Mt. Washington Hike

Sage and I just got back from 4 days in New Hampshire over the long Holiday weekend. The highlight of the trip was climbing Mt. Washington with Sage’s brother Travis. This was a semi-big day for me, as not only had I never been to the top of Washington before, it was on my “Life List” (see earlier blog), so getting to notch another one of those off my list was a major deal to me. Here’s a detailed account of the day. (Note: most times are estimates, as I didn’t keep notes during the trip.)

06:00 Alarm goes off. I told Travis last night that I wanted to be on the road by 6:30, to be sure we hit the trailhead by 8:30. Hopefully he’ll be up soon.
06:15 A quick breakfast of instant oatmeal. I got my supplies ready yesterday, which includes: rain gear; extra socks; long sleeve shirt; 1 gallon of water; gorp; 2 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches; a few Clif bars; 2 nectarines; map & trail information; camera; walking stick; binoculars; trash bag (emergency pack cover); flashlight; small towel; extra boot laces. Travis is bringing a first-aid kit and some rope. I think we’re prepared.
06:30 Travis finally wakes up.
06:45 We’re on the road.
08:15 We make it to the White Mountain National Forest parking area at the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trailhead, about ½ mile from the parking lot for the Cog Railway. We plan on going up the West side of the mountain, hoping that it’ll be less crowded than the East (Tuckerman Ravine) side. The planned route is a loop that comes back down the Jewell trail, which also begins/ends at the parking area.
08:30 After lacing up, hitting the pit toilet, and checking our gear, we’re off – exactly at the same time my planned itinerary that I left with Sage at home says we would. The weather report said it would be partly cloudy with a 20% chance of thunderstorms. Also, there’s a front supposed to come in late this afternoon/early evening, with heavy T-storms, so we really want to be off the mountain by 4 pm. Our elevation to begin with is around 2,500 feet. Only 3,800 more to go!
09:00 The trail starts off nice enough, rising gradually through the forest. On our left is the Ammonoosuc River (at least I assume that’s what it is…considering the name of the trail). We stop for a quick picture of the intrepid hiker.

Travis and I have settled into a good rhythm: He stays behind me for about 10 minutes, then I let him pass. He goes ahead at his faster pace for about 10 minutes, then lets me catch up. I’m not sure if this is annoying to him or not, but he says all the right things about how he’s glad the pace is slow. We’ll see if he feels that way at the end.
09:30 I’m wearing a pedometer, but I set the pace length on it a while ago at about 2.25 feet per stride. This is probably about right hiking on flat surfaces, but going up steep sections, this seems low. However, I could never figure out how to change the pace, so the pedometer says what it says, which tells us we’ve been 2 miles already. I think this might be close; Travis is sure we’ve only been a mile, but it hasn’t been that steep, and I think 30 minutes a mile is about the right pace. Either way, I’m feeling good so far.
09:45 We cross the Ammy river in front of a gorgeous waterfall.

The day hasn’t been too hot or too cold, though I’m starting to sweat up a bit. The water looks inviting, but we push on.

09:47 Almost immediately after crossing the river, the trail heads up. And I mean UP, as in a very steep trail with rocks and stone steps heading vertically up the ravine. After about 3 minutes of having to stop every 30 seconds to catch my breath and rest my knees, I let Travis pass. “Trust me, Travis – this is going to take me a while.” Within a minute, I can’t even see him ahead of me. This kid is in great shape.



10:15 I reach a small overlook above the cascades, which has a great view of the Bretton Woods Ski Resort and the valley below. The Big White building at the bottom of the valley is the Mt. Washington Hotel.


10:30 I meet up with Travis as we cross the Ammy river for the last time. He’s sitting on some rocks, and has been for 15 minutes, he tells me. So what took me 45 minutes, he did in 30. Pitiful. We are starting to get close to the treeline, as the trees have turned into short shrubs. Also, the fog is getting thick in front.
10:40 Travis is sticking closer to me for this last part of the Ammy trail, which should end (soon I hope!) at the Lake of the Clouds AMC hut. The fog/clouds are getting so thick that it’s tough to see past 30 yards or so in front of us.

10:50 We start hearing a weird noise, which almost sounds like a hurt bird. Travis suggests it might be an anemometer at the hut. And sure enough, out of the clouds (no more than 100 yards ahead) appears the hut. It’s kind of creepy that it appears almost out of nowhere.
10:55 We make it to Lake of the Clouds hut. I thought we’d do this first part (3 miles) in 2 hours, so we’re already 25 minutes over my estimate. We decide to stop for an early lunch in the hut. Here’s Travis coming up the last steps of the Ammy Trail.

11:00 Travis buys a hut brownie for a buck. Seems kind of steep. I give Sage a call to let her know my progress and that I haven’t had a heart attack yet. Surprisingly good reception at 5,000 feet. I fill up on gorp and a nectarine, leaving my sandwiches for the summit. We check the weather station at the hut – 57 degrees, winds about 20 MPH. Not bad for up here, or so I’m told. Looking out the window to the North, I see the summit of Washington come into view as the low clouds suddenly push by. I grab the camera to take a picture, but too late: more clouds have already rolled in.
11:20 We leave the hut for the summit push along the Crawford Path. According to the signposts, it’s 1.4 miles to the summit. We hope to make it in an hour. Soon after we leave the hut a National Forest worker reminds us to stay on the trail and don’t tread on the fragile Alpine flora. Here’s Travis on the Crawford Path.

