Distance: 10.4 miles
Hikers: Vance and Quinn
4000 footer completion count: Monroe #5 (5,384 feet), Washington #6 (6,288 feet)
The weather was sunny and clear as we drove through Conway, NH. However, as we reached Crawford Notch the fog was thick and the air felt raw. It was damp and chilly as we made our way to the trailhead to begin our hike. Our route today was Ammonoosuc > Crawford Path > Monroe Loop [Mt Monroe] > Crawford Path > [Mt. Washington] > Crawford Path > Gulfside > Jewell.
The Ammonoosuc is truly a beautiful trail from top to bottom. The landscape is absolutely gorgeous.
There are many waterfalls and stream crossings all the way up.
The first third of the trail or so was very comfortable hiking. The trail then got steep in sections. The Ammonoosuc was very wet with all the recent precipitation which made travel slick and challenging in spots.
As we neared the AMC Lakes of the Clouds Hut, we could really start to feel the cold. It was a great time to hang out and have some hot soup. At the table next to us, there were some kids playing Magic The Gathering (a great card game Quinn and I play together). Quinn has decided he'd like to visits one of the AMC huts for a sleepover and some Magic games.
We headed out toward Mount Monroe. It was cold, very windy and a virtual whiteout at the summit. There was nobody there to take a picture for us so we attempted one of ourselves without much luck. We spent very little time on top because of the weather exposure.
As we made our way back along the Crawford Path, we came upon a sign with a serious weather warning. The interesting thing was that the wind and weather was significantly more severe on Monroe during our hike.
Here's Quinn standing by a frigid and eerie looking lake.
Here comes Quinn well above treeline nearing Washington's summit.
It was a whiteout at the top for most of our visit. However, the sky cleared for about 30 seconds before the cloud cover enveloped us again. When we checked the computes inside, the current wind speed was 16 MPH and the temperature was 38.8F. The average wind speed for the day was 29.8 and the max wind speed was 67.
This was the first peak where we actually needed to wait in line to get a picture. It was a unique summit to say the least but Quinn and I both agreed that we prefer enjoying a peak without all the hustle and bustle. We had some hot tea, rested our legs and chatted with some folks we met along the way. Once we felt we had recharged the batteries, we departed for our decent.
The Gulfside trail felt pretty exposed in spots and we experienced some descent gusts of wind at times. We definitely are going to need to return during clear skies so that Quinn can really experience the breathtaking views that surround these trails.
The Jewell trail didn't have the same appeal as the Ammonoosuc but on the plus side we had the trail to ourselves. On the way up the Ammonoosuc we ran into a number of large groups of hikers and lines of hikers waiting to traverse a tricky section here and there. The Jewell trail made for a nice quiet and peaceful decent. We held hands and whooped it up as we crossed the final stream and made our way to the trailhead.
We walked over to checkout the cool trains at the Cog Railway.
As we drove back toward North Conway, the sun came out and the valley was beautiful. Even though it was a cool day, we decided we needed to take a dip in the Saco to reboot. The Saco felt warmer than our previous dips in the Pemigewasset; it was really refreshing. After our swim we made our way to Flatbread to refuel. We had an excellent robust dinner before making our way home. Another great adventure together!
Here's Quinn's write-up on the trip
So far this was the hardest 4000 foot hike that I have done! It was very windy and cold near the top of Mt. Monroe and Washington. The trails were muddy, rocky and wet. Before we started our hike, we got some warm hats, gloves and jackets.
Hiking up Monroe, my dad and I crossed a river and didn't get our feet wet. Other hikers gave us a round of applause for this accomplishment! A little farther up, we came to a big river, so this time we had to take off our shoes and socks. We came to the Lakes of the Clouds hut where we took a break and my dad and I had some warm potato soup. There were some teenagers playing Magic the Gathering, a very fun game that my dad and I enjoy playing. I'd like to do that some day!
Next, we explored the bunks of the hut. Some bunks had great views of the mountain top.
Outside it was foggy and cold as we climbed to Mt. Monroe. We held hands and touched our feet on the peak marker.
Then we started our way up Mt. Washington. It was still foggy and very cold like winter! There were so many people at the top waiting to get their picture taken. I enjoyed seeing all these people on Mt. Washington. Once we got our picture taken, we had some hot tea and chips to give us more energy.
On the way down the Jewell trail, it was quiet without many hikers. We got back to the tree line and came to a very cool bridge where my dad took a video of me. This was when my legs turned to jelly! Even though I was very tired, I ran when we got close to the parking lot.
To continue our ritual, we held hands and said "We did it!" We went to Flatbread for dinner before heading home.
I had fun and am happy that we are doing these hikes together.
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