#48! Presidential Traverse: Madison (5,367’) (climb 2), Adams (5,774’) (climb 2), Jefferson (5,712) (climb 2), Washington (6,288’)(climb 2), Monroe (5,384’), Eisenhower (4,780’)(climb 2), Pierce (4,310’)(climb 3)

This came about while brainstorming about good ways to finish the 48. I had only Cabot and Monroe left, and definitely did not want to finish on Cabot. It also seemed somewhat anticlimactic to just do Monroe on it's own, so a presi-traverse was the logical way to conclude the list.

(Airbnb)

A group of eight of us met up on Friday night just North of N. Conway at an Airbnb. We spotted cars (3 at the south end) and crashed early. Alarms went off at 3AM and we were at the Appalachia trailhead by 4:30AM. The big challenge was trying to time it so we could make the 6PM dinner time at Lake of the Clouds Hut without having to rush the whole time. Steve and I meticulously worked out some "splits" so that we'd know how we were doing on pace (so we could opt to skip some summits if necessary). The 4:30AM start time was actually later than planned, so we started the day in a 30 minute hole.

We made excellent pace from the base, and even with the (slightly) delayed start, reached the hut over an hour ahead of our split time for the segment. We dropped packs at Madison Springs Hut and headed up Madison (quick trip) and returned to fill waters at the hut and retrieve our bags. When we reached Adams, we were over 90 minutes ahead of our plan, but with a long way to go.

The boulder fields on the ridge between Adams and Jefferson slowed our pace considerably. Even when the grade is relatively flat, it's very difficult to make quick progress while planning every step and occasionally stepping on an unsettled rock. The final approach to Jefferson is also very steep with several false summits along the way.

From Jefferson we proceeded toward Washington (which seems impossibly far away). By the time we got to the trail split (one trail headed up to the summit and another circumventing the summit and going straight to Lake of the Clouds Hut), we had lost most of our "lead" against the planned time and we were pretty much right on track to make it to the hut at dinner time.

There was some discussion over whether everyone would go to the summit, but ultimately everyone decided to go for it and we made our way to the top. By this point, we had been on the trail for 12+ hours, so it was strange to see people coming down from the Washington summit wearing jeans and sandals (having driven or taken the Cog to the top). The summit was packed with people, so we didn't stay long. We grabbed some snacks and pictures, and headed out again toward Lake of the Clouds.

Once over the Washington Summit, I could see Monroe (my 48th and final NH 4,000 footer) just above the hut. It looked very close to the Hut. We arrived at the Hut around 5:30 and found our way to our bunk rooms (for future reference, the AMC Huts will put groups with separate bookings in the same bunk room if you tell them in advance that you're a single group). We didn't know this, and ended up scattered throughout the hut (NBD). Dinner was a full Turkey dinner with potatoes, gravy, green beans, etc. It was delicious.

After dinner, the group geared back up to join me for the last 300 vertical feet to the top of Mount Monroe. I felt guilty because I know everyone was beat, but I was really grateful that everyone understood that I couldn't sleep knowing I was 0.3 miles from the end of my 13+ year goal.

Simply put, this was the perfect way to finish. We reached Monroe's summit just before sunset. Jacqueline busted out a bottle of champagne that she had lugged 13+ miles and 7,000+ vertical feet over 5 summits. We hung out and watched the sunset and made our way back to the hut.

Nobody lasted long. After a couple swigs of bourbon, and a look at the impressive stars on a clear night, we were all in bed well before 10.

The Hut "Croo" doesn't fuck around with the wake up calls. At 6:30, they were going room to room with a guitar and singing. Breakfast was excellent, and we were back on the trail around 8:00. I was definitely sore, but felt way better than I expected to, and Day 2 was comparatively quite easy (~7 miles and 1,500 elevation gain). 

We by-passed Monroe and went up over Franklin on the way to Eisenhower. It was foggy and windy when we started, but the fog burned off just in time for us to reach the Eisenhower summit.

From there, we made excellent time on the well worn (not rocky) trail to Pierce. At that point the group split up with half going over Jackson and the other half headed straight down to the cars. We met at the bottom and everyone headed out.

A few of us went over to "The Lodge" (a property of the Mt Washington Hotel) to relax on Sunday night. Jacqueline and I headed to meet Jimmy, Christine and the girls at the lake on Monday.

Going into this trip, I was really worried about my knee (which I impaled in a yard work accident in May) and my back, and neither bothered me at all on the trip. It was a huge relief.

Not sure what's next. I haven't thought much about other lists yet, although I'm obviously aware of them. I'm definitely going to do some more backpacking over old favorites. I'm looking forward to some more winter stuff now that I have all the gear. I'll also join Steve as much as I can while he's wrapping up his list.

Lafayette(5260'), Lincoln (5089'), Haystack (4840') (Climb 2)

 Jacqueline and I used this one as a warm-up for the presi-traverse in a few weeks.