12:00 The going has been slow, for me anyway. I got a second wind when we left the hut, but that lasted only about 10 minutes. This part of the trail is entirely above treeline, so it’s open to the elements. Luckily, besides low cloud cover, it’s not bad. The wind is picking up, making it a little cooler, but then the sun will poke through and make it hot. Still too many clouds and fog to see the top yet.
12:20 We run into hikers on the way down who say it’s still another 20 minutes. Can that be right?

12:40 Yes, it was right. We make it, finally, to the top of Mt. Washington, 6,288 feet, and home to the worst weather in the world (at least, that’s what the brochure says). And boy are we fogged in. When the fog at the top does break, all we see is cloudbanks, covering all the rest of the Presidentials. No way we’re seeing into Canada today. I stop and buy some souvenirs at the gift shop (a shot glass, of course, and a patch that says I’ve climbed Mt. Washington). Then Travis and I make it to the actual summit, where the sign states our accomplishment. We talk a couple (who just drove up, no doubt) into taking our picture.

I hope to check out a map of the summit, but to be honest, I sort of miss the entire visitors center at the top. Also, I know we’re about an hour later than I expected we would be getting to the top, and what looks like storm clouds to us seem to be moving in. We figure we better get moving down the mountain in case the thunderstorms move in earlier than expected.
12:50 We depart the summit, heading down the Gulfside Trail.



13:00 All of a sudden, the weather clears of fog and clouds, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Right in front of us is the Presidential Ridge, with Mts. Clay, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison stretching left to right.














It looks like it would only take a couple of hours to go bag all 4 and be back here…but I know better. You can tell by the look on Travis' face, he's ready to do it:














We look behind us and the summit of Mt. Washington clears, of course. Travis asks if I want to hike back up the 600 feet we just came down to see the view. He knows the answer to that.
13:10 We have to cross over the Cog Railway line, and it just so happens that a train is coming by as we approach. Travis sticks out his thumb to hitchhike, even though the train is heading up the mountain.


We jump on the tracks to cross, and Travis suggests walking down railway (a much more direct route) rather than heading down the Jewell trail. It doesn’t sound smart, considering we’d have to dodge trains, and I have no idea if it gets a lot steeper on the railway going down. We stick to the trail.





13:20 The Gulfside trail goes along the ridge above the Great Gulf Wilderness. This is a spectacular valley that seems to drop straight down from all around the Presidential range -- a truly impressive sight.

13:30 After about 1.3 miles, we hit the intersection with the Jewell Trail. It’ll be another 3.7 miles to the bottom. We can see that the trail stays above treeline for a bit; however, it starts down the opposite side of the Great Gulf, so there isn’t much to see on this way down, except to watch the Cog go by every 20 minutes or so.
14:00 Still above the treeline, we stop for a late lunch. I’m starving and stuff down my 2 sandwiches with relish.
14:20 We drop below the treeline and into a relatively well-maintained trail. While there are a lot of rocks, they are solid and dry, and heading down isn’t that difficult. However, my knees are starting to scream at me, and the spaghetti legs are in full swing. I have to go slow to make sure I don’t misstep and do a face plant, and I begin to wonder if heading down the railway wasn't such a crazy idea after all.



15:00 We run into two AMC Information Volunteers on their way up. They’re staying in the Lakes hut for the long weekend. They also tell us that the bridge at the end of the Jewell trail is washed out from high water and ice from the Spring thaw, but they inform us of an alternative route that takes us to the Cog RR parking lot, and then we can walk down the road to our car from there. This way we won't have to wade the river.
15:05 Travis decides it’s easier on his legs if he jogs down the trail instead of going slow, so he takes off, hopping from rock to rock. I actually try it (not a jog, but a quicker walk, hopping from step to step), and he’s right, in a way. However, my knees feel so weak I’m afraid of falling, so I take it easy again.
15:30 I reach the intersection with the Cog RR trail, and Travis is waiting for me. We take the spur trail.
15:40 We arrive out at the Cog Railway and folks look at us like we’re from another planet. I'm tempted to yell out "You mean we could have taken a TRAIN instead of walking up?" for the tourists benefit, but I'm too tired to crack jokes. We head down the road back to the car.
15:55 We arrive back at the car, amazingly enough almost to the minute my estimated itinerary said we would. We pack in and head on down the road back to Concord. I’m exhausted, my legs feel like they’ve been through the ringer, and I’m starving. Travis, on the other hand, looks like he wants to go for a 100-mile bike ride.

So 1 more item off my Life List is done. Considering how many people climb Mt. Washington every year, this probably doesn’t seem like too big a deal. But it’s a nice little accomplishment for me.