Presidential Traverse
Presidential Traverse July 7th-8th 2018
About 23 miles with 9,000 feet elevation gain,
the nickname for this hike is the ‘March of Death’.
Our Keys to Success:
-Hike North to South: The northern half is more rugged than the southern half so it is recommended to do all your rock hopping earlier on rather than when your legs turn to jelly.
-Go during good weather: The range is along the convergence of three storm tracks that pass the northeast making this trek potentially deadly, even in summer. Mount Washington is known as having the “world’s worst weather”
-Spent more than one day hiking.
Day One: We woke up early Saturday and headed up to the White Mountains for a 9am shuttle. We missed our shuttle, this was potentially a blessing in disguise because we took the time reevaluate are supplies. We realized we had forgotten our headlamps at home and I also had Adam invest in an appropriate backpack and boots.
* Redo: Get there the night before so you can’t miss the shuttle or travel up to the site with more than one car so we don’t need to rely on the shuttle service. The shuttle schedule is inconvenient for completing the Presidential Traverse
Mount Madison:The next shuttle was 1:30 and we were on it for over an hour. We started our hike at the Valley Way trailhead a little before 3pm. Now we had about 4 ½ hours of sunlight left and we decided to take Watson Path, a more direct route to the summit of Mount Madison but more difficult and not advised. This decision kicked our butts.This was the largest continual accent we would be making during this hike and we made it more difficult than it had to be. It was a scramble to the top. Most of this paths had massive step-ups that required 3 points of contact. My hip flexors were not happy. We did get to see a pretty waterfall called Duck falls.
We summited our first mountain, Mt. Madison at 7:40pm. The sun was low in the sky and we made our way to our first water stop at Madison Huts. We filled up inside and reevaluated are goals for the day. Our original plan was to camp at Sphinx Trail Junction. While we watched the setting sun we decided the most realistic plan would be to camp .7 miles away from the huts and below the treeline at Valley Way Campsite.
When we arrive to the site, it was dark and the 5 designated camping spots were taken. Other campers that were there recommended that we just pitch our tent in the middle path which was a flat clearing with enough space to walk around, and with limited options we decided to do just that. We made dinner, hoisted the remainder food up in the trees, changed into warmer, dry cloths, and cuddle up for warmth.
* Redo: Don’t take the Watson Path and stay on Valley Way and start the hike much earlier in the day. Get to the campsites earlier
Day Two: We woke, packed up and made our way back up to Madison Huts. We took advantage of the bathrooms, brushed our teeth, ate breakfast and I bought a $1 coffee. It was 9:30 when we left for our next mountain.
Mt. Adams: The second highest peak, next to Mt. Washington. Beautiful view including the next handful of mountains up ahead. Blisters where starting to form and I broke out the bandaids.
Mt. Jefferson: We decided not to peak to save time. The revienes up ahead were striking, and we stopped to snack and take pictures.
*Redo: Summit this peak
Mt. Washington: We peaked, and as expected were confronted with a bustle of tourists that drove or took the Cog Railroad. We stuffed our faces and, considered giving up, but decided to rally.
*Redo: Would have spent more time at the summit enjoying the view and also taken some more time exploring the ridges to the ravines just below the summit. Maybe should have given up!
Mt. Manroe & Mt.Franklin: We booked it down the mountain and stopped at the Lake of the Clouds Hut. Took advantage of the restrooms and water and continued to make haste on the trail. We had originally decided that the best way back would be to skip peaks. This plan was immediately void, when the path for going around the next peak, was unexpectedly closed. The views were beautiful thought!
*Redo: Had more time to enjoy the views, and stayed at Lake of the Clouds.
Mt. Eisenhower: Now time was not on our side but also my ankle was sprained. Luckley a little trail magic came my way! I found a perfect walking stick that would make the rest of the trail more manageable. Once on the other side of Eisenhower we got to enjoy the a gorgeous, purple, mountain sunset.
*Redo: Summit this peak
Mt. Pierce: It was about 10pm. The stars were beautiful and the rest of the trek for the most part was down hill. We stopped to wrap my ankle in my bandana to prevent more swelling. We expected to be back at the car by midnight. Unfortunately that was not the case, the last 3 ½ miles would take us 6 hrs to complete. I was unable to manoeuvre myself with any kind of speed because of a sprained ankle. Our headlamps started to die. Adam so kindly took on a majority of the weight into his pack. While I was making slow progress, Adam would run ahead. He took both of our packs down the trail, dropped them off and would come back to me and repeat this a second time. While this was all happening I was also battled with moths that were attracted to my headlamp. My speed made me an easy target. They repeatedly bomb dived straight into my face for 4 hours. I was a mad women, wailing my walking stick around and hitting them out of the air, while screaming with frustration, it was a sight to see!
We finally reached the end of the trail, I left my walking stick for another to find.
*Redo: Summit Mt. Pierce during the day and not sprain an ankle. Complete the hike in maybe 3 days instead of 2 and make more time for stretching. I’ll invite more friends next year, now that I know what I’m getting everyone into!