Temperatures and wind created winter conditions on Mount Washington and all the high peaks on our Saturday hike. wind…. snow…. ice…. mud.
Saturday was a good day to spend some time in the Presidentials.
We opted for Jewell Trail to Gulfside to Mount Washington. The Jewel trail was a gradual ascent to treeline. We had great views of Mount Washington once we got out of the trees. The temperature was perfect and not much wind until this point.
The snowfields were mostly solid and easy with spikes.
We got off trail a bit once we headed up to Washington and opted to follow the cog for a bit. We talked to some people heading down and they said the winds were 60mph.
Yes, that was correct. The wind was brutal, just as predicted on the Mount Washington Weather page.
We took a bunch of pictures and made our way over the Crawford Path trail to head south and get out of the wind. The sign was covered in snow but I remembered how to go from the traverse in October.
As we headed down from Mount Washington there were several steep angles we had to traverse. Some were a bit sketchy but we made it through. We thought the wind and cold would subside after descending from Mount Washington but the wind continued as we headed up Monroe.
It was a day when you could switch between spikes, crampons and snowshoes every five minutes. Since this was my first time in the Presidentials in winter conditions, maybe this is just what it’s like above treeline in April. 90% spikes and 10% bare boots today.
I love being on the Crawford Path. It has such an interesting history and it is so beautifully maintained with rocks lining the trail. My favorite part is heading down to the Eisenhower junction and then starting the climb up. Today there were 360 degree views at the top. I feel like the cairn on the summit gets smaller each time I’m there.
As we headed to Pierce the wind was still pretty strong. I love this descent back into the trees a bit and then up a short hike to Pierce. Pierce is a bit boring after the summits we did but it was nice to end on this peak. We opted not to go to Jackson.
We had sun and wind and high clouds all day. It was an epic adventure to bag Washington in full-on winter conditions. I am excited to go back and do this again next month to see what is different.
I had two great hiking partners today: Vicky and Greg. They were funny all day and were okay with leading the entire time. What a fun day.
Next Up – Pemi Loop