoyed the view and a break for a second, before heading back towards the Battell Shelter, then back to Lincoln Gap and making our way back to New York. I was very happy to get back to the road by about 6 PM, proving, as I had thought, that we were making really good time for our day. Overall, the trip was very enjoyable and featured some very interesting/unique views and climbing experiences along the way.
Recommendations: I would recommend hiking Abraham for just about anybody, regardless of condition. It’s a very short hike, and there isn’t a huge amount of elevation gain from Lincoln Gap (even though the road to the trail head is a bit rough). The views on Abraham are enjoyable, and the summit area is large enough to accommodate a good crowd. Ellen, on the other hand, is a far less enjoyable hike up and down rolling hills, and through blow-down fields, without any views or notable features. I would only recommend adding it if you are trying to get all the 4,000 footers in New England or the Northeast.
After a good warm-up hike on Wildcat the day before, we decided that the second day of our White Mountains trip should be spent in the Presidential Range, trying to summit one of the crown jewels of the White Mountains. After carefully studying the maps, and taking into account a lacking form and possible fatigue, I decided we should go ahead and climb Mount Washington and Mount Monroe. While it seemed like it might be a struggle coming off of a tough day before and a recent back injury, I couldn’t help but notice that the trail from Ammonoosuc Ravine seemed rather forgiving, at least based on the contour map. My guess was that it wouldn’t actually be an overwhelming ascent despite Washington’s massive elevation. Plus, I thought it would be a pretty nice cap to the weekend trip to stand on top of the highest peak in the Northeast!
We left the hotel we were staying at in North Conway at about 7 AM in order to get an early start to the day. We managed to find a decent spot to have breakfast on the way to the Base Road where our trailhead was. The road up to the Ammonoosuc Trailhead is also the road that leads to the Cog railway that can bring you up to the summit of Mount Washington the easy way. We had the intention of earning the summit the hard way though, and parked at the parking area about 2/3 of the way up the road. From there we would have about a 3 mile ascent to the col between Monroe and Washington where the Lake of the Clouds Hut is located. From there it should be a simple ¼ mile up to Monroe one way and a relatively gentle mile and a half up to the summit of the famed Mount Washington the other way.
We got to the parking lot a little before 9 and luckily found that there were a decent amount of spots left. If we had been going to the Garden Parking Lot or even the ADK Loj parking lot on a day like that we could assume there may not be any parking spots left, but in the White Mountains there’s actually a decent amount of access points to the mountains, which makes parking just a little bit easier. After gathering our gear we set off on the trail at about 9 AM on quest for Mount Monroe which would be roughly 3.5 miles uphill from there.
The first mile of the trail actually paralleled the road to the base of the Cog Railway, which allowed us a great opportunity to warm-up before the hard climbing could start. As we got further down the trail we could actually hear the sound of the railcar taking off, bringing pedestrians up to the summit for a somewhat hefty fee. I understand a lot of people simply can’t get up a tough climb like Washington for many different reasons, but from an economical standpoint, I much prefer to climb the mountain than pay to be brought up (but, to each their own). After about a mile, we hit a junction, where the trail lead off to the parking lot at the railway base and we took a right hand turn there to start our steep 2 mile ascent to the hut at the base of Monroe.
Once we turned onto the real ascent, we realized quickly that we would be paralleling the Ammonoosuc Ravine pretty closely as we continued uphill. The trail really began to remind me a lot of the ascent along the Opalescent River as you head towards the col between Mount Redfield and Cliff Mountain. Both trails have very similar features and are simultaneously easy to follow and easy on the feet. Despite us needing to ascend a considerable amount of elevation, it didn’t really seem like we were doing too much work because the gradient was rather consistent early on. About half way up we ran into a group of people who were emerging from a side trail, and they mentioned there were some pretty cool waterfalls down the path. We had just stopped at a waterfall pool about two tenths of a mile back, but since the climb was starting to wind-up and get fairly steep, I thought it would be a nice idea to stop and check out the view, while catching my breath a little bit too.
