Highpoint #25: New Hampshire

At the Highest Point in New Hampshire!

Finishing the highpoint in Vermont just after sunset gave me precious little time to drive into New Hampshire and catch some sleep.  I managed only a few winks too, before the sun started to peak out from the sky early the next morning.  Well, there was no time to waste given my packed weekend, so I was up and at it. 

My Poison of Choice for the Day

My route of choice was the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail.  It is on the west side of Mt. Washington with the trailhead conveniently located just down the road from the Cog Railway Station.  Yes, one can simply take a train to the top of the mountain, or even drive up along the auto road on the east side, but there is nothing sporting about that.  I wanted in on one of the best hikes in America instead.  Now, supposedly you can just start hiking from the secondary hiker lot just before the railway station, but I failed to see where the uphill path connected to the ravine trail.  I decided to just park down the road, instead, at the main trailhead and hike up from there. 

Sign at the Start of the Hike

Official Start

The route is 4.5 miles to the summit, passing the Lake of the Clouds hut along the way after 3.1 miles, prior to joining up with the Appalachian Trail for the remainder of the distance.  In total, there is 3800 feet of elevation gain along this route.  I was in for a treat. 

In truth, other than those statistics, I really wasn’t sure how the route would play out.  The trail is a “summer” route, but it really wasn’t quite summer yet.  I was worried that there might be a lot of snowmelt causing the river to be high.  I also wasn’t sure what the conditions were like on the upper mountain.  Would I need crampons?  Would the weather at the summit be unbearably windy and cold, as it notoriously can be?  I tried to bring a mix of gear, just in case any of these conditions would present themselves.  I brought rugged soft-shell pants for the scrambling, super gaiters in case the water level was high, a rain suit should the weather change for the worse, and I even packed a compressed down parka in case I encountered freezing temperatures at the top.  Sounds crazy, but those were exactly the conditions the weekend before. 

The hiking started off quite gently.  It was almost flat really, following the Ammonoosuc river from one side or the other.  

First Encounter with the Ammonoosuc!

More Ammonoosuc, with Rustic Bridge

Eventually, I made my way up to a pool of water at the foot of a large waterfall. 

Gem Pool

This is where the hike got decidedly interesting.  For the next couple of miles, it would be nothing but steep scrambling, climbing alongside this waterfall and higher waterfalls leading all the way up to the Lake of the Clouds Hut. 

The Steep Scrambling Begins!

Great Waterfall Action

A Completely Unnecessary Ladder!

The nice thing about a steep route, is that you gain elevation quite quickly and the view really starts to open up, rewarding you for all of the hard work.

First of Many Great Views!

Plenty of Waterfalls on this Route!

Continuing along, I soon found myself in the alpine zone.  There was a sign marking the boundary, admonishing hikers to try to stay on the rocks as much as possible as any plant life is sensitive and vulnerable. 

Alpine Zone!

If only it were simple as that!  No, as soon as I entered the alpine zone, the trail conditions took a turn for the worse.  Now I was encountering ice floes.  The character of the ice was pretty tough too, which explains why they had yet to melt by the beginning of June.  They were not everywhere, but they were present enough that they became a consideration on how to proceed. 

First of Several Ice Floes

I opted to not bring crampons, so I had to be a tad more careful in these parts.  In all, they were pretty negotiable except for one place where it was quite dangerous.  Indeed, in one section there was a very large slab of ice where one had to cross the water just past the head of a giant waterfall.  I was left with the awkward choice of climbing onto and over this slab of ice and being very careful not to slip, lest I continue all the way down the waterfall and into the ravine.  I spent a good 15 minutes deliberating what to do in that section, before finally sequencing a set of moves that put me safely on the other side.  Yikes!  Definitely bring crampons, if you are trying this early season – just in case!

Another issue with the ice and occasional snow, was route finding.  Somehow I managed to lose the trail up high.  I found myself making a beeline for the Lake of the Clouds Hut working my way up a boulder field.  It definitely felt wrong, but I wasn’t exactly lost with the hut in plain view, so I just kept going.  I pulled myself up and over the ridge, and popped into the hut to see what was going on. 

