Summits: Mount Pierce (4,310'), Mount Eisenhower (4,780')
Trail route: Crawford Path
Trail conditions: Hard packed and soft packed trail
Weather: Clear sky and sunshine with cold temps, calm wind, slight wind below the summit and no wind on the summit of Mount Eisenhower
Total miles: 9.5
Total time: 6:34
Watching the weather forecast and waiting until Sunday made all the difference when it came to improved conditions. I would be hiking with Jill, Amy, Jim, Guy, Robin and Kally to Mount Eisenhower with a brief visit to Mount Pierce along the way. While checking the trail conditions online I saw where one hiker had turned back on Saturday and I saw no other reports so I assumed the trail would need to be broke out. It was going to be an interesting day but in a good way!
We all met in the vicinity of the Highland Center at Crawford Notch. My car thermometer was registering an outside temperature of 0°F, colder than I thought it was going to be. It was then that I discovered I had forgotten to bring my windproof/waterproof outer layer. Jim was kind enough to let me borrow his and it was exactly what I needed to keep my body heat from escaping through my fleece.
We hit the trail at 8:00 AM and all of us started out with light traction and carried snowshoes on our packs. I was using the Hillsound Trail crampon pro anticipating loose snow along the way and this traction had a better bite. The trail was hard packed and the traction was working well. It was a nice hike up to the Mizpah Cut-Off junction and we took a short break, the gray jays were waiting for us.
The trail conditions remained unchanged as we continued up the Crawford Path although there was much more snow hanging on the trees. Just before reaching the Webster Cliff Trail junction the broken out trail started going up. I knew that this was not the right way having been up here at least 12 times before. I swapped my crampons for snowshoes then continued up. Sure enough this was a bushwhack heading up to the summit of Mount Pierce where we eventually hit the Webster Cliff Trail. We all went to the summit and then continued our hike over to Mount Eisenhower.
The snowshoes were put on just in time as the trail started to get very soft even though it had been broke out by hikers that were ahead of us. It was easy going and we continued all the way to the summit in snowshoes. Along the way we met some familiar faces, one being Jason that I have met several times along the trails. Another familiar face was Bernie the Bernese Mountain dog with his hiking companions that I have met on a couple of other hikes.
Down in the col between Pierce and Eisenhower there was a slight wind blowing. As we started up the summit cone we met hikers coming down that told us there was no wind on the summit. The full sunshine felt good on this February day and the temperature was quite tolerable. Coming up onto the summit the wind disappeared completely and there was only an occasional wisp of a breeze that was barely noticeable. It was actually a great day for basking on the summit and enjoying the views. Eisenhower is known for having very strong winds blow across the summit year round so today was a very rare day of no wind.
I had taken my snowshoes off and put the crampons back on. There was just a thin coating of snow and ice up there. We could have stayed longer but it was time to head down. We could see many hikers making there way up as we descended. Once down off the cone I put the snowshoes back on before heading across the ridge in the soft snow. We got back to the Webster Cliff Trail junction and once again lost the Crawford Path in deep snow and snowdrifts. We took a direct path to where we thought would put us back on the right trail and eventually it did. It was smooth going after that.
It was a quick trip down to the Mizpah Cut-Off. Once again I swapped the snowshoes for the crampons. Microspikes would have been enough but I like the extra bite of the trail crampons. The trail was well packed down from all of the hikers on it today and it was a pleasant hike back to the trailhead.
I was expecting a good day of hiking but between the weather and trail conditions it was better than expected. I had thought about hiking Owl's Head with Jim today but was not at all sure of what the trail conditions would be like. I did need Eisenhower for February so I am very glad I joined this awesome group today for a phenomenal hike on a spectacular winter day!
Congratulations to Amy for Winter summit #45 and to Kally for reaching halfway on her quest of the Winter 48!
Enjoy the photos and video!
Eisenhower just before sunrise
The hike starts here
Interesting burl
Crawford Path is well packed only requiring light traction
Taking a short break at the Mizpah Cut-off trail junction
Gray jay waiting for us
Hiking up through a snowy forest
Sun shining through snowy treetops
Snowy white against blue sky
First views from the Crawford Path
Our destination of Mount Eisenhower is up ahead
A view from Mount Pierce
I had to get into the view
Sunshine over Mount Pierce
Kally (W23/48) and Jill on the summit of Mount Pierce
Heading down Mount Pierce and over to Mount Eisenhower
Jim up ahead and about to drop down into the col
Lots of hikers on the trail
Heading up the Eisenhower summit cone
Looking back to where we came from
A snow-capped Franconia Ridge appearing in the distance
Mount Washington summit appears
The view to Washington opens up as we near the summit of Eisenhower
Jill is our sweep hiker as we arrive on the summit of Mount Eisenhower
A view north toward the Presidential summits
Zooming in on the snow-coated summit of Mount Washington
Enjoying sunshine and no wind on the summit
Amy on Winter #45
Kally stands next to Amy for her Winter #24
Mount Chocorua
Mount Lafayette
Basking in the sunshine on the summit
Wispy clouds start to form and rise up
Descending the summit cone
Down we go
Guy is dropping down over a rocky ledge
Amy and Robin carefully descend a tricky ledge
Mount Pierce
Mount Carrigain
Rime ice on a bare tree
Hiking under full sunshine
The Mount Washington summit looks close from this angle
Jim hikes up into the sun
There's a crowd on Mount Pierce
Bretton Woods ski area
Wind-sculpted knife-edge snow drifts
A last look before we head down into the trees
Around or under blowdown
Gray jay eyeing a snack
Passing by the Gibbs Brook bridge
Back at the trailhead
Incredible snow walls at the Highland Center
Presidential summits at the end of the hike
A look back at the Eisenhower summit cairn from Route 302 on my way home
Arriving home after sunset
Having Fun in the Great Outdoors!
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