The waterfall section was very picturesque, definitely some of the best we’d seen in the White Mountains thus far, but I was mostly just happy for the excuse to stop for a second. Once you hit the first waterfall the climbing becomes a little bit steeper and more relentless. At no point does the climb get unbearable, but the last mile there is a bit tough, and we could definitely see the results as we passed and leap-frogged a bunch of different groups on the open part of the steep section towards the top. As the trail opened up at elevation we began to see some cool views to the north and west, including the railway going up to the summit. At that point the trail up to the ridge basically transitioned out of the woods and onto steep flat rock slabs.
The rocky section was relatively easy to follow, as we meandered around few small trickles of water going down the mountain, and we were able to make good progress on the last little kick. After Chris and I spent a good 15 minutes trying to figure what ripple in the background could be our mountain, the 3 of us finally reached the plateau at the base of Monroe, where we finally could see not only the hut and the Lake of the Clouds, but also the two mountains we would be summiting.
The scenery at the hut was amazing, as we could get a close-up view of just how massive Mount Washington really is, and also get to take in a large alpine zone with some unique characteristics. The plateau is over 5,000 feet in elevation and features a pair of ponds, and with the view of the mountains behind it, I can safely say it’s one of the most-interesting spots in all of the Northeast 115. We stopped at the hut to re-group for a moment and quickly headed up to the summit of Monroe, which we could see pretty clearly just to our south. The Appalachian trail section just past the summit trail towards Monroe was closed for repairs, and the signs warned that there could be a pretty hefty fine or jail time for anyone who trespassed on the trail maintenance zone. Luckily, we had no intention of ever taking that trail around anyway, and instead took a right and trudged up a quarter mile of rocks and boulders until we finally reached the rocky summit of Mount Monroe!
Monroe was exactly the kind of picturesque mountain-top summit that we’ve become used to in our hiking travels. The summit was completely rocky, thanks to its high elevation, and provided 360 views of the lower part of the Presidential Range and the valleys below. It’s a relatively quick side-hike if you’re planning on summiting Washington, and since it offers some views (and some serenity) that you don’t quite get on Washington, I’d highly recommend taking a second to climb up to Mount Monroe. The 3 of us took a few minutes to enjoy the summit and the cooler weather up top, and quickly retraced our steps to start up to our final destination of the day; Washington.
We got back to the hut in very short order, with Washington in our sights. It would only be about a mile and a half up to the summit, and we could see the entire ascent from where we were standing as the trail zig-zagged up the rocky mountain. We first started navigating around the two small lakes on the plateau, one of which had a scientific research area at its shore.
The weather up in this altitude has been billed as wild, and I’ve seen countless videos online of people struggling in severe weather on Washington, but that wasn’t anything we were able to verify on that day. The weather was perfectly calm as we made our way up to the top of Washington, much to our surprise. We climbed steadily without too many problems, stopping only a few times to chat with other people who were coming up and down the tough parts. For a large climb, the Washington ascent was actually quite steady, without any scrambles or technical spots, and the only real concern going up was navigating some loose rock on the trails. As we got closer to the top, we started seeing all the other trails coming from other directions intersect the Appalachian Trail section we were on, and soon after we saw the sign for the trail leading up to the weather tower on the summit, marking our final destination. Besides having to watch our footing for loose rock, we made it up to the top with relative ease, finally reaching our summit just before 2 PM.
The summit of Washington was a much different experience that any of had seen in the High Peaks thus far. We’d run into crowds on summits before, but this was the first time we’d climbed into a major tourist attraction. There’s an entire summit center up top, equipped with restrooms, a gift shop, a cafeteria, and even a post office! In the back of my mind, I knew there would be amenities at the top of the mountain because of the highway and railway up to the top, but seeing it with my own eyes and seeing the crowd of well over 100 people on top was mind-blowing! There were so many buildings up top that it was nearly impossible to get an uninterrupted 360 view on top of the mountain, which was a bit of a shame. However, if you manage your way around the large summit area, you get amazing views from every direction, especially if you climb it on a great weather day like we did. The cool thing about the summit attraction was we were able to use a restroom and get a fresh lunch on the summit, something that’s not available to us on any of the other 114 peaks we’ll visit. We enjoyed a quick lunch at one of the few spots on the summit not mobbed by tourists, and then tried to find as many scenic spots as possible. Once we got all the pictures we wanted, we decided to flee the crowds and head back down the summit, where we would hopefully have a quick 4.5 mile descent to the car to end our weekend trip.