We drove up from Norwood and parking was full at the trailhead. We used the park-service shuttle from Canon which was pretty efficient but still cut into our start time a bit. We hit the trail around 9 AM with a LOT of other people.

I barely hike in the summer season anymore and this was a good reminder why. I knew it would by busy but this trail was too crowded. For the 7+ hours we were out, there was no time when I couldn't see at least 4-5 other people. Even in the most remote and narrowest parts of the trail.

It was hot and humid at the start but cooled off a bit when we neared the Haystack summit. We grabbed some food there and blew past the Lincoln summit going straight to Lafayette for a break.

From there we headed down old bridle path stopping briefly at the Greenleaf hut on our way down. Views were beautiful and it was a nice day out despite the crowds. Jacqueline checked off #5 and #6 on the 4,000 footer list.

We stayed in Woodstock and made our way back on Sunday AM.

I ended up lucking out and getting a picture from a similar vantage point as when I hiked Lafayette in December. With windchill it was -30 degrees that day, so it was over 100 degrees warmer at the top today.

Red Rock Canyon (Calico Hills) (4,270')

While visiting Vegas, I ducked out to the mountains for a morning hike in the Calico Hills in Red Rock Canyon Park.

The terrain was not what I expected, and the temperature was much more pleasant than in the valley. It was a combo of gravel, soft sand, and rock scrambling. Very pretty.

I pieced together a few trails from the Calico II trailhead up to Calico tanks and bank. All in it was about 5 miles and ~1K of elevation gain.

Mount Cabot (4,170')

There's a reason I haven't gotten around to doing Cabot yet. It's nearly 4 hours to the trail head from my house, its not known for having great views, and if you read about access, the logistics are a bit of a nightmare (land disputes, gated parking lots, calling ahead to the fish hatchery to get in, etc.)

I picked up my cousin Anthony at 5:45 and we made our way north. The gate is apparently buried by snow, I never saw it. There were several dozen cars at the trail head. It hadn't snowed for over a week and after a conversation with hikers familiar with the trail, we opted to leave the snowshoes in the car.

The trail was hard packed and we made great time to the Kilkenny Ridge Trail. At that point it starts getting steeper and we made slow progress toward the cabin. Nearing the cabin, we bumped into a dude descending the trail who noted our lack of snowshoes and told us that we were going to have a lot of trouble after the hut. According to him, the trail was very soft and he was sinking down to his knees even with snowshoes on. He also told us that his SAR buddies were getting tired if rescuing guys like us.

I was concerned, but we kept going anyway. We stopped at the hut for some lunch and talked to a few hikers who had just come down from the summit. They confirmed that we did not need snowshoes, the trail was fine, and they had also encountered "the snowshoe police". Trail was well packed all the way to the top. We weren't sinking in to our toes let alone knees without snowshoes. This asshat lied and tried to turn us around 0.5 miles from the summit to fulfill some destiny of self-righteousness.

Anyway, weather was perfect and there were a lot of people out enjoying the trail. Not a cloud in the sky and temps in the high 20s. Very hard to beat. I also found that after reading all of the reasons not to hike it, I found it to be quite underrated. There are some pretty great views and the remoteness definitely adds something. It's a nice hike.

We got down in just over 5 hours (well ahead of book). Not bad for 9.6 miles and 2,400 of elevation gain. This was Anthony's 3rd NH 4,000 footer and he did great.  We grabbed a beer and Woodstock and made the long drive back home.

This marked the 47th on my long journey to get all 48. I'm really looking forward to checking off Monroe. I'm tentatively planning on getting it with a big group Presi-Traverse this summer.

A few more pictures: here

Cannon (Climb 3) (4,081')

Back to Cannon again. I was headed up solo and trying to get down and back to Boston before a big snow storm that was supposed to start in the evening. I also got a late start from home, so the thinking here was to hike up something I could ski down quickly to minimize my risk of getting caught out.

Cannon is a good candidate since it's close to the highway, well traveled, and short (2.2 miles( to the summit via Kinsman Ridge from the Tramway.

The trail is brutally steep. It climbs 1,500 feet in the first 0.9 miles. This was a frustrating one because it had snowed a lot recently and all of the branches were loaded up with snow and hanging about 7 feet above the trail. With my skis on my back, I was constantly dumping pikes of snow down the back of my neck.

I made it to the top in a little over two hours. Grabbed some chilli and a beer at the top, and then bombed back down to my car. Unfortunately, not many trails were open leading back to the Tramway so I had to do some pretty tough skiing for my first run of the season.

Pictures here

Cannon (climb 2) (4,081')

Steve and I headed up early because I had to be back in Boston early PM. We parked at Lafayette and headed up the trail toward Lonesome Lake, joining the Hi-Cannon trail to the summit.

 We wore spikes and left the snow-shoes in the car which was correct. We brought Ice axes for an excuse to try them out. The pitch didn't really require it, so we did a little bushwhacking between switchbacks to get some grades that warranted using them.

Lots of good sliding on the way down which made for a quick trip.