First Glimpse of Lake of the Clouds Hut, Completely Off Trail

Sadly, no one had any time to talk to me.  It was the first day of the season for them, and the staff was working furiously to get the hut clean and in good working order.  As such, I really didn’t stay long, but I managed to fill up the water bladder in my daypack, so all was good. 

Detail of Sign at Entrance to the Hut

View from Above the Hut

Surprisingly, I was still a good 1.4 miles from the summit.  It looked so close, but there was still quite a bit of meandering left, moving from one rock cairn to the next.  I was now following the Appalachian Trail at this point, so it was quite a bit easier.  I enjoyed the gentler, if not exactly easier, hiking and took in the great panoramic views.  It was still early morning, so there was hardly anyone out here, though I did spot 2 hikers ahead of me that must have come up along one of the other routes. 

Another View of the Hut

The "Lake of the Clouds"

At one point, there was a sign telling me to “stop” and to be careful about proceeding, as some of the worst weather in the world has been seen at the summit.  No joke!  Winds have gusted all the way to 231 mph at the summit.  That’s not a typo.  The conditions can be dangerously unpredictable, changing drastically in mere hours.  Hence, the reason I brought all of my extra gear.  Luckily, I wouldn’t need any of it though.  I was in for a great viewing window.

Stop!  In the Name of Love?

Well, it wasn’t long after seeing the antenna at the top come into view, until I found myself at the foot of the stairs for the Tip-Top House, and then the summit itself!  

First View of the Antenna at the Summit

Tip-Top House, Adjacent to the Summit

I arrived at the same time as a small group of hikers who took the Jewell trail.  They obliged to take a photo of me at the summit sign, before returning the favor.  I also managed to get a photo of the summit marker as well as a USGS directional marker located in the rock pile nearby. 

Summit Marker

USGS Directional Marker, Nearby

I managed to work my way over to the famous observation tower.  It was kind of weird being on the other side of the live camera in front of the “X” that is visible on nice days, and completely invisible on the not-so-nice days.  Again, this was a great day, so I had a perfect view all around. 

Note the "X" and the Exceptionally Good Weather

I made my way farther down to a lookout for the peaks that make up the Presidential Traverse as well.  Another day, another challenge. 

Detail of the Presidential Peaks

After taking in all the views, I noticed a considerable influx of tourists that were arriving by car and train.  I decided to head into the gift shop and the adjacent cafeteria to play tourist for a while.  I signed the tourist register, bought a mug, and loaded up a cafeteria tray with plenty of food.  Unfortunately, the food was not very good, but after hiking all morning it worked well enough.  If I arrived by car or train, I would have been sorely disappointed, however. 

The Gatorade was Okay...

I hung out for a bit in the cafeteria, just resting up.  It was a welcome respite after all of my hiking that morning and the night before, not to mention the driving.  Looking at the time though, I was worried about my ability to hike down the mountain in a timely manner, given some of the sketchier spots, and still drive to upstate Maine to check in at the campground where I had a reservation before the cutoff time. 

I decided to take the easy way out and join the tourists on the train ride down instead.  A mere $45, would buy me back a few hours of time, so it made sense.  Plus, I kind of wanted to get the “other” experience, too.  I already did all of the hard work and earned the summit; I might as well rest up a little bit before trying my hand at Mt. Katahdin. 

Tourists Lining Up to Take the Train Down

I lined up at the next boarding call, all the way in the back as a stand-by passenger, and easily found a seat to myself next to one of the open windows.  The ride down was narrated in detail, so it definitely added to the experience.  We had a bit of a hiccup half way down though, so we had to go back up, trip one of the switches and come back down a second time before finally pulling in at the Cog Railway station. 

Detail of the Train at the Base of the Mountain

So, I managed to save a little less time than I was intending, but I still found myself at the bottom fairly quickly, so all was good.  From the station, I just walked down the road to the main trailhead, got in my car, and continued on to my next highpoint:  Maine. 

All in all, this was a great hike on a formidable mountain.  I definitely want to come back and try my hand at it again from the east side.  I also want to do a winter ascent and maybe even a Presidential Traverse one day.  There are so many possibilities here, making the experience that much richer.  What a great highpoint to mark my halfway point!  Yep, 25 states down!  Yay!

Parting View from the Top!