The trip down Washington was really quick and uneventful, thanks to the steadiness of the trail. We were able to get down to the hut in no time, stopping there for a few minutes to check the place out before heading down the steep parts of the ascent around the base of Monroe. Even though getting up to edge of Monroe was a slight struggle, the smooth rock on the trail made for a really quick descent, and it wasn’t very long until we were back under tree line and back at the cascading waterfalls that signaled the end of the tough part. It wasn’t until we got down past the first waterfall pool that we were able to get a feel for how hot it had actually gotten outside. Despite the fact that we’d spent a good 3 hours in the sunlight, the high elevation counteracted the heat very nicely, and made it feel very pleasant for the majority of our day. But, the last hour or so of our hike out was at a low enough elevation for us to really get a good feel for the heat of the day. But overall it wasn’t too uncomfortable, and once we could hear the river to our right, we knew it wasn’t too much further, as we continued on steadily on its banks until we got to our last turn-off. As it tends to seem when we’re hiking, it felt like we had to go a lot further to get to that turn-off than we had remembered, but that’s probably attributable to the fatigue of two peaks and over 3,500 feet of elevation gain! That signboard was a very welcome sign after a long day in the sun, and we made it quickly over the flat last mile back to the parking lot. Overall, despite the crowds on Washington, it was a very enjoyable day in the White Mountains, and an absolutely perfect weather day to summit what’s considered one of the most extreme weather climates in not only the northeast but the world! I wouldn’t recommend the climb to casual hikers since it is a lot of work, but anybody who loves hiking, and loves the challenge of high peaks climbing should make their way to New Hampshire and summit these two majestic mountains!
Views: Monroe – 10, Washington – 10 (if you can ignore all of the buildings, the views are sensational)
Difficulty: Monroe – 7, Washington – 8 (would be a 10 in bad weather conditions though)
About a month after knocking Killington off of our list Andrew, Sarah, and I made our way out to Conway, NH for a weekend full of hiking. Talking with Andrew in recent weeks I found out he was having some back issues, but he was pretty sure he would be ok for the weekend as he had some time to recover leading up to the weekend. Initially my thought was we would take on Mt Adams and Mt Madison, but we made a change of plans. Due to our desire to sleep a little longer than anticipated we opted for a smaller hike. After mulling a few different hikes we finally decided to make our way to the Glen Ellis Falls Trailhead and trek up the Wildcats.
It was pretty late in the morning by the time we arrived at the trailhead but deterred we were not. I grabbed what seemed like the last parking spot (which I may or may not have just created) and got the gear on. We made our way under the road and down the trail. It was a bit confusing at first as there was a sign for the Wildcat Ridge Trail pointing in one direction and an extremely obvious trail going the other.
Andrew and Sarah took off down the trail to the right while I continued to ponder. Whilst I pondered where the heck they were going I looked at the ground and noticed something. I was still wearing my f#*@ing sneakers…I tried to yell ahead to Andrew and Sarah so I could fix my situation, and because I felt like they were going the wrong way. Sure enough I was right about the direction we were headed in so we turned back to hit the correct trail and get my boots.
After quite the annoying start to the day I had my boots on and we were going in the right direction, and it took only a couple hundred feet or so to come to our first obstacle of the day that was not self-inflicted. There was a nice stream crossing that we needed to navigate. It was pretty large but overall not very challenging as there were plenty of dry exposed boulders to hop along. From here the day was pretty simple…we went up, way up, quickly. The Wildcat Ridge Trail does not mess around after crossing that stream we went straight up the mountain for what seemed like forever. Along the way we came across an exposed rock outcrop which provided both a nice view and rock scramble. After completing the little scramble we stopped to get some fluids before continuing on, couldn’t complain about the view either.
After we caught our breath from the relentless ascent we started to make our way back up the trail. The ascent seemed to be a little more forgiving but the rocky terrain made it difficult regardless. We came to yet another outcrop after more ascent and from this one I had a decent view of Wildcat E which of course did not count as a 4000 footer but was still a welcome sight as I knew we were getting close. We kept right on going until we ultimately reached E peak and from there the climb started to get easier. We made our way down from E peak until we reached a clearing and the top of the ski lift on Wildcat D.
