The weather forecast was calling for warmer temps and sunny skies. My plan for today was a hike to Mount Pierce via the Crawford Path. After a month of illness and injuries I was anxious to get back on the trail and work out the kinks. A short hike up this 4,000 footer seemed to be the remedy.
Sunrise
At the trailhead
Early morning sun on the trail
You have to get up early to beat the sunrise these days. I did catch the sun coming up through a stand of trees as I left the house this morning. Then as I drove out of the valley it quickly rose high into a clear blue sky. There was just a wisp of morning clouds over Mount Washington but they disappeared after I started my hike.
Some rare open water
There was only one car in the parking lot when I arrived. Not knowing what I would encounter on my hike I ended up bringing everything. Warmer clothes in case the summit was cold and windy and snowshoes on the pack. I started out with the microspikes which stayed on for the entire hike.
Go-around blowdown
Plenty of snow in the woods
A few old postholes along the way
The trail was smooth, firm and solid. For the most part it would stay that way except for a little softening of the snow as it got warmer and especially in the sunny areas. There would be no postholing today but I passed by the occasional old postholes beside the trail that went down about three feet in places, a broken leg waiting to happen.
A view of Eisenhower and Washington
The summit of Mount Washington zoomed
Hikers on the summit of Eisenhower
Icy trail on the way to the summit
As I continued I could hear the wind blowing above and thought another layer might need to be added. But as I came out of the trees on the Crawford Path and into the sun it was quite tolerable. The snow was getting soft but there were no problems with postholing or microspike snowballing. The views were amazing along this section of the trail. The early morning clouds had cleared from the summit of Mount Washington and there was blue sky and sunshine all around.
Mount Carrigain
White-capped Franconia Ridge in the distance
On the summit of Mount Pierce
I made my turn onto the Webster Cliff Trail for the final ascent to the summit of Mount Pierce. There was hiker coming down from the summit that looked familiar. As he got closer I recognized him from a hike two weeks ago. We met on the 19 Mile Brook Trail and then again on top of Mount Hight. He had already done Eisenhower today and was thinking of maybe doing the Twins on the way home. After talking for a few minutes we went our separate ways.
Alpine vegetation
Crawford Path and Webster Cliff Trail junction
A snowy Crawford Path
View of the Mount Washington Hotel from the Crawford Path
There was some ice on the trail just below the summit but the microspikes easily handled it. At the summit the snow was soft but still no postholing. The full sunshine felt great after a winter of very cold hikes. I took a panoramic video and some still shots of the surrounding views. It was a beautiful day up there!
Bretton Woods
Skiers on the slopes at Bretton Woods
Need a taller signpost
A still frozen Gibbs Falls
The bottom of Gibbs Falls
It was time to make my descent and the trip down was pleasant as well as warming up nicely. I made a quick side trip to Gibbs Falls and found that it was still completely frozen. Back at the parking lot there were many vehicles as I expected there would be from the number of hikers that I passed on the way down.
Taking off microspikes at the end of the hike
Mt. Clinton Road still under a lot of snow
The Presidential summits
Mount Washington
A lone hiker just below the summit of Mount Washington
It bears repeating that the trail was in excellent condition. I was kicking myself for not leaving the snowshoes behind and bringing the sled instead. The trail was a perfect luge track with some nice, high banks on the curves and no rocks, stumps, sticks or branches to deal with. It was great to have the Winter trail conditions with the Spring temps. After this week's predicted warm weather I'm sure conditions are going to change and it will be some interesting hiking over the next couple of weeks.
Having Fun in the Great Outdoors
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