Trails Used

Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, Mount Monroe Loop, Crawford Path

Trail Conditions

Notes

Magnificent day above tree line with brilliant blue skies. Not too many friendly hikers and their dogs on such a beautiful day. No snow or ice on the trail. One of the Lake of the Clouds was partially frozen which made for an excellent photo.

Parking

Lots of parking at the Ammonoosuc Ravine Tailhead. There is a forest service fee. Of note on the Base Station Road there is a partially flooded area with a small sign warning of it which I did not see on my drive in and the splash on my windshield caused a momentary loss of seeing the road.

Water Crossings

Easily crossed

Wildlife

Surprisingly almost none!

Trails Used

Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, Mount Monroe Loop, Crawford Path

Trail Conditions

Notes

Magnificent day above tree line with brilliant blue skies. Not too many friendly hikers and their dogs on such a beautiful day. No snow or ice on the trail. One of the Lake of the Clouds was partially frozen which made for an excellent photo.

Parking

Lots of parking at the Ammonoosuc Ravine Tailhead. There is a forest service fee. Of note on the Base Station Road there is a partially flooded area with a small sign warning of it which I did not see on my drive in and the splash on my windshield caused a momentary loss of seeing the road.

Water Crossings

Easily crossed

Wildlife

Surprisingly almost none!

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.

Trails Used

Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop, Gulfside trail, Cog Rail Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

This was a roll of the dics today. Steph and I planned this over the weekend and then the forecast changed but we stuck with the plan. Initially the weather was good but the rain started early on into the hike so all the wet slabs up Ammo required cars. There was some mud and standing water along the Ammo trail. Higher up on Ammo there was a remnant of a monorail. Many of us had spikes but none of us used them. The snow was avoidable by going along the sides. By the time we reached the hut the rain had stopped and the rocks were drying out. Crawford Path up to the Monroe loop was a stream but our feet were already wet so it didn't matter. The Monroe Loop was drying out nicely and offered good footing. The summit was lovely and windy but with great views. Crawford Path up to Mt Washington was dry in places, but also had some areas of standing and running water. The summit was windy so we didn't stay long. The winds were picking up and were forecasted to get stronger so we made our way down. Gulfside had good footing and the rocks were mostly dry. We had planned to cut over towards the Jewell trail when we hit the Westside trail but opted to just descend along side the cog to save on time. The cog had the typical sliding rocks which required care. This wrapped up my Grid - 576 achieved. I am beyond grateful to the incredible friends who joined me today. I have learned that this project started out as being out the mountains, but is really about the people. I am blessed and so grateful.

Parking

We parked at the cog parking lot so $10 per person payable by card.

Water Crossings

Rock hoppable with care

Wildlife

We lucked out. No bugs at all really. We even trailgated in the parking lot for awhile without them bothering us.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Ammonoosuc Ravine, Monroe Loop, Crawford Path, Cog, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop, Capps Ridge, Road walk, Boundary

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Conditions are wet but manageable. Still some monorails on the upper part of Ammo, but otherwise clear of ice and snow. Lots of running water on every trail. Capps Ridge was in better shape than expected and Boundary trail was a mossy mile of fun. Overall, wet but manageable conditions. Minimal ice or snow other than a small stretch on Ammo.

Parking

Ammo lot was wide open at 7am but nearly full at 2pm

Water Crossings

Two crossings required some finesse. First on the Ammo reroute where a few branches have been placed in a helpful spot. Then again on Boundary where you can choose which log to scoot across.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Ammonoosoc Ravine Trail, Crawford Path, Mt Monroe Loop

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

In and out hike. Parked in the FS parking lot. Muddy areas to the reroute - firm base - OK to walk through. Mostly dry trail to Gem pool and beyond to the waterfall area then off and on monorail to Lake of the Clouds Hut. I wore microspikes on the monorails both up and down. Spikes totally optional. The Monroe Loop was mostly dry trail. Crawford Path had newly formed breakable ice in places- easily avoidable. Overall Crawford Path was in great shape. Windy and cold.

Parking

Parked in the FS parking lot. With the Amo reroute it may be shorter than Cog Parking. $5.00 fee no cars at 7:15 5 cars at 3:15

Water Crossings

Rock hops

Wildlife

None

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

Ammoonoosuc ravine trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

This trail had a bit of everything. Dry at bottom, muddy with some running water below gem pool, significant stretches of monorail above gem pool to lakes of the clouds. The monorail was at times unstable, stable, post holes, wide, narrow and significantly elevated. Most of the monorail was soft snow but some ice stretches. Above ~4800 mostly dry trail. The monorail being on the steeper parts we felt micro spikes were needed in the way up. On the way down didn’t feel confident without trail crampons in ~6 sections.

