View Full Version : Presidentials (NH) over July 4th
Hello-I am new here, so I apologize in advance if this is in the wrong forum.
I have done a few section hikes in NY and CT over the last few years with my girlfriend. We are both in very good shape (she has run a marathon recently).
Anyway, I began into looking at hiking the Presidentials for 5 days over July 4th weekend and pretty much planned the route at 10 miles per day-beginning at Crawford Notch/Rt. 302 and ending near Gorham. Unfortunately, Lake of the Clouds Hut and Madison Springs Hut are already booked for the dates needed.
Just a few quick questions-is there a waitlist for these places and are the shelters/campsites down the mountain a viable alternative? The last thing I want to do is add unecessary mileage.
Thanks for you help. :)
partly cloudy
03-27-2006, 21:47
The presies on the 4th, Good Luck. They don't call it "The Lakes of the CROUDS" for nothing. Best site for the Whites is http://hikethewhites.com/ Dave has been all over the Whites and his advice is fantastic and on the mark. Are you staying at the great Crawford Notch Hotel?? Uglyest building I ever saw. The old hostel was more rustic and was part of the scenery.
There are tent platforms at Mizpah Springs and Osgood and the Perch. From Mizpah to the Perch is possible. If you stay at the Perch, just a short downhill to Gorham. Osgood is on the way to Pinkham Notch. You can camp anywhere below the treeline, and you'll know where that is. Remember to have an escape route in case the weather turns bad. And the middle of the summer it can turn bad.
I am band from the high huts, you may see my pic with a red line thru it. I keep the whole room awake because of the snore.
Bring a hammock and tie it between two stiles. :cool:
Lone Wolf
03-27-2006, 22:38
The Whites are overrated. Go north into Maine.
According to my maps, the Whites are between Hanover and Maine and therefore must be hiked.
Thats the one stretch on the entire AT where you need to plan where you start your day.
If you aren't going to stay at Lakes of the Clouds, you would most likely want to spend the prior night at Nauman Tent site. The tent sites are some of the best in the Whites, and if you want to get a flavor of a Hut, Mizpah is a stone's throw away-- go over for candy, toilet, library or just to sit. They won't serve you meals or give you a bed, but everything else is fair game.
The next day you would stop at Lakes of the Clouds to check it out, then continue on over Mount Washington to one of the RMC shelters/sites on the other side. It would be a long day, but no marathon.
While you would drop some elevation, most of the trails to these sites are above treeline, so even going down a bit is all good.
You would want to arrive at the Perch with a bit of reserve energy, as it could be full. If so, you would have to wing it by going on to one of the other RMC sites, or get creative. Not the best area to find a tent site.
The next day you would have to slow down a bit to make sure you don't end up at Pinkham Notch (no camping in that area) unless you want to hitch into Gorham then.
The AMC web www.outdoors.org you surely know about, but www.viewsfromthetop.com is the place to go to get the very best info on this area. They experts there could provide more info than you could imagine.
Rick B
You can camp anywhere below the treeline, and you'll know where that is.
Just a follow up comment on this. While you can camp most anywhere below treeline if you are 1/4mile away from a Hut or other man-made facility, its not so easy in practice to do so.
If you were to just follow a map and head for treeline, you might well find that you'd have to drop oodles of elevation befor finding a tent site which you'd find acceptable. I believe in being flexible, but this is a hard place to be so.
Wolf refuses to tell us where his site near Lakes of the Clouds is. :D
The huts are usually full on weekends. Best to plan to stay during the week. Sorry to put a damper on your plans, but if you want to hike over the long weekend, then I suggest that hike something other than the Presidential traverse.
Hi all-thanks for the advice. partly cloudy's advice was very helpful. While we would have to cut down the overall trip (which may be a good idea anyway), I think the plan is arrive at Crawford Notch Sat AM and start hiking there to Nauman tent site Sat night; the Perch Sun night and Osgood Monday night.
Does anyone know if you can leave cars at Pickham?
You can even get an AMC Shuttle to Crawford from there. Not sure if you need to buy a WMNF parking pass for that lot-- I am thinking that it may be an exception.
Be sure to check out Bad Washburn photo exhibit at the Crawford Notch Highland Center, its spectacular. :sun
Do you know how long of a hike on the road it is from Crawford to the trailhead on Rt. 302? Inexplicably, the shuttle does not go to the trailhead in the AM from Pickham.
Old Hillwalker
03-28-2006, 15:28
There is free parking right along side 302, or at the USFS Pay site about 100 meters up the Mount Clinton Road. Either way, the Crawford Path trailhead is right there. Plan on about 45 minutes to a little over an hour from there to Nauman Tentsite and Mizpah Hut. I worked at Mizpah Hut one summer doing construction work and commuted the trail every day.
Is it possible to access the AT trailhead from those parking areas?
The AT is too far from the AMC facility in Crawford Notch to walk. Best to yogi a ride or hitch.
The Crawford Path is a blue-blaze that will get you to Nauman right from the AMC center if you are allergic to hitching, but is the oldest hiking Trail in the US and looks it.
Hitching to the AT is worth the effort, IMHO. Even if it weren't the AT.
O
Thanks for the advice....looks like I may have to find a shuttle. I am not too comfortable with hitching a ride.