Ah the Presidential Traverse. Oh my!!! So we woke up at 3 am with only 3 hours of sleep. We had parked Dug at the end of the trail the night before so we just had to get to the trailhead. We were starting in Randolph at the Appalachia parking lot and we arrived at 4:10. It was still dark out when we arrived and it was a very full parking lot even then. You could tell there were a lot of overnight campers parked there but they must be out in the huts or in tents.
We did meet one guy in the parking lot, Patrick, who was doing the Presi traverse for the third time in his life. Tony and I got all ready, made sure we had the essentials for such a long day and started off on the trail at 4:30 am. We had the headlamps on and definitely needed them in the beginning. It was funny because it was supposed to be a clear, gorgeous day with maybe 10% chance of precipitation. Right when we began hiking it started to lightly rain. This hike is very dependent on the weather because you are above treeline for 80% of it. If there is any chance of lightning you do not want to be out on that ridge. But we carried on hoping the rain would end once we reached the alpine zone.
I thought that I would be scared hiking on the NH trails in the dark, since even in the day they can be creepy but really it was okay. I wasn’t sure if it was because we had just seen Patrick and a few other people, or because the sun was about to be coming up and I knew I was only in the dark for a short amount of time. Either way though it wasn’t too bad. Except, when you are first guy out on a trail you are the one to break down all the cobwebs and there are a lot! It’s amazing what a spider can get done in an 8 hour period. I of course let Tony lead at this point. I was thinking that hiking this early it would be cold so I started the day in my long pants, but it was soooo muggy and hot; pretty quickly I zipped off the lower part of my pants. And within 40 minutes we didn’t need the headlamps at all.
Patrick caught up to us after a little bit and hiked for about 30 minutes with us. He was trying to get it done in 12 hours but his best time hiking the Presi was 11 hours which made me a little nervous that this guy who has hiked it multiple times was hoping to do it in 12. Tony and I were really wanting to do it in 12 but we knew that was very optimistic. Book time was 15-16 hours and even though we usually crush book time on these longer hikes you are usually closer to it because of the fatigue that sets in.
Anyway, I was enjoying talking to Patrick but he kept a much faster pace and Tony and I both agreed days before that we should not burn ourselves out on the initial climb to Mt. Madison because it was supposed to be really hard. I hadn’t calculated the figures myself but had read/heard it was 4 miles with 3500 feet elevation or something along those lines, which needless to say is a lot of climbing for a couple of miles. After a little while we reached the alpine zone, and right before it they have a very big sign that says, “Warning: Turn back now if there is bad weather. Many people have died in the alpine zone, even in summer.” And we could see there were quite a few ominous clouds rolling in that we prayed didn’t have any lightning. We also knew that Dane, although a little crazy, had hiked the Presi in pouring down rain. So we continued on.
At this point the trail changed dramatically from the typical NH trails we know. It became way more rocky and we mixed in the hiking with some scrambling here and there. It also was very very windy and exposed. You could definitely feel the cooler temperatures which caused Tony and I to put our rain jackets on. We reached the summit of Mt. Madison in 2 hours and 37 minutes. It was way easier and faster than I was thinking which made me so happy! And it was really neat being up there because you could see the whole first half of our hike (all the way to Mt. Washington).
Here’s a little side note on Washington. Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288 ft (1,917 m), famous for dangerously erratic weather. A weather observatory on the summit long held the record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth's surface, 231 mph. Washington is a big tourist attraction because of the wind but also it has the cog railway that you can take to the summit. There is also the Auto road that you can drive up, with very steep drops on the sides. They’ll have races, events (like the minis on top where mini coopers go to the top of Mt. Washington) and the weather observatory station. Tuckerman’s Ravine, what Tony and I hiked up and skied in April is also near the summit. Needless to say, it’s a big deal out here. Tourists want to see, drive, hike to the summit. And although it’s a measly 6200 feet compared to the mountains in the west, you have to remember that the start of the trails is at 1000 feet of elevation or less.
Anyway, so after we got to the summit of Madison we continued on our way. From peak to peak you have to descent at least 300 feet and then climb back up, that’s how they factor in which peaks are a part of the NH 48. So we went from 5367 feet to Madison hut at 4808 feet and then back up to Adams at 5799’. The Madison Springs hut was nice because we could fill up our waters and use the restrooms. It was funny to see kids running around in flip flops and people just waking up to eat breakfast. It would have been really cool to stay in one of the huts.
