Also on this trip

Trails Used

Caps Ridge Trail, Cornice, Gulfside trail, Jefferson Loop Trail, Gulfside trail, auto road, crawford path, monroe loop trail, crawford path, Eisenhower loop trail, crawford path, webster jackson trail, crawford path

Trail Conditions

Notes

Well we wanted to get sunrise but also get back to where we left off the day before. So back up caps and the cornice where colors started around 4:15 am. Up to Jefferson we got to see sunrise around mt Adams. Thankful for the no breeze and comfortable temps. Over to washington and on the summit, barely any people as it was before the cog and the road opened. After we left… the flood of people from the huts were let out. We left our packs at the junction and went up and down Monroe quick. We hit Franklin on the way and continued to Ike and Pierce where all the people were again. Made it down and the car read 79! Lovely time!

Parking

Lots of cars everywhere, parked on road by crawford path

Water Crossings

No issues

Wildlife

Black flies

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Webster Cliff Trail, Crawford Path, Mt Eisnehower Loop, Mt Monroe Loop

Trail Conditions

Notes

I started the morning from the Mizpah Spring Hut and hiked the southern Presidential Range. It is a steep, rocky climb from the hut to Pierce. I took the Mt Eisenhower loop trail over Eisenhower, and the Mt Monore loop trail over Little Monroe and up to Monroe. From the summit of Monroe I turned around, went back over Little Monroe, and continued on the Crawford Path back to 302. Eisenhower had some small scrambles on both sides. Both Little Monroe and Monroe have some large boulders to hop across. Mt. Clinton Rd. was closed for paving so I didn't consider the Edmands Path for my descent; otherwise this could be a good option. The weather was amazing: sunny, warm, low wind; a wonderful day on the southern Presidential Range! I'll write a blog post and create a video of this hike soon.

Trails Used

Edmands Path, Mt Eisenhower Loop

Trail Conditions

Notes

Edmands Path to the loop trail and summit, out and back. The canine and I reported for duty today as the new Edmands Path adopters. Other than sticks and branches at lower elevations (easily cleared), the trail is in great shape. Stream flows were nominal today so the crossing was no big deal. There are both wet/moist and muddy sections, some would say greasy. Standard stuff. A great day to get up there before the Friday precip.

Parking

Lot full as of 11am on a Thursday. Parked on the deep shoulder on Mt Clinton Rd opposite trailhead driveway. A few more did the same after me.

Water Crossings

The low crossing was an easy rock hop, albeit over wet rocks. Higher up around ~ mile 2.5 the drainages and seeps make for a little splashing but not a big problem.

Wildlife

Yes. Black flies nibbling at all elevations, we kept up the pace and mostly evaded them but during stops they got annoying. Even with some breeze, the summit itself has swarms of club horned sawfly, they look scary but are harmless.

Trails Used

Edmands Path

Trail Conditions

Notes

Fresh bear scat on trail on my way down Edmands path For the love of god please do not let your kids scamper around off trail in the alpine zone. Why people spend hours hiking up a mountain just to do incredulous amounts of damage is beyond me

Water Crossings

Abenaki brook beautiful and rock hoppable Upper elevation springs around 4000ft flowing well across trail, easy to collect at multiple points

Wildlife

Horrendous between 2500ft- tree line. Picardin did not cut it. Gnats, black flies and mosquitos teaming up to chase you up the trail. Bring your deet.

Trails Used

Edmands Path

Trail Conditions

Notes

Fresh bear scat on trail on my way down Edmands path For the love of god please do not let your kids scamper around off trail in the alpine zone. Why people spend hours hiking up a mountain just to do incredulous amounts of damage is beyond me

Water Crossings

Abenaki brook beautiful and rock hoppable Upper elevation springs around 4000ft flowing well across trail, easy to collect at multiple points

Wildlife

Horrendous between 2500ft- tree line. Picardin did not cut it. Gnats, black flies and mosquitos teaming up to chase you up the trail. Bring your deet.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Crawford Connector, Crawford Path, Eisenhower Loop, Webster-Cliff Trail, Webster-Jackson Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

What a GREAT day for these. The winds were lovely and pushed me around just enough and the skies were gray and angry looking for a good portion of the day. BEST weather! The trails are in fine shape if you don't mind wet and muddy feet and legs, which I do not. The rocks were still a little wet in places requiring care but overall conditions were good for making quick time. I had every summit to myself which is crazy. The hut is open and was busy so I cruised past. Most of the time I saw no one on the trails at all. I saw the most people on Webster-Jackson and folks seemed to really be having a lovely day.

