Hiking Times in the Presidentials

[Thorfinn]

A friend and I want to do the northern Presidentials in late June. We plan to go from Crawford Notch to Mizpah Spring hut; then Mizpah to Madison Spring hut. Finally down to Pinkham Notch but maybe on the Carter Notch hut if we feel well. The AMC people say it is too ambitious to go from Mizpah to Madison in one day. They say that 11.8 miles normally takes 14-16 hours. That would require a stop at Lakes of the Clouds hut that is almost always full. From the couple of people I have talked to, and the pictures I have seen, I can't see it taking that long. We will be carrying light packs. I would appreciate you advice on the time we should allow.

Sincere thanks

[DavidNH]

All of those huts (Mizpah, Lakes, and Madison) are almost always full. And Yes.. going from Mizpah all the way to Madison hut is overly ambitious. Almost ridiculously long. You would have to either miss breakfast at mizpah hut (cause you started too early) or miss dinner at Madison (because you arrived too late).

In late June the weather can be variable. you could have rain, sleet, snow, high winds, low wind chills (Mt Washington can have wind chills in teens even in July), or it can be warm and sunny. The terrain is not easy.. even if you don't hit all the summits. it's very rocky. and what hiker can resist hitting the summit of Mt Washington and spending some time up there?

If you haven't made reservations at the huts you plan to stay at yet, make them right now. It could possibly even bee too late as it's already late May and you are planning this hike for late June.

THE AMC does do a presidential traverse which his the whole range in one day but that is for the truly mad in my view. Going from something like before sunrise to well after sunset. So it is possible but in my book not fun.

For most hikers it's a full day Mizpah to Lakes and a full day lakes to Madison and a full day from Madison to Pinkham. I seriously recommend you scale back your plans. one possiblity is hike to Mizpah, then to lakes, then down to Pinkham. or up to summit of washington and then down to pinkham.

[mikec]

I did a guided hike last year from Mt Washington to Lakes to Mitzpah to Crawford. The terrain is very rough and you have a long up from Crawford to Mitzpah and an extreme up between Mitzpah and Mount Pierce. If you are just starting a section hike from Crawford, unless you are in excellent hiking shape, I would go Crawford->Mitzpah->Lakes->Madison->Pinkham. Oh, and the up from Pinkham to Carter is one of the toughest ups on the AT.

[Tom Murphy]

Like David said, I can't see you getting from mitzpah to madison and making both breakfast and supper. These are communal meals and the hut breakfast is kind of late. But you could definately leave mitzpah before breakfast and make supper at madison OR have breakfast at mitzpah and miss supper at madison.

Avoiding a long delay at the summit is key. Grab a slice of pizza & a whoopie pie, camel up, and get the heck out of dodge.

I also think the traverse is a lot easier going north to south.

[JustBob]

You can walk from Lakes to the Highland Center in a day. The inverse is possible if you get an early start, but it just gets harder as you go.

A nice two-night hut trip is to spot a car at the Highland Center (or not, and rely on the AMC shuttle), the hike Valley Way (or another more scenic trail like Osgood or Caps Ridge) to Madison. Next day, Madison to Lakes, detouring to the Mt Washington summit to look at the tourists. Overnight at Lakes, then hump out.

Lakes and Madison are fantastic places to be at sunset and sunrise. If the weather is bad, all bets are off. I saw snow on the Prezies when I was in Whiteface yesterday.

[Thorfinn]

Thank you all. Your experience will make us examine our plans in the light of reality. We are never as young as we used to be.

[peakbagger]

I do a similar trip every couple of years, the AMC time is probably right for someone with backpacks. I agree North to South feels easier. There is a legal but not very desirable camping area on the Jewell trail about 1 mile down off the ridge (not a good place if the weather is nasty). I do a presi "lite" on occasion which skips the actual summits. Adding in the summits instead of sticking to Gulfside and crawford paths (the AT) which skips all the summits except for Washington can save you a couple of hours and significant elevation. Mt Washington inevitably eats up 45 minutes to an hour due to the crowds and the snack bar, heck sometimes it takes 1/2 hour to fill a water bottle. It can be bypassed via the westside trail.

[fredmugs]

I'm a mileage whore and coming down from Mt Washington was a killer and we slacked it. It took us 10 hours to go 13 miles into Pinkham Notch. The hike down into Carter Notch is even tougher. By way of comparison I did the 27 miles from Franconia to Crawford in a day.

[hikerboy57]

I'm a mileage whore and coming down from Mt Washington was a killer and we slacked it. It took us 10 hours to go 13 miles into Pinkham Notch. The hike down into Carter Notch is even tougher. By way of comparison I did the 27 miles from Franconia to Crawford in a day.
that is impressive.franconia to ethan pond is a pretty rugged stretch of trail

[fredmugs]

that is impressive.franconia to ethan pond is a pretty rugged stretch of trail

Thanks! It was the last part that I had to do to complete all my sections so I decided to go out with a bang.