On our way to the summit of Adams we kept looking up feeling like it was Mt. Mordor. It was the same shape of it and the pitch reminded us of Frodo and Sam-wise. Near the summit a big gust of fog came rolling in. It was cool to be up on this mountain summit and see all this fog coming right at you. But there wasn’t really any rain with it and after 30 minutes it went on it’s way leaving us with clear, beautiful views the rest of the day. We reached the summit of Adams at 3 hours and 55 minutes. Time was going by pretty fast for us.
On the way to Jefferson we realized we were on a busy trail. We passed a lot of thru-hikers, people backpacking for a couple of nights and then of course some day hikers. It was annoying at times because if you wanted to go to the bathroom you had no privacy. We didn’t have any trees to hide behind and there was a steady enough flow of people that someone might walk up on you. But the huts were close enough that for the most part we were okay. I guess I should say I was okay becauseTony could relieve himself on the trail very quickly and discreetly.
There was one group of four guys that went past us and the last fella had on some Nike tennis shoes. I pointed them out to Tony as he went by and within two minutes we watched him roll his ankle, which was exactly what was on our mind. These guys had very little packs and were trying to move swiftly but we caught back up to them right before the climb to the summit. Tony and the other three guys were hiking at a much faster pace for the last 10 minutes of Jefferson so me and Nike dude went slower. You could definitely tell he was struggling and he mentioned that he didn’t hike much. They were all students at Harvard and came up to do the Presi Traverse and he didn’t really know what he was getting himself into. I felt bad for the guy because I could tell he was getting very frustrated that he was so much slower than the other dudes and he looked a little worried about the day he had ahead of him. We all had some food together at the summit of Jefferson, which we reached in 5 hours and 20 minutes. It was extremely windy at the summit and for the most part the rest of the hike to Washington was continuous wind, but still clear skies. At one point I took a step and wasn’t completely sure-footed and a gust came through that blew me off balance. It was cool!
From Jefferson we would be dropping to 4959’ and then climbing back up to 6288’. This stretch was where I really started to lose faith in accomplishing our goal. The lack of sleep was setting in, the fact that we had already been hiking for 5 ½ hours and we weren’t even halfway done, and my feet were super hot inside my boots; I was scared I was getting blisters. I think I also knew that Mt. Washington would be the best bail out point and if we continued past that we were committed to do the rest of it. (There were many more bail out points after Washington but at that point we would just be so close to being done it wouldn’t be worth cutting out early).
The last 30 minutes to Mt. Washington were brutal. We did see one bigger guy that looked like he had taken the cog railway to the summit and then just went hiking around from there. Well as he was trudging back to the building on Washington he got so tired he just sat down right in the middle of the trail. I felt his pain and considered joining him. But the cog train just went past us and all the lazy people inside inspired me to keep going.
We reached the summit of Washington in 7 hours and 4 minutes. It was a madhouse at the summit with families running around taking pictures, cars coming and going and the train as well. You could tell the difference between those that had been hiking and those that used machines to get to the top. There was a sign that marked the summit but it had a line with 25 people in it waiting their turn to take a picture. Tony and I contemplated standing in line but knew we shouldn’t waste the time so we opted for a different sign. We stopped for a bathroom break, ate some delicious raviolis out of the can, oh so yummy, and cheese, a new addition to our hiking menu. We changed our socks and man was it a fight to put those boots back on. We ended up spending too long at the summit, about 40 minutes but it was nice to sit and rest for a bit. Before I could allow myself the option of turning back we continued on our way. I knew the last half was going to be a lot easier and if we weren’t able to complete it then our whole summer would be screwed up.
After Washington I felt much better. My feet and legs still ached but I had a second wind and was ready to rock out the next seven hours! Our next summit would be Monroe but we would first hit the Lakes of the Clouds hut so we could refill our waters and use the restrooms again. Man these huts were so handy and awesome. We bought a freshly baked cookie for a dollar that this hut too.
Monroe, which we reached in 8 hours and 50 minutes was a very short and quick climb from the hut. We took a quick picture and then headed out. At this point it got a little confusing of what summit was actually Eisenhower but once we were actually at the base of the peak we knew we were there. It was a longer climb and I was worried it would take us a long time to get to the summit. Tony and I had started a game earlier in the day of guessing how long it would take us to get to each new summit and I’m usually bad at guessing the time, thankfully it was true for Eisenhower. I was very excited also because the entire climb up to the peak I didn’t stop once!!