Parking

I parked off Mt Clinton Rd. $5 to park or the WMNF pass. Lots of room. I was the second car in the lot.

Water Crossings

Easy rock hops even for those of us who are vertically challenged.

Wildlife

It was plenty windy enough to blow them away.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Webster-Jackson Trail, Webster Cliff Trail, Crawford Path, Eisenhower Loop, Monroe Loop, Gulfside, Jewell Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

No snow/ice on the trails all day (there were a bunch of people who drove up the auto road and then hiked down to a chute on Clay into the Great Gulf and they said it was great. Mitzpah hut was open and had water and the usual items for sale. Nobody was around. Sherman Adams cafeteria on Washington was open (kitchen was not open) but you could get water and snacks and sweatshirts, etc. Things I saw today: A glider using the thermals over Monroe. A guy doing a Presi traverse looking for tape as the sole of his shoe was coming off. (he was trucking) A guy trying to do a triple Presi in 24 hours. (Appalachia-Crawford-Appalachia-Crawford). Yikes! Mt. Clinton Rd and Jefferson Notch rd still closed.

Parking

Parked at Cog ($10/person/day). There is a credit card machine in the hiker lot. Rode bike to Jackson TH.

Water Crossings

Nothing remotely challenging

Wildlife

None.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Crawford Connector, Crawford Path, Eisenhower Loop, Edmands Path, Mt Clinton Road

Trail Conditions

Notes

Trails are in great condition for the long weekend. Mt Clinton road is still closed, and Edmands has a handful of avoidable but nasty blow downs. Otherwise, go out and have fun. Was thrilled to see Chief for the second time in a week and check out his hand saw. Was even more thrilled to see he was with UNE legend Professor Jerry from...*gulp* 28 years ago. Still bringing the energy!

Parking

Plenty of spots at the Crawford Connector lot

Water Crossings

All are easy to get across with a bit of planning

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Crawford Connecter, Crawford Path, Webster Cliff Trail, Mt Eisenhower Loop

Trail Conditions

Notes

In and out hike - Clinton Road still closed. Trail conditions were good - some walk thru mud - generally dry. This trail doesn't get much better than this. Good time to snag Pierce and Eisnehower.

Parking

Parked at Mt Clinton Parking lot (closest to Rt 302). No cars at 7:15 - 5 cars at 12:45

Water Crossings

None

Wildlife

None - Zero

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Jewell, Crawford connector, Crawford, Monroe Loop, Franklin Loop, Eisenhower Loop, Mitzpah Springs cut-off

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

TLDR - Spikes are preferable, barebooting is possible Details. About ~4500' on Jewell we put on spikes because of pooled ice running down the trail and filling in the level spots/between rocks. With the overnight snowfall and ongoing flurries covering the icy patches so you couldn't see them until you gracefully slipped across those spots, it was just easier to keep 'em on. Same on the way down from Washington summit to the Lake of the Clouds hut, patches of ice here and there made the traction worth-it. Its possible to bare-boot it as a group passed by us on their ascent with just trail runners. Same approach up Monroe, Franklin, Eisenhower and over to Pierce. The only real monorail was the last 1/10 of a mile on Crawford Path just below the Pierce intersection after leaving Ike. That was mostly solid, still 5-6' high in most places and starting to collapse here and there. Same small hidden patches of ice and snow all the way to Mitzpah Hut. The hut was open, but no caretaker around at that time so we didn't spent any time inside. That was the last time we took the spikes off for the easy (muddy) trip down the Mitzpah Springs Cut-off and Crawford Path to the Highland Center. So in summary - spring hiking conditions.