Seeing this spot a couple years ago during winter I had no idea how nice the landscape looked but it was a welcome surprise for me so I stopped to snap a few pictures. There was a little signboard off to the side of the clearing which was kind of like a grassy field with wild flowers, but nonetheless we needed to get to the summit. It wasn’t too long before we got to a platform marking the summit of Wildcat D peak (or “The Real Wildcat” as someone put on the sign). Once again we stopped to catch our breath and take a few pictures.
We didn’t waste too much time on the summit since it was attracting quite the crowd (no doubt from people riding the lift). There was still another peak ahead of us with some small subpeaks in between. The walk to Wildcat was pretty straight forward. The trail was very well established and Wildcat B and C were hardly notable. Overall there wasn’t much going on until we began to descend Wildcat B and up to Wildcat A. Once at the col between the two mountains it was a gradual ascent to the summit which was ultimately marked by a very small cairn. There was also a sign that marked the “view” which for what it was worth was a nice bonus to the day.
After getting a bite to eat and admiring the view (while also reaching max human capacity on the summit) we decided it was time to start making our way back. The constant up and down of the trail for whatever reason seemed to make the day a little more taxing than I was expecting. Regardless it only took us 40 minutes or so to make it back to Wildcat D, which at this point was fully infiltrated with ski-lift riders. While I don’t really mind this I feel like I earned the view more than the ones who got to sit in a cable car while being elevated to the summit…but I digress.
We took one last little rest before making our way down the mountain for good. The trip down seemed to take forever as the unforgiving rocky terrain made fast travel quite difficult. Despite the slow go of it we managed to finally get to the base of the mountain cross the stream from earlier in the day and head out for the day.
Recommendation for Hikers: The Wildcats packed a punch for such a short hike. Almost instantly you begin to gain elevation rapidly with some nice rock scrambles along the way. Be careful when travelling on the very rock terrain up to Wildcat D. Once there expect to get some nice views of Mt Washington and the other Presidentials. Wildcat A from Wildcat D was a much simpler task with a much more forgiving ascent to the top. Overall expect nice views from both and a pretty quick day but I wouldn’t call this double easy.
After a long winter of wishing it was spring and a long spring of wishing it was spring (are you confused yet) Andrew and I finally got to strap on our boots and conquer another mountain. Over the winter I ended up making yet another relocation this time I packed up my things and headed back to the empire state to kind of officially start life with Sarah. Given logistics and the crazy as hell year I have on my platter Andrew and I figured it would be best to focus on the Green Mountains this year as it would be much easier on travel to knock out the Vermont climbs. With all that being said we decided to start on Killington.
We headed out from my parents place just after 7:00 a.m. on what we had figured to about a 2 hour drive to the Bucklin Trailhead in Mendon, VT. After a couple pit stops in Lake George and Rutland we found Wheelerville Road which is a windy dirt road directly off of Rte. 4. After weaving down the road we spotted the trailhead right next to a sharp turn on the road (if you use gps this will be pretty obvious).
I put on my brand new boots and Andrew and I took off down the trail towards Killington. From all things I had seen before the day we were in store for a pretty basic out and back hike. The way things started I couldn’t have been more pleased. The trail was about as well maintained and dry as anything I have ever hiked on and it would continue on like this for a long time. Andrew and I briskly walked until we came to what I would describe as a partially decapitated tree where we stopped to kind of digest what we had seen so far.
Up to that point I had a long sleeve windbreaker on mainly as a black fly barrier since those little irritants were out in full force this day, but I needed to shed the extra layer because I was beginning to overheat. We kept on walking from that point noticing some nice bridge work done over some of the smaller streams that crossed the trail which in itself remained in fantastic condition. We kept up this pace until I happened to notice a nice turn off leading to a waterfall so we stopped to check it out.
I didn’t really want to stick around too long since the longer I stood still the easier it was for the black flies to consume my flesh. We quickly packed up and headed back on the trail towards the top. At some point around 2 miles in Andrew and I knew to expect a sharp increase in elevation. Up to that point the hike was a very easy gentle almost completely flat walk but sure enough we hit steep section as expected.