Let me explain a few differences in the types of “stops” you take on a hike. There is an actual “rest” that involves taking a seat somewhere. Then there is a “break” which is sitting and usually eating food. But I always take a “breather” which is when I’m hiking up some steep stuff and just stop for a few seconds to catch my breath, let my legs stop working and orient myself again. I am very bad at taking breathers not only throughout a climb but especially right before the finish line. Tony is the opposite, he likes to just power through as fast as he can and then take longer “breaks” at the summit. The rule of thumb is: “hike your own hike.” But anyway, I didn’t take any breathers on the way to Eisenhower so that was cool.
There was a big group of kids at the summit so we had one chick take our picture by the cairn and man was she full of energy. She kept snapping photos of us and talking excitedly, we were not so energized but thankful for the variety of photos. After reaching Eisenhower in 9 hours and 55 minutes we had 6 peaks down and two to go!! So close.
From Eisenhower to Pierce Tony and I both started to get really exhausted. It hit us bad right before the last climb to Pierce because we came to a junction. We could either keep going another 5.2 miles to finish our goal or take the Crawford Path down to the car which was 2.7 miles. For some reason 2.7 didn’t sound too bad, but 5.2 sounded horrible at this point. We were pooped and knew it was going to be some work to finish this last bit. We contemplated bagging Pierce and then just coming back one afternoon just for Jackson. Of course we wouldn’t actually allow ourselves this luxury so we continued on and reached the summit of Pierce in 10 hours and 44 minutes.
On the way from Pierce to Jackson there is another hut, Mizpah Spring. It felt like the .8 miles to the hut was really 2 miles because it seemed to take us soooo long. At this point we were both starting to hurt but we just kept having this motto “you can’t be injured until we hit the car”. So we just had to ignore all the aches and pains. After Mizpah we got a little more energy and kept thinking we’re so close to be done! But really we still had another 3-4 hours, which was crazy to us. In comparison to what we had already done that day, it was nothing. Yet after what we had done it was so much.
Well the weirdest thing happened to me on this last stretch. I was walking on some wood planks in the trees (we had left alpine zone at Eisenhower) and there were bugs flying around being annoying; what bugs do. Well one bug flew in my ear, like far into my ear! I panicked and tried to grab at it to come out which this probably scared the bug sending him further into my ear canal. I wanted to calm myself down so I tried to convince myself that the bug had flown out and was not actually in my ear, even though it felt funny. Tony kept talking to me and I realized, like our motto, there is nothing I can do right now I just have to get to the car. Well five minutes later in the midst of conversation the bug crawled out of my ear and flew away. It was the grossest, weirdest, yuckiest feeling ever! I was so creeped out and worried that it had laid eggs or something. UGH! For the rest of the hike and even into the next day it just felt like something was still in there, not cool at all. And after so much exhaustion and the type of day we had you couldn’t help but be a little delirious and when something that weird happens it just makes you even more out of it.
We reached the summit of Jackson in 12 hours and 3 minutes. Oh my goodness! We had a fairly steep descent of 2.5 miles to the car but we kept a fairly quick pace because we were just so excited to be done. At one point we ran into this couple and they were in complete awe that we had hiked it all in one day. They kept saying, “you guys are incredible” which was nice to hear because we were starting to think we were just nuts. As always, the last 1.5 miles seems like it’s really 5 miles but we eventually emerged out of the trees and came upon the best site ever, an automobile. We had hiked 21.7 miles on rough, rocky terrain and a lot of elevation gain. We had done it all in 13 hours and 43 minutes so we finished at 6:15 pm. We hoped in our car and drove straight to the river to soak our weary bones.
Presi Traverse was the hardest thing I had ever physically done before, but every moment was worth it! It was really fun to go into work a few days later and talk to Dave, a coworker about his Presi traverse adventure. He was with a group of 6 people and they had given them 3 days to do the hike, staying at the huts. Well by day two he could tell that his group was not going to be able to complete the hike and they had to bail out at Mt. Washington. They lost the $700 they had used to reserve the hut for the second night and missed out on some peaks. But when you are in those mountains you have to play it smart and know when to turn back. It was just a good plan on his part but man was he mad when he heard I’d don the entire thing in one day!
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