Franconia Ridge

Franconia Ridge

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Mount Pierce on the First Day of Summer


Summits: Mount Pierce (4,310')
Trail route: Crawford Path, Webster Cliff Trail
Trail conditions: Mostly dry trail with some wet areas
Weather: Sunshine and partly cloudy with warm temps
Total miles: 6.4
Total time: 5:25

I would be joining Larry for my first 4,000 foot hike in a month and his first since breaking his leg last Fall. We have both gridded out this summit, hiked it in every month of the year, so this would be a good conditioning hike but nothing too strenuous.

It was a cool start when I left the house but warmed up nicely when I arrived at the trailhead parking lot and Larry was there waiting for me. We were soon heading up the Crawford Connector with many other hikers on the trail today.

We were taking our time and in no hurry as we made our way up the trail. There were lots of hikers coming down after spending a night at the Mizpah Spring Hut. As we turned onto the Webster Cliff Trail and made the final push to the summit there was a large group sitting beside the trail. No one was saying anything and they were all staring at us...very odd!

Just before reaching the summit we passed hiker Whitney who I've seen on the trail a couple of times carrying a small toddler on the front of her and a pack on her back. There was no toddler today, she was doing an amazing 80-mile hike! We reached the summit and took a short break. The view is fading at the summit cairn with the surrounding trees growing and blocking most of the scenery.

We saw many more hikers on our descent. It was an enjoyable hike back to the trailhead. This was another short hike and I'm feeling much better after my bout with COVID. I now have some upcoming hikes that are going to be much longer and tougher. 

Mount Pierce was a fun hike today on this first day of Summer and always nice to be on the trail with Larry!

Enjoy the the photos and video from today's hike!

A view of the Presidential summits on the drive to the trailhead

The hike starts here

Gibbs Brook

Dam photo

Slug


Lots of moss

Bunchberry

Blooming wildflowers

A seat with a view

Mount Washington


A view from the summit

Zooming in on the Mount Eisenhower summit

Descending

A look back up

Labrador tea

Big burl

Crossing Gibbs Brook

Back at the trailhead





Having Fun in the Great Outdoors!

No comments:

Post a Comment