Andrew started feeling it in his legs, and really so did I. A few weeks back I suffered a hamstring tear which forced me out of my workout regimen for a little while so I wasn’t as strong as I like, and Andrew was coming off of a winter which didn’t consist of too much physically. So the fatigue was expected coming into the day. Nonetheless I didn’t find the trail to be too overbearing and with the exception of one notable blowdown it was still in unbelievably good shape. Before too long we came to a trail junction where we would head to the Cooper Lodge area.
We walked what seemed like only a few hundred feet until I noticed some strange orange tape over a bunch of trees. I couldn’t really see everything due to the fact the sun was directly behind it but Andrew noticed that it was the lodge we read about. We didn’t bother going in at this point, but we figured we would hit it on the way back down. We then found the Killington Spur trail sign just ahead.
After passing the sign we noticed the trail got extremely steep. Andrew and I briefly debated whether or not to call this a “scramble” until I eventually conceded my argument to Andrew after finding myself using some handholds. This would have been easier had it not been for some inconsiderate hikers leaving trash along the trail which I always feel obligated to pick up. Basically one hand had garbage in it and the other had my camera. Probably could’ve been safer than that, but here I am typing this so no harm. Anyway after breaking tree line I turned around to observe the surroundings and I was met with a great view of the valley below. This was not to be overshadowed by the remarkable cell service at the top due to the massive tower gracing the summit. Overall though we couldn’t be happier with the day as we checked off our first Vermont summit.
In my mind the summit provided 2 different experiences. One side of it was a beautiful serene landscape which I feel most people would pay to come see. However the other side consisted of a broken down fire tower, radio towers, graffiti and trash. I spent a good minute picking up the treasure which equaled approximately $.35 in recyclable returns and other miscellaneous trash before packing up and getting ready to head out. Even though I was disappointed in some that fouled up the summit before me I was still happy with our day.
We started to head back down the Killington Spur trail which was a little more treacherous on the descent due to the amount of loose rock and gravel that was abundant. Once we were past that however we figured it would be smooth sailing for us. Before heading out for good we decided to take a peek inside of Cooper Lodge to see what it was all about. Essentially what we saw was a dark cabin consisting of 4 bunks, a table with various initials scrawled into it, and the remnants of alcoholic beverages hanging from the roof. Nothing too impressive, but for the weary Appalachian Trail hiker needed a spot for the night it probably gets the job done.
After vacating the lodge we took off on the straight forward hike back down the mountain. We really didn’t stop other than to momentarily relieve ourselves as the nice trail really did not necessitate it. I started to hear the sound of the stream we had paralleled for the first couple miles getting louder so I knew we were getting back to the flatter section at that point. Once we were back on the flats we assumed our 2 mile 40 minute victory march back to the trailhead.
Recommendation to hikers: Killington is a great mountain for anyone whether you are an experience mountain slayer needing a more low key hike or a beginner trying to get yourself started. Its as straight forward of a climb as any I have done, a 7.4 mile out and back that is almost impossible to make a wrong turn on. You will be rewarded with nice view of the surrounding Green Mountains and of course great cell service…On a side note please make sure you carry out what you take in…not trying to lecture but it drives me crazy when I have to pick up after others who don’t seem to care.
For the final day of our weekend trip to New Hampshire, we decided to take a trek up to Crawford Notch to hike Mount Jackson. I can’t speak for the other two, but I was a bit drained from the first two days of hiking, and made a big pitch for doing a shorter mileage hike for the third day. Also, the weather forecast for the day had improved dramatically from what we were initially anticipating at the beginning of our trip, so we all thought that going to a nicer summit like Jackson would be a cool idea to end out the trip. The nice part about hiking Jackson at about 2.8 miles was that we could get a little bit of a later start, so we stopped for a quick breakfast in Lincoln and got to the trailhead a little before 10 to finish the weekend off strong.
The trailhead for Jackson is probably one of the more interesting trailheads we’d been to in any of the states we’d hiked in so far. There is a decent sized welcome center for Crawford Notch right at the side of the road, and a really picturesque pond on the other side of the road. We could tell this was a pretty significant tourist spot, and it was also featured a confluence of hiking trails as the trailheads towards Pierce/Eisenhower, Tom/Field, and Jackson were all along that small strip of the highway. We got what appeared to be the last two spots on the small parking section at the welcome center, walked around for a second to see the sights, and then headed a couple hundred feet down the road to get to the trailhead that would take us to Jackson.
