Hiking the Presidential Traverse

A Super Summit Selfie Spectacular

A panoramic view of the changing foliage in the White Mountains

Every summer I lose the majority of my friends to the sport of ultimate frisbee (which to be fair is how I made those friends in the first place, but still) - finally the season was over, and there was East Coast hiking to be done. Matt, Calvin, En Le and I decided to try hiking the Presidential Traverse in New Hampshire in a single day. While Matt had backpacked the route previously, and the rest of the group had attempted but not completed a two-day trip; I had never entered the Presidential Range at all, and was looking forward to what I’d ultimately say was the most scenic hike I’ve done in the Northeast.

We drove up to New Hampshire after work on Friday, checking into the motel after their front desk closed, and leaving before it opened again. Having left my car at the Crawford Notch trailhead the previous night, we headed to Valley Way for a bright (well, dark) and early 6:00 am start.

The group at the starting trailhead — Surprisingly cheery for 6:00 am. If you couldn't tell by our headlamps, it was much darker than this picture made it seem

We started making our way up the trail by our headlamps - Valley Way is a fairly standard New Hampshire trail, rocky and treed with minimal switchback, but we made good progress and found ourselves with the beginnings of a nice view by the time it was light.

A view of the mountains behind us from Valley Way — The first glimpse of mountains, looking back from Valley Way

We soon made it into the alpine, where we were greeted with a stern warning. Having checked the forecast, our only worry was the high winds, and knowing we had the appropriate gear we carried on.

A yellow sign reading: 'Stop, The area ahead has the worst weather in America. Many have died there from exposure even in the summer. Turn back now if the weather is bad.' A smaller sign below reads 'Welcome to the Alpine Zone' and describes how to preserve the alpine vegetation. — Welcome to the Alpine Zone

After a brief stop at Madison Hut, we began our first summit of the day - a rocky path up Mt. Madison.

A view of Madison Hut in shadow, above it John Quincy Adams and Mount Adams — Madison Hut in the shadow of Mt. Madison. Behind it is John Quincy Adams, and behind that Mt. Adams, our next summit.

The forecast wind did indeed appear as we made our way above treeline, making for a very chaotic first summit of the day at around 8:30 am.

A group selfie with hair and gear fluttering in high winds — Morning from Mt. Madison!
It wimdy

We hurried back down, and after another brief stop at the hut to refill water, continued onwards. Things remained rocky as we made our way around the base of J.Q. Adams, but the wind was far less strong off the summit and we enjoyed the sunshine as we cruised through the alpine.

A rocky trail at my feet and a rocky summit up ahead — This place rocks

After another windy summit around 9:45 am, we descended back towards the Appalachian Trail and began to make our way towards Mt. Jefferson.

A group photo on top of Mt. Adams — Ahoy from Mt. Adams!

The AT at my feet, with hand-stacked rock walls on both sides. Mt. Jefferson in the distance — Looking down the AT towards Mt. Jefferson. Huge shoutout to the crews that built this trail for moving all these rocks

The trail steepened again as we approached the top of Mt. Jefferson, culminating in a short scramble up the summit rock pile and an 11:15 am summit.

The group ascending a steep trail — A hands-on approach to Mt. Jefferson

A group selfie, but before we remembered to smile — Joyful Greetings from Mt. Jefferson!
I couldn't decide which of these was the least awful so you get all three

A very similar selfie, but someone isn't looking — Joyful Greetings from Mt. Jefferson!
I couldn't decide which of these was the least awful so you get all three

We continued to enjoy the open alpine terrain as we headed for Mt. Washington.

A view of Mt. Washington and Mt. Clay — Mt. Washington dominates the skyline, with Mt. Clay in front

And paused on top of Mt. Clay for a brief lunch around 12:30 pm.

The group having lunch on top of Mt. Clay — Cheers from Mt. Clay!

As the wind abated, we enjoyed clear views in all directions. This was already the longest I had been continuously above treeline in the Northeast, and between the New England fall foliage below and the alpine terrain up ahead I was having a wonderful time.

A hiker walking along an alpine ridgeline — Matt on a mission towards Mt. Washington

A view of a valley, with a small lake and yellow trees scattered about — Alpine up top, fall foliage below

We proceeded up Mt. Washington, and reached the summit around 1:45 pm.

Hikers crossing railroad tracks that run steeply up a mountain — Crossing the Cog Railroad Tracks near the top of Mt. Washington

The group behind a sign reading 'Mt Washington State Park Mt Washington Summit 6288ft 1917m' — Warm Wishes from Mt. Washington!

After a brief break at the visitor center (snacks, bathrooms, the big list of Mt. Washington fatalities, postcards) we proceeded onto the second half of our hike. Since we hadn’t been able to see past Washington until now, this also exposed new views - still beautiful alpine terrain.

The group descending down a trail, a lake and a hut off in the distance — Descending Mt. Washington. Lakes of the Clouds Hut and Mt. Monroe in the distance

A view of Mt. Washington, with the Lakes and Hut now in the foreground — Looking back at that descent, having just passed the hut and started our way up Monroe

As the summits grew smaller and the group tired, time started to blur a bit. We made it up Monroe around 3:15 pm.

A group selfie on top of Mt. Monroe — Miss You from Mt. Monroe!

And then over Little Monroe and Franklin, which don’t get alliterative greetings because they’re not presidents (yes neither was Clay but it’s my blog I can do what I want)

A group selfie on top of Little Monroe — Smaller Summits Suggest Speedy Selfies

A group selfie on top of Mt. Franklin — Smaller Summits Suggest Speedy Selfies

From there it was on to Eisenhower (4:45 pm)

A group selfie on top of Mt. Eisenhower — Evening from Mt. Eisenhower!

And finally back into the wooded trails more typical for the region, emerging once more to tag Mt. Pierce (5:45 pm)

A group selfie on top of Mt. Pierce — Party at Mt. Pierce!

From there it was a bit of a slog down through the woods. The group was tired from a long day, but still in good spirits overall, and good conversation made up for heavy legs. We re-donned our headlamps, and finally reached the Crawford Notch Trailhead at 7:45 pm, too exhausted to find our faces with the camera

A very blurry selfie with the camera aimed too low and only one face visible — This 'selfie' pretty accurately reflects our state at the end of the hike

I had an absolutely wonderful time. The weather was close to perfect once the wind died down, and the views were constant and spectacular, especially with the late September foliage. This was perhaps my favorite hike I’d done in the Northeast to date, and I couldn’t wait to go back. Literally