Older Hiker Climbing Mt. Washington

[greenpete]

I plan to hike from Crawford Notch to Pinkham Notch in the White Mtns. in a few weeks. I'd wanted to do it back in early June, but was too tired after three days hiking from Franconia to Crawford. Those endless boulders between Franconia and Zealand Falls just wore me out. So now I'm returning. I'm a little concerned about the 5-mile climb from the Saco River to Mt. Washington. Are there lots of boulders? Are there other "older" hikers like me (age 58) who are reading this that have hiked this stretch?

[Shutterbug]

I climbed Mt. Washington when I was 65, but used the Tuckerman's Trail. Yes there were a lot of boulders, but you can do it. From this side, 58 doesn't sound "older."

[peakbagger]

Definitely not older. The worst part of your hike is the first couple of hours climbing out of Crawford Notch. The south end of Webster Cliff trail is steep, not particularly bouldery but steep. If you stick to the AT rather than going over the summits you can skip some boulders. At 56 last summer I did a day hike from Appalachia,( the trailhead to get to Madison Hut), over Madison Adams Jefferson Washington, Monroe Eisenhower and Pierce and then back to down to Crawford Notch. It all depends on your condition.

[illabelle]

I plan to hike from Crawford Notch to Pinkham Notch in the White Mtns. in a few weeks. I'd wanted to do it back in early June, but was too tired after three days hiking from Franconia to Crawford. Those endless boulders between Franconia and Zealand Falls just wore me out. So now I'm returning. I'm a little concerned about the 5-mile climb from the Saco River to Mt. Washington. Are there lots of boulders? Are there other "older" hikers like me (age 58) who are reading this that have hiked this stretch?

We were just up there a few weeks ago, and already the details are fading. So I'm a little confused. I remember the Saco River is at Crawford Notch. But the distance from Crawford to Mt W is 12.5 miles if you're on the AT, 13.5 miles coming from Pinkham. Not sure where your 5-mile stretch is.

Anyway, we did this southbound and would recommend it if that's an option for you. The hike up to Madison Hut from Pinkham was long and hard (like everything up there) but doable. We had to skip the AT between Madison and Washington because of 85-mph winds. Went down a side trail, got a shuttle, came back up a very steep side trail. The AT from Washington to Mizpah was mostly just ridge until the trail down to Mizpah, which got quite steep in places. The hike down from Mizpah to Crawford seemed rougher and steeper than most areas we had done. We felt bad for the people climbing up. My knees still hurt.

Take your time, and go at whatever pace you can manage. You've already done half the Whites, so you know what you're getting into.

[T.S.Kobzol]

the shortest way is from cog railway. Not from Pinkham notch. It's a steep hike but once you get to Lakes of the Clouds, take a break and then go towards Mt.Washington in good weather it's a pleasant hike.

[Slo-go'en]

They don't call Mt Washington "the rock pile" for no good reason. I think it's about 6 miles to Washington from Mitzpa hut, nearly 13 miles to Crawford Notch. And yea, it will be hard.

[greenpete]

When I said "5 miles" I may have been thinking of the distance from Saco River/Crawford Notch to Naumann tentsite, near Mitzpah (where I plan to spend the first night). Sorry. Anyway, it sounds like a rough hike no matter how you look at it. Wow, 85-mph winds? But... I'm in slightly better shape than a few months ago, and I'm a very young 58, so I'm confident I can do it. Just need to bite the bullet. Thanks, all!

[illabelle]

When I said "5 miles" I may have been thinking of the distance from Saco River/Crawford Notch to Naumann tentsite, near Mitzpah (where I plan to spend the first night). Sorry. Anyway, it sounds like a rough hike no matter how you look at it. Wow, 85-mph winds? But... I'm in slightly better shape than a few months ago, and I'm a very young 58, so I'm confident I can do it. Just need to bite the bullet. Thanks, all!

We were above treeline on the Osgood Trail a couple miles from Madison Hut and met a guy who had come from Washington that day. He wasn't a little guy. He said the wind "pinned him to the ground" three times! We heard of others who had been blown off their feet. I don't know the wind speed where we were, but I can tell you we were placing our trekking poles at about a 45° angle to brace ourselves. We met two girls who went partway up and turned back. To escape the worst of the wind, we opted to take the Parapet Trail instead of going over the top of Madison. That was a mistake, I think. The wind danger was less maybe, but it was still very strong, and the Parapet Trail was awful, not really a trail at all. A few cairns mark the way, but much of it has no treadway. At the hut, the weather report for the following day was still very high winds, and they strongly urged us not to attempt the hike to Washington. Kinda crazy!

[peakbagger]

Its pretty simple to not get surprised by the weather. Each hut has a daily higher summits forecast and the crew has to be able to advise hut guests moving onto the next hut on the advisability. They will gladly share the information and advice with any hiker. The decision to proceed is ultimately yours but know that you could have very bad day if you ignore their advice. There are days when they don't advise travel, if that's is the advice listen to them. On the stretch from Mitzpah to Lake of the Crowds, if you take the AT route (it becomes the Crawford Path north of Mt Pierce, you skip the two windiest sections of the ridge by skipping Eisenhower and Monroe but there are still two long stretches where you are still the highest object on the ridge. From LOC to the summit of Mt Washington you are on the windward side of the mountain for much of the approach. You are somewhat below the ridgeline but you are still getting hit with the wind.

[Hangfire]

Crawford to Mizpah is a pretty tough climb, but from there to the summit of Washington isn't so bad. What really caught me off guard was getting from Washington to Madison...I thought I left those rocks behind in PA:-)

[peakbagger]

Plenty of rocks on this stretch but unlike PA, they weren't specially modified to move whenever anyone steps on them. ;)

It is different type of hiking especially between Washington and Madison. Its pretty much a rock hop for about 2/3rds of the way. The "lawn" near Mt Franklin and the Mt Jefferson Lawn stretch is nice but way too short.

By the way, the google earth resolution in this area is excellent. Its easy to zoom up and follow the trail. Its obvious where the rocky spots are where the "lawns" are by the coloration. The lawns are distinctly brown (must have been taken in late summer). The 3D effects are pretty good also but you do have to zoom in and out a bit to find the best scale to see it.