July 3, 2008

The big hike
Hippo’s hiking expert gets you up Mount Washington
By Marianne O’Connor news@hippopress.com

It’s New Hampshire’s highest peak and at 6,288 feet it remains one of New England’s toughest challenges. There’s plenty to do at the top of Mount Washington, which is only about two hours from Manchester, including taking in the incredible views if you’re lucky enough to have a clear day — but make sure you prepare for changeable weather. Strong winds, sudden storms and cold temperatures are likely.

At the summit, you can visit the Tip Top House and Sherman Adam’s Summit Building, take a walk to the lovely Alpine Garden or take a short hike to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. There’s a visitors’ center, a cafeteria and a gift shop, and you can even mail a postcard from the post office.

The question is: what is the best way for you to reach the top?

Take a hike!
My first hike to Mt. Washington was planned in a state of anxiety and worry — worry that I couldn’t do it or would never make it all the way. Maybe that’s what’s holding you back. Yes, Mt. Washington is a challenging hike, but if you’re relatively fit, in good health and ambitious, then what are you waiting for?

Reaching the summit on foot is an exhilarating high. You’ll want to do it again and most likely you will. I’ve now made several passes over Mt. Washington, and tend to go back to the tried and true routes of the Jewell Trail and the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail to make the ascent. The AMC offers hiking information on trail routes and can provide a good estimate of how long your trip will take. Expect to be out a full day and begin the hike early. As always on Mt. Washington, prepare for unpredictable and colder weather above the tree line.

Jewell Trail/Gulfside Trail to Washington Summit
This was the first trail route that I took to Mt. Washington, about 10 years ago. Older children, pets and hikers with less experience will have an easier time on this route than any other. It is a highly recommended trail for those making their first attempt at the mountain.

The trail begins at a parking area on Base Road. It is the easiest route to the summit from the west, and grades are moderate with no difficult steep sections. At 3.0 miles the trail reaches tree line and opens up to some great views. The trail reaches the junction of the Gulfside Trail in 3.7 miles; follow the Gulfside Trail to the right. The total distance to Mt. Washington summit via the Jewell Trail/ Gulfside Trail route is 5.1 miles, which will take an estimated four to five hours one way.

Tuckerman Ravine Trail
This is another very popular trail to the summit from the east side. The trail begins at the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) Pinkham Notch Visitors’ Centers on Route 16. Parking is usually at overflow on summer weekends. Views from the ravine are spectacular! Last summer, I took the Lion Head Trail from Tuckerman’s, which is a bit steeper, but the views were great. More incredible on that day was a young teenager hiking up Tuckerman’s with her boyfriend. She carried no backpack or water and wore flip-flop sandals. She did make it to the summit by some miracle. And I snapped her picture for the record books. For obvious reasons, flip-flops are not recommended hiking gear, especially on the rough rocky cone below the summit. I have seen young and old on Washington, and even spotted author Stephen King on the Huntington Ravine Trail one hot July day.

AMC online guide
Information about hiking, outdoors education, guided group tours and so much more can be found on the AMC Web site. Lodging information can be found here as well, with all kinds of Web cam views about each of the AMC huts. There really is nothing like staying a night in one of the AMC high huts. The Lakes of The Clouds Hut is not located on Washington’s summit; it is located on a shelf just below the summit of Mt. Monroe. Reservations for staying overnight are required, and pets are not allowed. Bunk rooms accommodate up to 90 guests, and the hut is a full-service facility maintained by AMC “croo” members. A hot home-cooked meal and breakfast are included in the price of the overnight stay.

A newer feature to the AMC Website is an interactive WMG (White Mountain Guide) that allows users to plan itineraries and estimate times and distances and even offers suggested hikes to users. The feature is affordable at $15 annually, and from this you can obtain GPS information, and even plan a hike using the mapping features and print a personalized map of routes with all information included. Go to www.outdoors.org for more information. The AMC White Mountain Guide 28th edition is also available and can be found at most bookstores.

How’s the weather up there?
The Mount Washington Weather Observatory operates as a meteorological weather research center 365 days a year. This is the place where world-record winds were recorded in 1934. The 231-mph winds that blasted Washington’s summit remain a world record today. The MWO not only conducts severe weather research, but offers educational programs for visitors.

Visitors hungering for even more weather-related science can visit the new Weather Discovery Center in downtown North Conway at 2779 Main St. (Route 16), open daily through the summer from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The center is a hands-on interactive science museum open to family and group visitors. The MWO Web site has more information.

Mount Washington is haunted!
“The Presence.” It is referred to as an embodiment of spirits and a paranormal energy that emanate from this highest of peaks in the Northeast. Could it be the Indian’s Great Spirit of Agiochook or something more terrifying and sinister? Stories and legends of a ghostly presence on Mt. Washington extend from stories of strange occurrences at the weather observatory to haunting tales at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut! One such story involves that of a hut caretaker named Ben Campbell, an AMC crew member who managed Greenleaf Hut in Franconia Notch. It was Campbell’s ambition to one day oversee the managerial duties at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. He joined his family on a vacation in Scotland one summer, and tragically fell to his death while hiking. The grieving family, knowing how much their young son had loved his position in the AMC, brought Campbell’s old hiking boots (pictured) to the Greenleaf Hut as a gesture of their thanks to his friends and fellow “croo” members. But something weird was going on with Campbell’s old boots. Guests at the hut reported that they would hear someone walking around in the night, and remarkably, the restless boots kept showing up in different places! Finally, the boots were brought to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut, where Campbell envisioned he would be in life, and there they remain. They are no longer walking about the hut on their own, though. Campbell’s boots are nailed to the wall of the crew room.

It is no joking matter, however, when considering the strange disappearances and tragic deaths that have occurred here. In Not Without Peril, author Nicholas Howe chronicles some of these more provocative tales of danger and death on the trails of Mt. Washington. Some even believe that the ghostly presence, is indeed an embodiment of the many lost souls. Not Without Peril is a great summer read.The Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail/Crawford Path to Washington Summit

The shortest and one of the most scenic trail routes to Washington’s summit is via the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail to Lakes of the Clouds Hut. Some sections are steep and slippery, like the section above Gem Pool, with steep ledges and rock that can be a bit treacherous in bad weather. The trail leaves from the parking lot at Base Lodge. There are beautiful falls along the way. The trail reaches the AMC Lakes of the Clouds Hut in 3.1 miles, where it joins the upper section of the Crawford Path. The summit is then reached following the Crawford Path for an additional 1.4 miles on the rough, exposed cone of Washington. Total trip to the summit is 4.5 miles and will take between four and five hours of hiking one way. Parking fees at Base Lodge apply to hikers and train passengers..