Water Crossings

Water crossings were all easy

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

Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, Monroe Loop, Crawford Path, Cog Path

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Flat ice, intermittent low monorail, and bare ground until about 3,700.’ At the spur trail above Gem Pool (that goes over to the top of the waterfall) began consistent ice and ice flows warranting traction. About 4,200 it changed to various levels of monorails and white ice until about 4/10ths below the hut. From there to Monroe and over to Washington was spring snow, white ice, and bare rocks. Enough rocks that you could avoid most of the snow by hopping from one to the next. About 4/10ths below Washington was an extended section of snow (~2/10ths of a mile), but again, you could rock hop. There were a few patches of flat snow and two side hill icy sections descending beside the Cog but most could be avoided. No scary side ice or no-fall zones. The majority was bare ground beside the Cog.

Parking

$10 via new machine that takes cards. I had cash ready, but there were no envelopes in the iron ranger.

Water Crossings

Easy peasy at Gem Pool, rock hop.

Wildlife

None

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

Ammo Ravine -> Jewel Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Trail conditions were pretty good and ammo ravine was pretty popular today, all great people. would recommend micro spikes even though i think i only wore them for ~20 min overall, definitely doable without them. super warm weather for late april, didn’t wear a shirt until after washington summit. small section of the crawford path by mt monroe was difficult/dangerous in the snow, otherwise beautiful and easy day!!

Parking

parking was easy

Water Crossings

rock hopping at worst, very easy

Wildlife

none

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Ammonoosuc Ravine, Crawford Path, Gulfside Trail, Jewell

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

The steep part of Ammonoosuc Ravine trail has sections of icy monorail and ice flows, microspikes extremely useful. Above the hut is a mixture of soft snow with some drifts, soft ice and bare rock. I wore microspikes over Washington until the Jewell trail intersection where it got pretty rocky but that was mostly because they were already on. I would not say they were necessary. I did not wear them for Jefferson or the descent of the Jewell trail. The Jewell trail just below tree line has an monorail that can mostly be avoided and it peters out pretty quickly.

Parking

A most a quarter full

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.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Cog, Ammo

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Perfect evening hike with sunset views. Water crossings encountered on Ammo. Descended via the Cog Railway trail. Reporter is working on completing a grid (8 peaks remaining). Hiking with 9-year-old Scarlett who is at 424/576 of her grid.

Water Crossings

Tricky water crossings navigated on Ammo climb

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.

Trails Used

Ammonoosuc Ravine, Monroe Loop, Crawford Path, Cog

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Ammo has been rerouted and it’s possibly better to park in the Ammo lot.. the Ravine trail had solid ice under many sections so be prepared (we switched to K10’s)…the fresh snow covered some dangerous postholes and crevices.. up Monroe was uneventful… Crawford Path had 1-2’ of new drifty snow that hid the ankle-twisting rocks.. the descent of the Cog was textbook pain in the a$$… solid ice underneath new snow that was balling up later in the afternoon… by Jacobs Ladder there is still solid ice underneath, but since the snowpack has melted considerably, a fall here will not result in a trip over the edge into the Ravine, but you’ll likely come to rest against the rocks that line the edge.. be safe!

Parking

Parked at Cog hiker lot

Water Crossings

No issues

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

Base Station Road, cog rail, Gulfside Trail, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop Trail, Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

All sorts of conditions out there. I parked at Ammo and walked up the road to the cog. I bare booted to the bottom of Jacob’s Ladder. Spikes would have been reasonable once above Waumbek station as the snow is consistent from there. I wore crampons past Jacob’s Ladder. While it would have been doable with spikes, it was a bit icy, and I felt more secure with crampons on the short no fall section. At the top of Jacob’s Ladder, the snow and ice all but disappear, and I bare booted to the summit of Washington and then down to Lakes. Spikes on for the rest of the hike from there. There’s still a good bit of snow on the north facing slope of Monroe, but it’s soft enough that spikes work instead of crampons. Ammo Ravine is a mess. The upper portion is postholed to s**t, but it’s also too bumpy and too rocky to use snowshoes on. It’s mostly supportive if you stay on the straight and narrow but won’t be for long. The steep portion above Gem Pool is getting pretty icy. I was OK in spikes here but think crampons will make sense this week as it cools. Below Gem Pool, it’s an increasingly receding monorail, always stable though. You probably want to bring all the traction things on Ammo for the next few days until the warm up gets going. Great day on Washy. Felt more like June in the Cascades than April in the Whites.

Parking

No issues

Water Crossings

All are open. Currently easy to cross.

Wildlife

None yet