View Full Version : Anything Between Crawford and Mizpah?
Anything between Crawford (302) and Mizpah Hut/Naumann Tentsites? We're getting a late start at trailhead and I doubt we'll make it to Naumann before dark. Webster Cliffs area looks flat but may not be feasible; I don't know. Suggestions?:-?
CrumbSnatcher
07-15-2011, 18:43
camped at crawford notch a time or two. a few hundred feet from the road. nice flat spots by the hiker bridge, then you could get an early start.
CrumbSnatcher
07-15-2011, 18:44
north of the road
have a great hike!
You could probably bivy on/near Webster cliffs, though I couldn't tell you if it's legal or not. Not sure I'd want to do the last stretch leading up there after dark...
Blissful
07-15-2011, 22:28
I'd do it in the AM. Camp nearby the night before or at the Crawford notch Campground bunkhouse. Hefty climb up.
Undershaft
07-16-2011, 11:12
It is illegal to camp on Webster Cliffs, but there are spots where people have camped before. There are also a couple of spots between the cliffs and Mizpah right next to the trail, but IIRC they were small and also illegal. I would camp in the notch and get an early start. There are some difficult sections on the Webster Cliff trail that you would not want to do in the dark.
Slo-go'en
07-16-2011, 13:03
I don't think there any legal spots between Crawford and Mizpah. All the trails in and out of Crawford notch are heavly used and well patrolled. If you camp illegally, there is a very good chance of being found, fined and made to leave. Its almost as bad as Lone Wolf's zero tollerance rules enforcement at The Place.
It's a nice weekend to be up here in the hills. I bet the trails and parking lots are packed solid today. We're getting into peak season now.
The flat spots right on or in sight of the trail are obviously not within the rules. I found a small, nearly flat spot close to but deeper in than one of the on-trail locations. By my pacing it was far enough off-trail, but barely. Just a bit under 3000 feet as I recall, west of the trail. There are other spots like it in the area; problem is they are not visible from the trail and it can take a long time to find them and, as dark is growing, very difficult.
Sometimes (I don't remember if this advice is applicable to this specific area) if you explore a non-rule spot, you'll find faint paths going deeper. These were originally probably latrine paths, or worn by parties too large to fit in the main spot. They often lead to additional openings. Rocky, small, not quite flat maybe, but by-the-rules anyway.
I have gotten very good, over the years, at finding spots. You peer off into the distance off-trail as you walk, looking at the trees to detect areas where the ground seems to level off, accompanied by "brighter" light indicating that sunlight or twilight is getting through. Then you explore. Most of the time nothing. Keep your mind and eye receptive to shallow vegetated areas as well as the traditional worn-down dirt pads. Frequently the authorities have been helpful by scrubbing over the faint paths; makes them stand out like a sore thumb. But all this takes a lot of time when you don't have any.
Another one, this from an old note and I have no real recollection of it: a little less than 1/2 mile further on, at about 3300 feet, off trail to the east. Note says "tiny" and doesn't say how far off trail but I doubt I'd have noted it if it weren't rule-compliant, or very close.
Thanks, folks. That's a big help.