Pierce & Eisenhower 4/19/08

On a day like today, I couldn't help but go to the Presidentials. I had never been hiking in th Presi's before so this was a treat for me. I decided to do Pierce and if my legs were up to it, Eisenhower. Being there are still a lot of snow on the ground, I decided to start at the Mt. Clinton Rd parking area and take the Crawford path up to Pierce and then decide from there what to do. I could either go to the hut if I was feeling tired or I could head over to Eisenhower and then come back the same way.

Soon after getting on the trail at 9:25, I crossed the bridge over Gibbs brook. The snow was clear from the bridge, but there was a lot of water running beneath it. The last two weeks have been either very nice or rainy which has reduced the snow-pack considerably. Walking was tough going, but manageable as long as you stayed on the packed part of the trail. Wander off to one side or the other of the packed trail and you were up to your waist in the snow.

I carried snowshoes and crampons today but would not use either. Stabilicers would have been nice, but I have still yet to buy myself a pair. The walk up to the Mizpah cutoff was fine and there was not a whole lot of postholes which made things nice. It was apparent however that a lot of moose had used this trail this winter. The section of the Crawford path for about 1/2 mile before it meets the Webster Cliff Trail is a lot softer and there are a lot more postholes. Soon enough though, I was at the summit of Mount Pierce, my 9th 4000' peak. Now I had made my decision. I was going to head over to Eisenhower. On a day like today, I would regret not going to another Summit.

Looking over to Mt. Eisenhower was a treat. You could see a good deal of the Presidential Range with Mt. Washington in full view. I had met a group on top of Pierce and they took off ahead of me to Eisenhower. Soon after I followed and one of the people was wearing what appeared to be an older version of "yak tracks." They had both fallen off in a posthole and I picked them up and they rested at the col where I took the picture below and gave them their footwear back. I would follow them for the rest of the day. They were really nice people from all over New Hampshire.

I was surprised how daunting Eisenhower looked as it is a very distinctly round mountain. Soon enough however, we hit a quick ledgy scramble where it was evident some trail crews had spent some time making some stone steps. Quickly enough we were at the summit of Eisenhower which makes 4000' #10 for me. Below is a picture taken on the Summit with Washington behind me.

We headed down as it was getting late and I took a picture west of the Franconia Ridge. It's way out there and it blends in with the sky a little, but I still like the picture.

The rest of the trip down went well enough. There was a lot of postholing over to Pierce and the way back down was pretty much the same as the way up. The first 1/2 mile on the way down after passing Pierce was full of postholes, but the rest was fairly stable. I hit my car at about 4:45 and was on my way home. Another beautiful day in the White Mountains is in the books.

Major 4/11/2008

Today I am hiking solo again. My hiking parter will be back in a few weeks as she only has 3 weeks of grad school left. Congratulations Shelby, You're almost there.

The forecast calls for light rain in spots and it's a warm day so I figured a little rain wouldn't hurt. I also wanted to get a copy of the map of the Belknap Range. The library in Gilford, NH has a copy of it that they will print out and sell to you. They also have other maps available like the Southern Slopes of the Ossippee Range. They sell for $3.00 a piece. Not a bad deal considering how much work went into mapping these areas.

After driving to the Gilford Public Library and speaking with the librarian, buying a few copies of the maps, I decided to head off and hike Mount Major. It's a great mountain with views of Lake Winnipesaukee and Alton Bay. I brought snowshoes and crampons today, but I figured I would leave them in the car.

I began hiking up the Beaver Pond Trail, and after about .4 miles, I came upon this sign. I was 1/4 of the way there already as I would be taking the Boulder Loop trail the rest of the way up. Not too bad. Up to this point, the snow was a little slushy and grainy, and it was a little tough to walk in. Soon after crossing this sign however, the trail had some dry spots and wet spots and the snow became sparce. It feels nice to be hiking on some dry ground for a change. It's been a long winter.

About .1 miles after the sign, the trail started to get very wet and for the next half mile or so, the trail was a stream. The melt-water from all over the mountain managed to find it's way to the trail. I could still walk the trail using the rocks to stp on, but the going was slow. Once through the wet area though, I was able to take in the surrounding boulder field that was left here by the glaciers years ago.

There were hundreds of boulders, some in precarious positions and if it were a nicer day I probably would have explored a little. It was at this point where I began to realize how well marked the trail was. At some points, you could see 4 or even 5 blazes ahead. I'm sure this helps in the winter when the snow is high, but if anything I would say this area is over-blazed as in some spots, the blazes are only 20 feet apart.

After the boulder fields, you come out to what is a false summit. The views are great, but are a little obstructed by trees. You can see Alton Bay really well from this vantage point. There is a sign that says the summit is only 4 tenths of a mile away. The traverse to the summit from here is mostly over open ledges and there is not much elevation gain left.

Soon enough you get your first glimpse of the real summit of Mount Major. At last, I am almost there. Even though this is a short hike, reaching the top is always a sigh of relief. After another minute or two, I made it to the summit and noticed an old foundation. Turns out this is the site of the Mount Major Hut. The Hut had it's roof blown off in 1928.

I took a quick look around the hut's foundation and I sat on a rock and ate my lunch while taking in the views. I took a few pictures of the Lake and Alton Bay and decided it was time to head down the Mountain. The pictures are shown below.

It was starting to rain a little harder and I figured getting back into the trees would protect me a little. I took the Main trail down the mountain and it was quite steep at the top. Leaving the top, I could see the parking lot off route 11. I had quite a ways to go, but the trip down was extremely quick.

Before I knew it, I was back to my car and on my way home. The whole trip took 2 hours and 20 minutes which includes about 15 minutes spent at the summit enjoying the view and a turkey sandwitch. This is a great hike with great rewards. I would say there is probably more reward per mile hiked on this hike than just about any other.

Lake Winnipesaukee as seen from the Summit of Mount Major.

Alton Bay as seen from the Summit of Mount Major.