Parking

Cog Hikers lot digital iron ranger walks you thru the parking pass, only saw 1x other car there on either the start and finish. Mt Clinton Rd is still closed, so still need a lengthier car-spot or other ride

Wildlife

Thankfully the bug spray and bear spray stayed in the pack pocket the entire time

Trails Used

Crawford Connector, Crawford Path, Eisenhower Loop

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

This was a roll of the dice kind of day. I have been after this peak since May 1st and the conditions just weren't lining up. Today looked promising with mild winds and weather. What I got was rain, and graupel snow that was pelting my face with the stronger winds. The trail is a stream for a good part of the way up to Pierce. The slanted monorail is still there but you can kind of walk below it in some areas. I put spikes on for the last .25 until the junction with the Webster Cliff trail but I am wimpy. I am sure it can be done without them. There is more consistent monorail between that junction and the Eisenhower loop but there are still areas of bare rock. I opted to keep my spikes on since they are trashed already. The monorail is mostly stable but I punched through about 3 times. There are plenty of areas of standing and running water in that section which I just plowed through since my feet were wet already. The Eisenhower loop was mostly bare with some areas of glazed ice and some that was breakable over puddles. It's a mixed bag of conditions for sure. It was good to grid this one out today and I only have 3 more peaks to finish my grid. In the home stretch now.

Parking

Plenty of room at the Mt Clinton road trailhead. $5 to park or the WMNF pass.

Water Crossings

No crossings to contend with.

Wildlife

Still in Hell. I suspect the winds today blew them back there.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Cog, Crawford Path, Davis Path, Tuckerman Crossover, Crawford, Mt Monroe Loop, Crawford, Mt. Franklin, Crawford, Mt. Eisenhower Loop, Crawford, Webster Cliff, Crawford

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Never hiked up Cog before. Interesting, and most direct, way to get to top of Washington. All trails were relatively clear of any snow until base of Eisenhower loop. The little snow that you will find is easy to navigate around or solid enough to step on without slipping. From Monroe side of Eisenhower to Monroe in the trees is a mixed bag of stable monorail, raised monorail that is quickly deteriorating but still makes you tight rope walk as there is no other way to get around and sections of 6+ feet of snow that was walkable today. Crawford Path from junction of Webster Cliff trail, on way to Crawford Notch, is a mix of western trails (ones that are paved with ice), stable monorail, and deteriorating snow pack. The section near the outlook with th bench close to the junction of Crawford Path and Webster Cliff is interesting as it is 5-6 feet in places and is slanted. Bring the rock spikes for Crawford path for the next couple of weeks if you plan to hike to Pierce or Eisenhower. Rain will do some work tomorrow to help out with the lower ice/snow paths but will still be needed for higher up. Don’t ever miss the chance to take in the sites from Mount Franklin!

Water Crossings

Nothing to be concerned about today. Tomorrow, maybe.

Wildlife

Minimal. One was consumed by mistake. Extra protein.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Edmands-Crawford-Webster Jackson

Trail Conditions

Notes

Wanted to warn people not to use Edmands Path for the next few weeks. Major logging operations with a few hundred trees felled across the road from Crawford Connector all the way to Edmands Path. It’s a jungle gym sometimes five trees deep. Monroe to Jackson dry or walkable snow until 1/2 mile after Mizpah towards Jackson from there spikes a must with steep monorail and ice. The summit cone is dry but Webster-Jackson side has an ice path for a mile down. I recently built a free toolkit with route data for aspiring gridders in summer and winter see link below.

Parking

Mt Clinton Rd completely blocked see below

Also on this trip

Trails Used

crawford connecter, crawford path

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Barebooted for about a mile and a half, then spikes went on and stayed on. Just before the junct for mizpah hut was were some ice/snow made it necessary for traction. Solid monorail started in higher elevation past the junct. Spikes were all that was needed. Some boney sections up above treeline to pierce summit. Headed to eisenhower, the monorail was also firm, there were some narrow sections but no big deal.. also a bit boney in parts where it was exposed. The junct for the last .4mi to summit was mostly firm pack, though about 500ft from summit had some previously drifted snow, looks like I wasn't the first to keep truckin through it without snowshoes.. its honestly such a short section, it would not be worth putting them on, even if you planned to carry them the whole journey for the extra weight. Still winter conditions and temps today, was mostly in the clouds until the way back to pierce it started to clear. Winds weren't super substantial, unlikely to cause any major drifting with the type snow that's there. May be worth grabbing this before it warms up, cuz I think it would begin to get rather unpleasant as that monorail decompensates. Anything lower elevation was a mix of wet, dry, trickling water or mud.. Bring your gaiters & sh*t kick it.. tis the season ! Stay safe, BE PREPARED (for the love of peter) and Happy hiking!!! 🥾

Parking

pay your dues

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Crawford

Notes

Started around 2 AM for sunrise on Madison, hiked the ridge crossing multiple peaks. Perfect temperature, clear skies with cloud formations. Hiker wore shorts and t-shirt, resulting in significant sunburn. Noted sloppy spring season conditions expected to improve.

