On Friday, I took the day off from work to hike the southern Presidentials with Peter and his friends. They were on a spiritual quest. Peter asked me to go so I said yes.
The day started with a car spot at AMC Highlands and then up to the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail parking.
I’ve never hiked this trail and it was spectacular. The granite slabs started about half a mile before the hut. They were very hikable since they were dry. Some of the rocks were wet due to being in the clouds but not too bad.
Mount Washington was socked in and the plan didn’t include it. In the distance the leaves were in full fall foliage mode. As we continued toward Monroe the mountains was socked in but soon it would change.
Since I had hiked Eisenhower last year and during the full traverse in July I remembered everything about the trail. I just love the loop going up because it’s so gradual and 360 views. It wasn’t very windy at the top and since it was a Friday not super crowded.
As we got to Pierce the fog started to lift and we began to see more peaks around us. We headed towards Jackson and I remembered how miserable I was in July on the traverse. My feet were dead and legs were not cooperating. Today, I was in better shape and shorter mileage – I love Jackson again.
The grey jays were friendly and the clouds were gone. The sun came out and the views – oh the views! It was a good day to atop Mount Jackson with a group of Peter’s friends.
The key to long hikes – bring interesting, fun people. Although I didn’t need any of these peaks for the 48 in my 49th year – I did get to cross them off on the grid.