Mount Washington

Mount Crawford in fall foliage

Absolutely spectacular!

It was still dark as I drove north through the dense valley fog, confident I would encounter a brilliant sunny day once I turned east and climbed away from the Connecticut River Valley. My destination was Mount Crawford, a popular peak in the heart of the White Mountains. At 3,128′ it is not one of the 48 ‘high peaks’, the four-thousand-footers that inspire so many people to “bag them all” and earn the AMC’s Four-Thousand-Footer patch. (And for some, like me, to do them all more than once; I finished my second round in August.) But, frankly, Mount Crawford is far better than many of its higher cousins: it has a splendid view – earning it a spot on the list of 52 with a view. Today, in full fall foliage, the view was absolutely stupendous. Read on!

View of Mount Washington and the southern Presidential Range,
along the Davis Path to Mount Crawford.

Mount Isolation

A rugged hike to an isolated member of the NH four-thousand-foot mountains, on a smoky, foggy day.

It seemed odd to climb to an elevation of over 5,200′ in search of a mountain whose elevation is only 4,003′ (1220m), just barely earning it membership in the White Mountains’ fabled set of “four thousand footers.” But Mount Isolation, our diminutive goal for the day, is, well, isolated. There are no direct routes to its summit, a slight prominence along the lengthy Montalban Ridge sloping southeast from the shoulder of Mount Washington. But as we climbed above treeline into the extended alpine landscape surrounding Mount Washington, we were glad to have chosen this route. Read on, and check out the gallery!

David hiikes down the Davis Path toward Mount Isolation. Photo by Jon Kull.

Mount Moriah

Summer hiking season begins!

Every year I am always a bit disappointed when winter-hiking season comes to an end, wishing I’d managed to find more opportunities to get out. But then, summer hiking season begins and it’s always exciting to see again just how beautiful the White Mountains can be in summer. This weekend – Memorial Day weekend – is sort of the unofficial start of summer for hiking, biking, boating, and more. So I set out to find a peak to climb: something I’d not visited in a long while, and hopefully not attracting hordes of Memorial Day tourists. I settled on Mount Moriah, in the Carter-Moriah range just across the valley from the Presidential Range. The last time I’d been over this peak was (gasp) the fall of 1983, nearly forty-one years earlier. Today, I took a different route and experienced one of the most beautiful trails of the Whites. Read on!

View from the ledges of the Carter-Moriah trail.

Southern Presies

There’s still snow in them thar hills.

Today was a glorious day – one of those blue-sky days that makes you amazed to be part of this world, especially when you are strolling above treeline along one of the most incredible mountain ranges in the northeastern United States. Three friends and I took advantage of the Memorial Day holiday to head for the Presidential Range of the White Mountains here in New Hampshire. Centered on Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeast, most of the peaks in this range are named for U.S. Presidents and nearly the entire range is above treeline.

Jen, Lelia, Lars, David, and Karhu on Mount Monroe, with Mount Washington in the background. Presidential Range, White Mountains, NH.

Today, we left one car near the western base of Mount Washington, hiked up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail to Lakes of the Clouds, where there is an AMC Hut, then followed the ridgeline south over Mounts Monroe, Eisenhower, and Pierce, before descending the Crawford Path to our second car in Crawford Notch. We were ably led throughout by the indomitable Karhu, who had a knack for sniffing out the right the trail and pausing whenever he reached a trail junction. We often stopped to enjoy the sunshine and nibble a snack.

We had spectacular views and occasionally crossed some of the winter’s remaining patches of snow! Check out the full photo gallery to share the views.

This Tesla climbed Mount Washington

Never used the brakes!

In my forty years of visiting and living in New Hampshire, I’d never driven up the Auto Road to the top of Mount Washington – though the “This Car Climbed Mount Washington” bumper stickers are ubiquitous. Today was a beautiful day, though, and Pam indicated she’d never been to the top of Mount Washington… so we went. As we passed through the toll gate we noted the Tesla Model Y battery was at 50%. We wound our way up the mountain, on extremely narrow roads with no guardrails and steep drop-offs on one side or another. The views were stupendous, but allowable only to the passenger! We reached the summit parking area with battery at 35%; it thus takes 15% of the battery to climb the mountain. But we earned most of it back! read on.

Summit of Mount Washington, after a drive up the Autoroad.

Mount Washington Hotel

A beautiful day for a drive.

It’s been over six years since I was last at the Mount Washington Hotel, one of my favorite places in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Today was a beautiful day, in fall foliage season, so Pam and I decided to drive up there for lunch and a chance to enjoy the views along the way.

Northern New England has been suffering through an extended drought, ending yesterday with a very welcome and drenching rainfall. I’d guess we were two weeks too late for the peak colors at this latitude and elevation, the peak coming about 3-5 weeks ahead of schedule due to the drought. Although the colors were a bit muted today, it was still a beautiful drive.

The Mount Washington Hotel is one of the last great Grand Hotels from the early 20th century, and still carries much of its grandeur despite a thorough renovation and several recent expansions. We found a table on the patio looking out at Mount Washington and the Presidential Range, its granite ridgeline gray above the rust-colored fall foliage on the valley slopes below.

There were quite a few other people there, although it was mid-week, enjoying the clear mountain air and the warm days of early fall weather.

Fortunately, last weekend I explored the back roads of Lyme during what may have been its peak-colors day, and took many photos. I hope to post them soon.

A beautiful hike up Mount Washington, near the summer solstice.

David on the summit of Mount Washington. After a busy spring term at Dartmouth I decided to take advantage of clear skies and a clear calendar to hike Mount Washington. As I drove to the mountains, I could see that every mountain in New Hampshire was in the clear… except one. A persistent cloud snuggled the summit of Mount Washington. I headed up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail at 7:15am, and intermittent views ahead confirmed this cloud was stuck on the summit. Still, the trail passes many beautiful waterfalls and rocky formations, and I saw only one other hiker in the early morning chill. I reached Lakes of the Clouds, and the AMC hut, in brilliant morning sunshine.

Fortunately, as I scrambled up into the cloud, it dissipated, and I reached the summit at 10am under sunny skies. After exploring there for a while, I headed toward the northern Presies (Clay, Jefferson, Adams, Madison), to each of which still clung small patches of snow. I hopped over the Cog Railway tracks, skirted Clay to the west, and dropped down the Jewell Trail to my starting point. [It’s amazing how pleasant the Jewell Trail can be in good conditions – i.e., when it’s not dark, 30 degrees and raining, postholing through an ice crust; but that’s another story.]

See more photos.

climb: 4.5mi; 2h40 including stopover at hut; 3800’ gain

descent: 5.0mi; 2h08.

route