NH > White Mountains > Presidential Traverse (July 2021)

[sparky32]

My buddy and I are going to do a 2-day, 1-night (hopefully) or maybe a 3-day, 2-night (second option) Presidential Traverse in mid-July this year. I am specifically looking for some info on the logistics of using our hammocks.

I understand there is no camping in the Alpine Zones so most, if not all, of our sleeping options will require a descent off the ridge to either a designated camping area, or at least a suitable forrest area that falls within the camping regulations.

I guess I am looking for advice on the best, or at least, good hammock camping areas along the Traverse. Preferably ones that you may have used in the past.

Second, I would also appreciate any general tips or advise for this hike. We did almost half of the Pemi loop (four years ago) but chose to leave the loop and head down to the valley due to forecasted 50 - 60 mph winds and heavy rain with lightning. Unfortunately we were in a time crunch and were not able to go back up to complete the loop. Bummer.

Any advise will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.



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[heyduff]

Hey sparky32,

I am planning a 3-day, 2 night trip for the July 4th weekend right now. I grew up in the Whites but never picked off the full Presidential Traverse.

Our working plan right now is:

Day 1. Valley Way to Madison Hut to Madison and back up Adams to Israel ridge path to RMC the Perch.

Day 2. Randolph path to Gulfside to Mt Jefferson Gulfside to Mt Washington Crawford path to Lakes of the Clouds.
Overnight option 1 down Ammo to camp. -or-
Continue to Mt Eisenhower Overnight option 2 camp either down Mt Eisenhower trail or Edmands path.

Day 3 continue to Mt Pierce and Crawford path down to Crawford Notch.


There are other options, too, reach out to me, I'd be happy to talk through it.

Cheers,
Chris

[sparky32]

Thanks, Chris! I am pretty busy today but I will probably have some time tomorrow to reach out to you tomorrow.

I purchased the White Mountains Trail Map (Map 1 - Presidential Range) and the 30th edition AMC White Mountains guide book for this trip. I have already been studying the map and reading the book.

I think I have a schedule that may work for three days and two nights on the Presidential Traverse. I will share it with you, hopefully tomorrow, when I get some time and you can share your opinions on what I came up with.

Thanks again, we'll talk soon,
Brian

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[sparky32]

Hey sparky32,

I am planning a 3-day, 2 night trip for the July 4th weekend right now. I grew up in the Whites but never picked off the full Presidential Traverse.

Our working plan right now is:

Day 1. Valley Way to Madison Hut to Madison and back up Adams to Israel ridge path to RMC the Perch.

Day 2. Randolph path to Gulfside to Mt Jefferson Gulfside to Mt Washington Crawford path to Lakes of the Clouds.
Overnight option 1 down Ammo to camp. -or-
Continue to Mt Eisenhower Overnight option 2 camp either down Mt Eisenhower trail or Edmands path.

Day 3 continue to Mt Pierce and Crawford path down to Crawford Notch.


There are other options, too, reach out to me, I'd be happy to talk through it.

Cheers,
Chris

Hello Chris. Well, it looks like I got an unexpected few minutes so I figured I would reach out to you right now. Allow me to first give you a bit of background information.

My buddy and I have been backpacking for about 22 years so we have experience and gear. We have never backpacked in the White Mountains until about four years ago when we attempted the Pemi Loop. I say attempted because we stopped for lunch at the Galehead Hut about half way through our second day (counterclockwise loop) and discovered that the forecast called for heavy rain, lightning and high winds (50 - 60 mph). A couple of people said it would be prudent to not hike in those conditions and we basically agreed. So, we ended up taking one of the trails near Galehead down off of the ridge and stayed at a designated campsite in the valley and hiked out the following morning.

We tend not to be the type of backpackers who enjoy powering down the trail for the sole purpose of covering miles. I enjoy nature and great views, especially in areas like the White Mountains, so I would rather spend more time taking in the views than flying down the trail just so I could say I put in a lot of miles in one day.

We had initially thought about tackling the Traverse in two days and one night. However, after considering the availability of water and lack of camping options (at least around the half-way point) we figured three days and two nights may be better and more enjoyable. We also changed our trip from mid-July to mid-August to allow us an extra day for travel, weather changes and to have an extra day where we could travel around a bit to take in any popular and / or interesting local sights and scenery. So, if you have any suggestions for a few quick stops or things to do, I would appreciate info about that as well.

