Presi Traverse help!

[skiman0o]

Hi all-

Need some advice on a 2 day presidential traverse I'm planning this weekend with a friend of mine. For starters, although neither of us have hiked these peaks, we are both young (25), in good shape, and have solid hiking experience both out west and the northeast. In terms of speed, we move faster than average (book), but nothing warp speed. We recently did the Franconia Ridge loop in 6 hrs flat (including, obviously, a nice 40 min beer break on Lafayette). We are pretty set on a 2 day hike, as we are limited to the weekend, but are OK with the days being long.

Our tentative plan is to do the full hike, from Madison to rt 302. We did not book any huts in time, so are planning/hoping to tent for the 1 night.

A few questions:

Is the full hike too aggressive for a weekend (starting at the crack of dawn Sat may be tough)?
Is our best camping option somewhere down the Sphinx Col? Any other suggestions?
Can we hit all the summits, or will we need to skirt around to make time? Or, are there at least a few we can do?

We'll watch the weather...

Thanks for any and all help!
-Will

[T.S.Kobzol]

You can do it if you start early. There is this thing the hut croo do: hut challenge ... Hit all the huts in a day...for a party at Lonesome Lake...not sure if true but the croo member was saying she did it in 18 hours.



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[jeffmeh]

It's definitely doable, but very challenging, and perhaps nearly impossible (at least dangerous and miserable) if the weather does not cooperate. It can and has been done in a day, but that's an endurance event rather than a hike, lol.

One of the big challenges with a two-day trip is that, if you wish to avoid the huts, there are very few legal (or wise) options that really constitute a good mid point. E.g., legal camping along the Sphinx Trail (this time of year, with no snow cover) will take you down into the Great Gulf Wilderness, where I believe you will need to have a recreation pass. You will lose a bunch of elevation that you will need to make up the next day.

If I were going to do it, I would stay at one of the RMC sites (Crag Camp or Grey Knob) on Saturday (small fee), drop some gear there and summit Madison and Adams with a very light pack. Then I would get up early Sunday (I'm assuming you need to head home late Sunday) and go as far as I could south based upon daylight, conditions, and how I was feeling. I could descend to the west as far north as Amanoosuc Ravine Trail or as far south as the Webster Cliff Trail, with Edmands Path, Crawford Path, and Jackson Brook in between.

If I had the flexibility to head out early Monday morning, I would stop Sunday night at Nauman Tensite (small fee), then either head further south as above or just hike out Crawford Path. But then it would be a 3-day trip. :)

[skiman0o]

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

Jeff, RMC huts sites and would be a great option. Assumed they would be full, though, no? Would we have a decent chance if we showed up late afternoon/early evening? For the hike, we're unfortunately pretty tight with the window of early sat morning-early evening sunday. We can push the pace if we need to though, we'd like not to miss too many peaks.

Weather looks ok, for now...

Thanks!

[Driver8]

There's a good stealth site on the Jewell Trail about 1 mi. from Gulfside Trail, just below treeline. I've done the Jewell, and it's both beautiful and mellow. You could tag Madison thru Jefferson and Clay day 1, camp by Jewell, then the rest, through Pierce, descending Crawford Path to Highland Center. Gorgeous hiking - I've done most of the southern half of the Presi's and really enjoyed it.

[Slo-go'en]

The RMC Perch is your best option. You don't loose much elevation going to it. I talked to the RMC fall caretaker yesterday and he said there was hardly anyone at the camps over Labor day, but you can never tell.

It is illegal, dangerous and morally wrong to camp along the ridge. You can not camp above tree line or where the trees are less the 8 feet tall (bring a ruler). To find a suitable site you have to go almost all the way back down to the valley. The trails on the Great Gulf side are insanely steep. You already did the Franconia ridge, so you know what it's like. You might find the stealth site off the Jewel trail, but I wouldn't count on it.

The forcast for the weekend is looking decent. Going over all the summits would definately slow you down.