Our plan for the day was to hike up and down to Jackson only, ignoring its neighbor Webster since it wasn’t on our list of mountains to climb, but we also decided on the way to take advantage of a couple of lookout opportunities on the steeper side of the notch. The first side trail only veered off within the first tenth of a mile on the trail, and it led an additional tenth or two to a spot called the Elephant Head. Even from the road, we could get a pretty clear idea of what the Elephant Head was since it stood out clearly on the side of the mountain and looked exactly like it was called. The elevation of the spot wasn’t terribly high, but it still gave a nice view of the train tracks and the visitor center where we came from, so it was worth a little detour for sure. The second lookout came after we started ascending up the cliff pretty steeply; only this one was not terribly far off the marked trail. This one was called Bugle Cliff, and offered similar views to the Elephant Head, only a bit more expansive and dramatic thanks to the higher altitude. Neither of these lookouts really took too much time out of the day and provided some pretty nice views, so I’d definitely recommend making the detours on the way up.
Atop the Elephant Head
The trail took a steady turn from this point, since we’d basically gotten over the cliff-side by this point, paralleling up the side of the cliff at a more gradual pace than before. The trail condition was very good in this part, with very little mud or loose rock, so we made it up to our next junction without incident. We stopped at the junction where the trail forked either straight towards Webster or east towards Jackson. We could see clouds starting to roll in from across the road, but they all seemingly evaporated by the time they got to us, so we never got any of the rain that we thought might hit us in the morning. We took a break at the junction like we usually do and took the fork towards Jackson with only a little over a mile to the summit left to go!
As expected, the trail did start to climb a bit quicker once we turned off and we found ourselves quickly ascending for the last push to the summit. Very much like the rest of the sections before, the trail up to the summit was really well maintained and easy to climb right up until the last push, which got a bit more dramatic. I think we’re all still getting over the shock value of some of the trail-less peaks in the Adirondacks and the difficulty of the trail conditions there, because I keep thinking as I climb these peaks in the Whites about how much nicer the trails are then some of the worst I’ve seen. This kind of talk is also great filler for this blog entry because there were no really exceptional moments on the way up ‘til the summit (you can read that as I have nothing good to talk about). Right before you get to the official summit of Jackson there are a couple of steep spots that felt like hell on my legs after 3 days of hiking, but luckily it was probably less than a tenth of a mile of steep pitches before we got to the large summit area of Jackson for our fifth peak of the weekend!
The summit of Jackson is nice and spacious and has views from all sides as it is bisected by a ridge trail going up towards the Presidentials. We settled on a spot that gave us a stunning up close view of Mount Washington and took off our packs to rest for a little bit. While the weather coming up was pretty ideal for October, it was notably blustery about tree-line, so the jackets had to go back on when we got to the top. At one point my hat even lifted off my head in one of the strongest gusts, and I thought to myself how much worse it must’ve been on the gigantic mountain we were checking out from our vantage point. I’ve seen videos and heard stories about the rough weather conditions on Mount Washington, and seeing it from just a few miles away really invigorated my interest in summiting it, which we’re going to try to do next summer on a warm, calm day! Nonetheless, Jackson was definitely a nice summit experience, with a lot to see and ample room to accommodate all of the weekend crowds that flock there.
After the winds started getting intense, we decided to get going off the top of the mountain, and ducked under tree line quickly to start our final descent of the trip. Five peaks and some very dramatic views later, our trip was just about over, but we did still have a good 3 miles of descending to go. We took our time on the way down since it was a fairly quick day hike, and enjoyed what would be our last hike of the year. Coming down was about as uneventful as going up was, and once we got to the road we only had a short walk over to where the cars were. At the parking area we took another second or two to look around, since it was a fairly interesting trailhead area with various touristy buildings and dramatic views of the mountains on any side of the Crawford Notch. Climbing Jackson was a nice way to cap off the trip, since it’s a fairly short day hike with a pretty nice payout up top with some dynamic views in every direction. Overall, it was a pretty successful day to cap off a big hiking season for us!
Recommendations: This is definitely a great day-trip for just about anybody enthusiastic about climbing. It’s a quick day, with some great views, and just a few challenging spots to make you feel like you earned it as you get to the top. The fantastic up-close views of Washington make it worth the trip alone.
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