Trails Used

Crawford Path - Mt.Eisenhower loop - Webster Cliff tr

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

more people out today than I expected considering April is such a sloppy month. I haven't hiked much in April, but I'm guessing trail conditions were right on par for this time of year. barebooted up the 1st mile of Crawford and then put on spikes. kept them on all the way up to Ike, back to Pierce and took them off pretty much in the same spot for the descent. uneventful up to Pierce, though there are some spots on the monorail that require a fine sense of balance. Over to Ike, I postholed only 4x, on the way back, twice because I was paying better attention. there are long stretches of bare ground between stretches of monorail, so while I was expecting to suffer over to Ike, it wasn't that bad. .5 or so below Ike we met a fellow hiker who spooked a moose right on the trail. He got a lovely pic of her. the 3 of us submitted in high winds and grey clouds. no views. no sun. didn't see any sun until the drive home. snowshoes were not needed at all.

Parking

$5 if you have renewed your WMNF parking permit.

Water Crossings

easy peasy

Wildlife

nope

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Crawford connector, Crawford path, Webster cliff trail, Crawford path, Mount Eisenhower loop

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

After seeing the early morning rain would be gone by 8 am, we opted for a later start at 11. Low winds made it easy to chose a day in the presidential range. Getting to Pierce was what we expected, April conditions with some mud and running water to start and then bits of old ice and snow about a mile into the day. Put on the spikes and moved right along. The drifts section just before the junction with Webster cliff trail had a very high monorail with the added bonus of trees trying to knock us off the top. Took off spikes to head up to summit of Pierce on Webster cliff trail, mostly bare ground here. Nice warm sun to give us a lunch break and fueling up for the challenge to come getting over to Eisenhower. The monorails and then bare ground in between treed in sections surely converted our spikes to rock spikes. Post holing was plentiful , snowshoes would not have helped as they are too wide for these monorails , Nevermind all the bare rock sections they would get wrecked on. Having done this hike a fair amount of times, I have never had such a slow and difficult trek between these two. Totally worth it though for the gorgeous day at the summit of Eisenhower. If you choose to go in the near future, pack you patience . Congrats to my husband for gridding out Pierce and getting Eisenhower done to only 1 more trip. He’s getting closer to joining me on the finishers list, hooray!

Parking

Fee lot off Mount Clinton road had only 1 truck parked when we arrived at 11 am. Note about Mount Clinton road; large trees have been sawed down and left across the road. We assumed there must be road work coming soon or a logging operation. Either way, the road is definitely closed to cars.

Water Crossings

None along this route that aren’t bridged

Wildlife

Lots of flies but not the biting type yet

Also on this trip

Notes

Found a phone on Ike and silver jewelry around Pierce. Phone owner unknown, jewelry owner can contact reporter for description match.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Cog Railway, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop, Trinity Heights, Crawford Path, Mt. Monroe Loop, Mt. Eisenhower Loop, Webster-Jackson Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Barebooted most of the way up the Cog until the just before the Jacobs Ladder section. Upon meeting Gulfside, there was a section of hard ice that was sketchy at first, and softening up fast when returning. Over to Jefferson was mostly icy trail with rocks poking through and rime ice on the boulders that was melting fast in the sun. I barebooted from around the Jewell Junction to Jefferson and stayed that way until the sketchy side hill spot before meeting Great Gulf on the way up to Washington. There’s enough exposed rock to just rock hop around all the ice, just pay careful attention your foot placement. I honestly barebooted 95% of my above treeline travel today, but I like to walk on the wild side, rather than destroy my spikes in one day. Everyone I passed had spikes on. Spikes were useful for the descent down Washington in places, when coverage was more consistent, and the climb up Monroe. I took them off at Monroe and kept them off until the climb up Pierce, save for maybe a couple brief soots. Firm monorail in the scrub sections, and grippy frozen granular. You could bring snowshoes for here, but you won’t want to use them, the monorail is too narrow. From the hut to Jackson was an absolute highway. I did use spikes here, and was able to make easy work of the ledgy flow ice spot. Jackson summit and ledges were bare. I took spikes off when the snow became inconsistent at the Webster-Jackson split. From there, any remaining snow/ice was avoidable or low consequence enough that it could be bare booted. Beautiful day, where the heck was everyone? I only saw about a dozen people and had every summit but Pierce to myself.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Cog Railway, Crawford Path, Mt. Monroe Loop, Mt. Eisenhower Loop