[speedbump]

Mitzpah has a great campsite so you can avoid the hut and its expense. However, from there to Madison is a LONG hike. There will be no where to camp. The hike from Mitzpah to Lake in the Crowds is too short, and can be done is 6 hour or so. But from there to Madison is another 6 hours or so. All of which is difficult terrain. You can do it, but you will miss out on a beautiful hike because you will be rushing. Good luck and have fun.




A friend and I want to do the northern Presidentials in late June. We plan to go from Crawford Notch to Mizpah Spring hut; then Mizpah to Madison Spring hut. Finally down to Pinkham Notch but maybe on the Carter Notch hut if we feel well. The AMC people say it is too ambitious to go from Mizpah to Madison in one day. They say that 11.8 miles normally takes 14-16 hours. That would require a stop at Lakes of the Clouds hut that is almost always full. From the couple of people I have talked to, and the pictures I have seen, I can't see it taking that long. We will be carrying light packs. I would appreciate you advice on the time we should allow.

Sincere thanks

[LIhikers]

There is an alternative. The RMC has a site a little north of Mt. Washington. If my old memory is right it's called the Perch, and is not on the AT. Mizpah to the Perch is doable in a day and then on to Madison, or the Valley Way campground, the following day.

[Slo-go'en]

There is an alternative. The RMC has a site a little north of Mt. Washington. If my old memory is right it's called the Perch, and is not on the AT. Mizpah to the Perch is doable in a day and then on to Madison, or the Valley Way campground, the following day.

The Perch is north of Mt Jefferson by a few miles. It's still gonna be a very long and difficult day to get there from Mizpah, but not nearly as bad as trying to get to Madison. BTW, the tent platforms at Mizpah fill up quickly, so you have to get there early, especially if it's a weekend. Don't be tempted to try and camp anywhere else in the area, as it is frequently patrolled and you will be evicted and possibly fined if you give the ranger a hard time.

[rickb]

Don't be tempted to try and camp anywhere else in the area, as it is frequently patrolled and you will be evicted and possibly fined if you give the ranger a hard time.

Correct me if wrong, but I am thinking that if you are 1/4 mile away from the hut (and that line will be signed) and not above tree line, then you can camp anywhere between Mitzpah and Crawford Notch (1/4 mile from the road there) - if you can find a patch of ground to set up. Not so easy, that. Since its not a wilderness area, I don't event think there are any regs about moving 200feet from the trail-- just LNT-based suggestions.

I stand to be corrected in this specific case, but I do know that hikers often assume there are restrictions in the Whites where none exist.

[kidchill]

I'm not sure I'm remembering correctly, but is Mizpah the hut that's about 5 miles north of Lake of the Clouds? On the AT, SOBO, I went up Madison, around the rim, over Washington and was at Lake of the Clouds quite a while before they served dinner to the guests. I did work for stay there. My friend got there a little earlier then me and they turned him down. If I remember right, that next 5 miles or so to the hut is some of the easiest hiking in the Whites...leading up to there was no joke though! I didn't think Washington was all that bad, but it took FOREVER to climb Madison...I still hate that guy! At that point in my hike I still wasn't in great shape (plus I was coming off of the Gorham plague), so really, if Mizpah is the hut just north of Lake of the Clouds, I think it's doable, but you'd definitely want leave early, push hard, and not fart around at the snack bar though. If I didn't destroy my guide on my hike I could probably be more helpful...sorry

[peakbagger]

Ricks statement is correct as far as if goes. There are Restricted Use Areas near the huts that trump the normal rules and in some cases like the ridge line after Liberty Springs hut, the National forest has posted areas no camping despite not being in a posted RUA. There really aren't a lot of good camping spots anywhere between RT 302 and Mitzpah, although some small wet spots exist.

The reality is you either do it as a day hike, fork out big bucks for reservations at AMC or drop down off the ridge line 1 mile and about 1000 feet in elevation to camp. Edmunds path, Jewell Trail and the RMC huts are all about the same distance down off the ridge. Don't go east off the ridge (Mt Eisenhower trail, Sphynx, Six Husbands) as the terrain is very steep with no camping options.

I run a Presi "lite" every couple of years which is hike up to Madison Hut, then hike to Mt Pierce and take Crawford path down to Crawford Notch (I skip the summit of Washington and take an alternative route) I poke along and do it in around 13 to 14 hours. Others are far faster. I get 95% of the views and cut out about 4K of elevation by sticking to the AT instead of including the summits.