The Presidents

"The Presidents," that's what hikers call the Presidential Range in the White Mountains, the highest peaks above the tree line. Most of the peaks are named after former presidents, the most famous being, of course, Mount Washington. I started hiking up to the Presidents on Tuesday, July 12th from Franconia Notch.

After a long day's hike I arrived at one of the most spectacular peaks, Mount Lafayette, right around sunset. Although Lafayette wasn't a president, New Hampshire residents evidently thought quite highly of him, because it is one of the nicer peaks in the range. It was a beautiful, windless evening and several hikers were camped right near the peak that night, protected by some stone walls should the winds pick up. I talked to them for a while and then headed down to the tree line where I prefer to camp. The next day I hiked over Mount Garfield, and then reached the summit of South Twin Mountain, after a tough climb reminiscent of Kinsman Mountain a few days earlier. The view from South Twin Mountain was quite nice, but I was bitten badly by some voracious insects at the peak, where I stopped for about 15 minutes. After going over Mount Guyot, the trail went down to the very scenic, and refreshing Zealand Falls. I removed my shoes and socks and let my feet enjoy the cool water for a while.

The view from South Twin Mountain, looking left to right: Mount Garfield, Mount Lafayette, Mount Lincoln.

A short time later I came upon the Zealand Falls AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) Hut, which stood directly adjacent to the trail. It looked like a large vacation home, not fitting in with the rugged simplicity of the rest of the trail. I heard an air compressor occasionally turn on while some workers were replacing some siding. This was the second AMC Hut I had come across so far and there would be more scattered throughout the White Mountains.

The AMC predates the Appalachian Trail and started building simple shelters in the early 20th century to protect its members on their high mountain climbs. These huts have morphed into quite fancy (by trail standards) establishments over the years. They have full kitchens, running water, composting bathrooms, large common/dining areas, and multiple bunk rooms. They are staffed during the summer by college students (many are members if the Dartmouth Outing Club). For about $125 a night, guests with reservations receive a bed in a bunk room (they must provide their own sleeping bag) as well as dinner and breakfast. The huts have electricity provided by solar power and wind generators. All food, supplies, and trash are hauled in and out by the staff using huge, antiquated wooden pack frames. There is no road access to any of these shelters, and the staff, acting as sherpas, must make daily trips to a trail head for resupply. These trips can be as long as 3 or 4 miles one way, often over extremely difficult terrain. It is not a summer job for the lazy. I passed a few of these college student sherpas on the trail and they told me they typically carry between 40 and 80 pound loads.

Non-guests are welcome to stop in and get water, buy beverages and snacks, and hang out in the common areas during the day. The huts allow a few non-guests to stay the night in a "work for stay" program. They don't get a bunk, but can sleep in the common area and receive dinner and breakfast in return for helping to serve meals, performing cleanup chores, etc. In dire weather though, the huts won't turn anyone away.

Besides the huts, the AMC also runs tenting campsites along the trail with caretakers and composting toilets. The cost is $10 per night, which some hikers grumble about.

The weather report called for inclement weather for next day, so when I arrived at Crawford Gap I decided to stay at a state-run campground by the Dry River (definitely not dry) which had inexpensive (and clean) laundry and shower facilities (nice). I was glad I stayed there because that night I experienced torrential rain, the heaviest to date. My little tent performed like a champ though. When the weather cleared on Friday I started hiking toward Mount Washington, spending the night near some scenic cliffs on Mount Webster.

Morning view from the trail while heading up toward Mount Washington.

Near Mt. Washington.

The next day started out sunny, and I passed over Mt. Pierce (renamed Mt. Clinton), Mt. Eisenhower, Mt. Franklin and Mt. Monroe (every separate pointy thing has a name) before beginning up Mt. Washington. Unfortunately, clouds were rolling in and I was walking through fog for the rest of the day.

I passed by a very busy Lake of the Clouds AMC Hut, stopping to get some coffee and a brownie. I ran into "Hail," a thru hiker I had met earlier at the Hikers Welcome hostel. His father had joined him for a few days.

AMC hut.

The last 1.5 miles to the summit seemed interminable, and when I arrived at the top I was astounded at how many people were there. Hundreds of hikers and others were milling around, both outside and in the large visitors center / cafeteria / gift shop.

Quite a popular spot for a photo (the summit is identified by the sign on the right).

A local told me it was the busiest day of the year because of a fundraiser called "Seek the Peak" for the weather observatory there. Many drove to the top (including a motorcycle gang with full leather regalia), others took the cog train and hiked down (or vice versa) and other hardy souls were hiking both up and down. A few, like me, were just passing through. I heard lots of French being spoken, so there must have been a Canadian contingent there.

Cog train.

I ate lunch with a couple of friendly locals and then hung out in the backpackers' dungeon in the basement for a little while charging my phone. I chatted with Hail and his dad, as well as with a few section-hiking college students, all good company. I then hit the trail again, still in the fog, crossing over the cog railway and then on to Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Madison. The trail around Mt. Madison was extremely rugged. I then descended down about 3,000 vertical feet, out of the clouds, and found a nice camping spot near a stream. It rained most of the night, but stopped in the morning. I packed up my wet tent and hiked to Pinkham Notch to take a zero day in Gorham, NH. The Whites were now mostly behind me.