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

TLDR: Spikes on and off all day. Snowshoes not needed today, but still plenty of snow between Ike and Pierce that might need shoes when melty. Details: No to low winds all day :). Ascent by the Cog was a mix of bare ground, then ice and snow patches. Jacob's Ladder stretch was fine ascending in spikes, but I might have wanted more serious traction if descending. All along the ridge was a combo of ice patches, rock, puddles... repeat. If all that water freezes hard again, it will be very icy in patches. Still lots of snow between Ike and Pierce. The monorail was holding up, but it will be messy when it gets soft. Coming down from Pierce was still super firm and great for spikes. Gorgeous day out there!

Parking

Crawford Path lot nearly empty. Note: There is some kind of logging activity on Mt. Clinton Rd past the road closure. A hiker reported about 60 trees across the road. Not a good time for a road walk!

Water Crossings

Nothing to see here.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Crawford path

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Deteriorating monorail until 3000ft elevation. After that, trail is great! Spikes door to door. Between pierce and eisenhower, the trail is icy but spikes were sufficient with some care.

Parking

Paid lot, not full at 10am

Water Crossings

No major crossings

Wildlife

None

Also on this trip

Trail Conditions

Notes

Hiker completed Pierce and Eisenhower peaks (2/48 of 48-peak challenge). Previous February attempt on Pierce was their first 4k peak. This hike included Eisenhower as their second 4k peak. Snow conditions required use of boots, microspikes, and snowshoes throughout the hike. Weather improved significantly from previous attempt.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Crawford

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Started right away with spikes as the snow from the night before had not melted yet. Going up to Pierce, the monorail near the top is very narrow and hard to stay on top of. On the way to Eisenhower, the trail had not been broken out until a fearless group of three made it most of the way to Eisenhower. In sections, the monorail here is very, very narrow and you need to take care to stay on the trail or your leg will get eaten by a posthole. By this time, the snow was very sticky from the warm sun and was constantly getting balled up on my spikes. Didn't make it to the top of Eisenhower before my turnaround time. Next time.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Cog, Crawford Path, Mount Eisenshower Loop, Webster Cliff Trail, Webster Jackson Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

After climbing up the Cog in snowshoes, it is boney or fully open enough from 5,500’ on up to bareboot all the way across the summit of Washington. Between Washington and Monroe, crampons were definitely good to have on. I went with full crampons (Grivel G10s) this time of year given the hardness of the ice. You can get by with micros, but the actual purchase of crampons helps a lot. There are many fully open sections on southfacing trails, but plenty of ice and still a significant snowfield. The northeast side on Monroe is still very snowy and steep, but bare on top. We took off crampons after the summit of Monroe and barebooted all the way to the northeast side of Eisenhower. There are a few sections of deep snow amongst the trees, but it’s not that bad and has a firm monrail. The summit cone of Eisenhower is totally bare. Once back in the trees on the south side of Eisenhower there is still plenty of deep sections of snow. Snowshoes are still very helpful here and make moving a lot easier. Except for the summit of Pierce, it was snowshoes all the way to Jackson. For the most part the summit of Jackson is completely free of snow and ice, but as soon as you are back in the trees on Webster-Jackson, crampons are very necessary and we kept them on until we could see the road in Crawford Notch. It was definitely good to get these done while there is a decent amount of snow and monorail left, but things are going to get very messy soon!

Parking

First and last car in Crawford that day

Water Crossings

Things are melting quickly, but still crossable

Wildlife

Starting to emerge at Lakes of the Clouds :-(

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Crawford Path

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Spikes all the way. The trail was a superhighway of packed snow to Pierce. It was a bit more choppy to Eisenhower, but spikes were fine.