So far this is what I came up with, but it is not set in stone and I am open to doing more detailed research to tweak things a bit.

Day 1
Leave car at AMC Highland Center.
Take shuttle back to the north end.
Valley Way up to Mt. MadisonThen hike south on Gulfside Trail to hit Mts. Adams, Jefferson and Clay
Descend the ridge on the Jewell Trail to a suitable camping area (off-trail of course)

Day 2
Return to the Gulfside Trail and hit Mts. Washington, Monroe, Eisenhower and Pierce
Continue south on Crawford Path to the Nauman Tentsite

Day 3
Hike to summit of Jackson then back to our car at the AMC Highland Center lot.

Night two seems like it could possibly be set in stone because it would leave fewer miles for the hike out on day 3 and give us time to do another local trail or see some local / interesting sights. Not to mention that it is near a hut where we would have a dependable water source.

The real question that I have not had time to fully investigate is camping along / off-trail on the Jewell Trail. I was going to read the guidebook and also maybe use Google Maps to zoom in on the terrain to see if it may be suitable for camping / hammocks.

Right now we are in the early planning stages so any information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Brian

[Rhody Seth]

I can't speak from any experience regarding hammock camping in the Presis - but I expect it will require a decent amount of descending to find places to hang. Even once you get below treeline you may have to descend quite a ways for the trees to be tall, spread out and strong enough to hang. They are quite gnarled and thick for awhile. I have not yet hiked the Jewell Trail.

One option to do the hike as a three day is an easy day 1, taking Valley Way to the campsite below Madison Springs Hut. Then you start Day 2 pretty much at treeline. After hiking the entire ridge on Day 2 you could camp at the Neuman tentsite or somewhere down the Crawford Path. Then it's a short hike out on Day 3.

Another option other than Jewell Trail is the Caps Ridge trail which heads down from Jefferson. I took this trail last month and you can see what it looks like here. Obviously it will look very different without snow but this was about 1.5 miles down from the Jefferson summit and will give you some idea of what the woods look like at that point.

General advice for doing the Presi Traverse: as you seem to know there aren't a lot of water options. You'll be able to fill up at the Madison Springs Hut and that's basically it until you reach the Mt. Washington Summit, which has potable water as well as a cafeteria, amenities and lots of tourists. The Lake of the Clouds hut is close to Monroe and that's another place to fill up. Everything north of Mt. Washington is essentially a massive boulder field. There is dirt/rock trail at times but you'll be doing a lot of rock hopping which may slow you down considerably based on your confidence, skill and pack weight. There's very little in the way of shelter above treeline and bailout routes could potentially leave you pretty far removed from your cars so weather knowledge is important.

South of Mt. Washington the trail becomes much easier. Rocky steps will lead down from Mt. Washington and and after that it's mostly easy graded dirt trail/rock slabs on the Crawford Path. Things get a little more technical going up Monroe and Eisenhower but nothing compared to the northern presis.

There's so much to do/see up there it's hard to give suggestions for other things. If you end up finishing with time to spare on Day 3, Arethusa Falls Trail is only a few miles south of the Highland Center on Route 302. It's an easy hike that leads to a splendid waterfall, depending on how the water is flowing. And the Saco River flows alongside Route 302 - one of my favorite things after a hike is stopping at one of the many pull-offs and soaking my feet in the Saco. The more popular spots have great spots for taking a dip. Great way to wash off the funk.

[sparky32]

I can't speak from any experience regarding hammock camping in the Presis - but I expect it will require a decent amount of descending to find places to hang. Even once you get below treeline you may have to descend quite a ways for the trees to be tall, spread out and strong enough to hang. They are quite gnarled and thick for awhile. I have not yet hiked the Jewell Trail.

One option to do the hike as a three day is an easy day 1, taking Valley Way to the campsite below Madison Springs Hut. Then you start Day 2 pretty much at treeline. After hiking the entire ridge on Day 2 you could camp at the Neuman tentsite or somewhere down the Crawford Path. Then it's a short hike out on Day 3.

Another option other than Jewell Trail is the Caps Ridge trail which heads down from Jefferson. I took this trail last month and you can see what it looks like here. Obviously it will look very different without snow but this was about 1.5 miles down from the Jefferson summit and will give you some idea of what the woods look like at that point.

