The weekend of September 25 Ben and I went up to the Presidential Range, White Mtns, New Hampshire, USof A, Planet Earth, Milky Way Galaxy.
It was so amazing...we had the best weather day on Saturday, when we had planned on being above treeline along the ridge the entire day. Days like we had are very rare in and around Mt. Washington ("the worst weather in America".) You wouldn't know that by our pictures.
Being that we have both been up there many times before, we decided to go up a trail we had never traversed. Howker Ridge Trail is how we ascended Mt. Madison, and it was really neat b/c there were many mini-peaks that were along this trail. So you would be hiking and come up to the top of a "Howk" and get a good view around. Here's a good picture of The Howks.
Being that we have both been up there many times before, we decided to go up a trail we had never traversed. Howker Ridge Trail is how we ascended Mt. Madison, and it was really neat b/c there were many mini-peaks that were along this trail. So you would be hiking and come up to the top of a "Howk" and get a good view around. Here's a good picture of The Howks.
We were on top of Madison on Friday afternoon with high winds and a dull, grey, overcast sky. Here's a good picture of us on the rockpile that is the Presidentials. Mt. Madison is one of the top 5 highest peaks in NH, at 5366 feet. Getting back down to the shelter we were going to stay at, the winds subsided and made for a nice evening.
We originally were going to stay at a tentsite called "The Perch". We took Gulfside Trail (one of the best trails on the prezzy ridge), past Thunderstorm Junction, down Israel Ridge Trail. We were very surprised when we got there and the tent platforms were full! Not to mention that there were a few people in the shelter as well. I like to call the shelter at the Perch "The Hobbit Hole", it is so small and low, you have to hunch over in there.
So we decided to see what the situation was at the RMC hut Grey Knob (picture above is of Grey Knob--the Knob, not the shelter)...and boy are we glad we did. There was plenty of room, and this hut is so cute and cozy. Being an RMC hut, it was very affordable ($12...compare that to the AMC huts...$33). It wasn't heated yet (they conserve as much wood as possible b/c people and/or helicopters have to transport it up there), but with other people cooking dinner and heating up hot chocolate, it was quite cozy. The caretaker, Beau, was really nice and we had great conversations. Found out we knew him from the Speck Pond shelter on the AT in Maine, where he had been a caretaker this past summer. Small world! Beau took this picture of us as the sun was setting over the Western White Mtns...
There was an awesome sunset that night, foreshadowing the wonderful day we were going to have next...
Just as cool was the moonrise that was happening just over the Presidentials...
The next morning was brisk but beautiful. There was quite a lot of rime ice that lined the rocks on the northern side of the ridge.
We decided to pick and choose which peaks we would summit, since we only had one day to get to Tuckerman's Ravine, on the southern end of the ridge. We decided to skip Adams (done that one probably the most), and skip Jefferson (did that one last time) and summit Mt. Clay and Mt. Monroe.
Along with the great foliage down in the valley below, the alpine grasses and shrubs were showing their autumn colors...
As you can see, not a cloud in the sky...a very special present from Mother Nature!
We walked from Gray Knob back up to the ridge and rejoined the Gulfside Trail, which is part of the AT. We then took the Mt. Clay Loop, to summit the 5533' peak. Here is the view of Mt. Jefferson, Adams, and Madison, from left to right:
This is a view of Jefferson after we hit Edmands Col...We skirted around Washington on the West Side Trail.
Mt. Washington is not really fun to hike, being that there is a gift shop/snack bar/parking lot at the top. It's very anti-climatic to climb the tallest mtn in the northeast, only to be shoved off the summit by some woman from Jersey in stilettos, who just crawled out of her SUV. We avoid it at all costs. Not to mention the annoying Cog Railway that is loud, stinky, and polluting. That is one piece of history that I will not miss...coal-burning engines. It leaves a wide swath of black dust on either side of it (the trail we took crossed it), puts tons of black soot and CO2 into the air, and ruins your solitude with it's stupid horn. When they decide to do electric, noiseless trains like the rest of the world, we will change our tune. Sorry, I'll step off my soapbox now...
Here is the view from the top of Mt. Munroe, at 5372'. The tall peak in the back is Washington, and Lake of the Clouds is below. Many people were quite upset when they hiked up the Amonnosic Ravine trail and expected to get water at the Lake of the Clouds Hut. I saw one couple give the rest of the water in their bottles to their dogs, only to find out that the hut was closed for the winter. Oops...
Just as cool was the moonrise that was happening just over the Presidentials...
The next morning was brisk but beautiful. There was quite a lot of rime ice that lined the rocks on the northern side of the ridge.
We decided to pick and choose which peaks we would summit, since we only had one day to get to Tuckerman's Ravine, on the southern end of the ridge. We decided to skip Adams (done that one probably the most), and skip Jefferson (did that one last time) and summit Mt. Clay and Mt. Monroe.
Along with the great foliage down in the valley below, the alpine grasses and shrubs were showing their autumn colors...
As you can see, not a cloud in the sky...a very special present from Mother Nature!
We walked from Gray Knob back up to the ridge and rejoined the Gulfside Trail, which is part of the AT. We then took the Mt. Clay Loop, to summit the 5533' peak. Here is the view of Mt. Jefferson, Adams, and Madison, from left to right:
This is a view of Jefferson after we hit Edmands Col...We skirted around Washington on the West Side Trail.
Mt. Washington is not really fun to hike, being that there is a gift shop/snack bar/parking lot at the top. It's very anti-climatic to climb the tallest mtn in the northeast, only to be shoved off the summit by some woman from Jersey in stilettos, who just crawled out of her SUV. We avoid it at all costs. Not to mention the annoying Cog Railway that is loud, stinky, and polluting. That is one piece of history that I will not miss...coal-burning engines. It leaves a wide swath of black dust on either side of it (the trail we took crossed it), puts tons of black soot and CO2 into the air, and ruins your solitude with it's stupid horn. When they decide to do electric, noiseless trains like the rest of the world, we will change our tune. Sorry, I'll step off my soapbox now...
Here is the view from the top of Mt. Munroe, at 5372'. The tall peak in the back is Washington, and Lake of the Clouds is below. Many people were quite upset when they hiked up the Amonnosic Ravine trail and expected to get water at the Lake of the Clouds Hut. I saw one couple give the rest of the water in their bottles to their dogs, only to find out that the hut was closed for the winter. Oops...
Here is happy hiker girl at the top of Munroe...What an amazing trip!
After Munroe, we took the Tuckerman's Ravine trail down and stayed at Hermit Lake Shelter for the night. Hermit Lake has many shelters, some with sliding doors to keep out the wind. We stayed in the sliding door variety, had a cozy night, and slept in until 10 am! We then hiked the 2 miles down to Pinkham Notch (where my car was), went to pick up Skip, the Honda Civic, and then made it back to Dover with plenty of time to spare. You don't get trips like this very often...autumn hiking at it's absolute best.
After Munroe, we took the Tuckerman's Ravine trail down and stayed at Hermit Lake Shelter for the night. Hermit Lake has many shelters, some with sliding doors to keep out the wind. We stayed in the sliding door variety, had a cozy night, and slept in until 10 am! We then hiked the 2 miles down to Pinkham Notch (where my car was), went to pick up Skip, the Honda Civic, and then made it back to Dover with plenty of time to spare. You don't get trips like this very often...autumn hiking at it's absolute best.
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