General advice for doing the Presi Traverse: as you seem to know there aren't a lot of water options. You'll be able to fill up at the Madison Springs Hut and that's basically it until you reach the Mt. Washington Summit, which has potable water as well as a cafeteria, amenities and lots of tourists. The Lake of the Clouds hut is close to Monroe and that's another place to fill up. Everything north of Mt. Washington is essentially a massive boulder field. There is dirt/rock trail at times but you'll be doing a lot of rock hopping which may slow you down considerably based on your confidence, skill and pack weight. There's very little in the way of shelter above treeline and bailout routes could potentially leave you pretty far removed from your cars so weather knowledge is important.

South of Mt. Washington the trail becomes much easier. Rocky steps will lead down from Mt. Washington and and after that it's mostly easy graded dirt trail/rock slabs on the Crawford Path. Things get a little more technical going up Monroe and Eisenhower but nothing compared to the northern presis.

There's so much to do/see up there it's hard to give suggestions for other things. If you end up finishing with time to spare on Day 3, Arethusa Falls Trail is only a few miles south of the Highland Center on Route 302. It's an easy hike that leads to a splendid waterfall, depending on how the water is flowing. And the Saco River flows alongside Route 302 - one of my favorite things after a hike is stopping at one of the many pull-offs and soaking my feet in the Saco. The more popular spots have great spots for taking a dip. Great way to wash off the funk.

Good info. Thanks, Seth.

I guess I should have mentioned that we plan to begin on Monday and end on Wednesday morning / early afternoon. That would leave us Wednesday afternoon to see some cool sites and all day Thursday to see more or do a day hike.

Also, for those who frequent or live in the area, any suggestions for a post-hike burger or pizza or something like that. It is nice to know from locals which restaurants are popular, or maybe off the beaten path but are still good.

I read in a post on another site that the maple bacon pizza at Mountain Fire Pizza in Gorham was very tasty.....

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[dutch_henry]

Sounds like a fantastic trip! I think you'll find water to be readily available at all of the huts en route. They are open. In a normal year they welcome anyone to tank up, use the head, even sit down inside for a break. With Covid-19 regs it may be worth checking on details, but the AMC website doesn't have any red flags about access

I hope you have better weather luck than you did on the Pemi! That high traverse is absolutely gorgeous on stable days. There are plenty of side trails that make for good bailouts if it gets nasty...fingers crossed that's not the case for you and you end up with long views and bluebird days. In terms of hammocks, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Nearly all of the established tentsites are below treeline with trees large enough for hanging. I don't trust my recollection enough to give specifics on tentsites...but you might check on sectionhiker, which has some good info on the traverse.

[Rhody Seth]

Yeah most of the established campsites have tent platforms with nearby trees ideal for hanging. The only question is how busy they'll be. Luckily a midweek trip will be a lot easier on that count then trying over the weekend.

[sparky32]

Sounds like a fantastic trip! I think you'll find water to be readily available at all of the huts en route. They are open. In a normal year they welcome anyone to tank up, use the head, even sit down inside for a break. With Covid-19 regs it may be worth checking on details, but the AMC website doesn't have any red flags about access

I hope you have better weather luck than you did on the Pemi! That high traverse is absolutely gorgeous on stable days. There are plenty of side trails that make for good bailouts if it gets nasty...fingers crossed that's not the case for you and you end up with long views and bluebird days. In terms of hammocks, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Nearly all of the established tentsites are below treeline with trees large enough for hanging. I don't trust my recollection enough to give specifics on tentsites...but you might check on sectionhiker, which has some good info on the traverse.

Thanks. Actually I found several pages on the SectionHiker website that had very good info and I have been referring to them quite frequently.

Yes, the AMC huts seem to be hiker-friendly even if your are not paying to stay there. When we stopped for lunch at Galehead Hut during the Pemi hike, we filled water bottles, used the restrooms, checked the weather forecast and sat outside on one of the benches to eat lunch.

I am hoping that mid-August gives us good weather and long sight lines!

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[DocWatson]

Check out Sintas77 videos on youtube. He might have done a similar hike. He also usually includes his GPS data. He will often camp off trail in the whites and not at established sites. As long as you are comfortable bushwhacking a little ways off trail, camping in the whites usually isn't a problem. Other than going to lower elevations for better trees.

- Clyde