Hiking in the White Mountains: Crawford Notch

Showing posts with label Crawford Notch. Show all posts

Tuckerman Ravine Throwdown / Leaf Peepin' with Sarge / Crawford Notch Loop

Tuckerman Ravine Throwdown & RUN NH48 #47

Tuckerman Ravine Trail: 8.4 miles, 4,250' elevation gained

Fall started off with extended summer weather until the second week of October. My initial plan was to run Mount Lafayette for my RUN NH48 project I have been working on now for ten years. Lafayette would have been peak #47, saving my home mountain, Washington, for #48. However, Andrew Drummond of White Mountain Ski Company & Run the Whites put out a challenge to all trail runners called the Tuckerman Ravine Throwdown. He would give out gift cards to the top ten fastest uphill ascents on Tuckerman Ravine Trail for both men and women between September 19th and October 14th. I wouldn't be able to sniff the top ten, but I thought it would be a blast to incorporate this into my up and down speed run of Washington for #47.

- I break the Tuckerman Ravine Trail down into two sections, the first is Pinkham Notch to Hermit Lake (Hojo's), 2.4 miles and 1850' elevation gained over moderate grades with a mix of dirt and rocks of all sizes, followed by HoJo's to the summit, 1.8 miles 2400' feet elevation gain with steep grades over a rock staircase and odd sized big boulders.

- My goal for running Mount Washington has always been an under two hours up & down. With perfect conditions I knew I could go under forty minutes on the descent but it was going sub 1:20 on the ascent that would be the make/break point. I set my goal for this ascent at a 1:18, (previous PR was low 1:20's) which should leave me just enough time to break the two-hour mark.

- On Tuesday, September 24th I woke up, packed my running vest, drove ten minutes down the road to Pinkham Notch, and started my run at dawn around 6:30am. It was a nice cool morning, temps were in the mid-forties, perfect for running as I motored up the first 2.4 miles to HoJo's. I passed a couple of early morning hikers in the first half mile then I wouldn't see anyone else on trail until halfway down the mountain. my previous PR to Hojo's was 35:49, last September, this time around I was hoping to knock 90 seconds off, mission accomplished, I huffed and puffed my way to a 33:15 with Hermit Lakes caretaker, Jimmy Rips, popping out of the ranger's cabin and cheering me on. As you can see from the screenshot below, I did not come close to the top ten on this Strava segment but still impressive none the less considering how many people have "ran" Tucks.

Very impressive times, it's mind-boggling to me how fast the top ten covers this first section of Tuckerman Ravine trail

- From HoJo's to the summit is when it gets steep, first up a rock staircase to the first aid cache, 0.6 miles 600', then a short reprieve to Lunch Rocks, followed by another steep rock staircase the parallels the waterfall to the switchback, then the trail steeply rises up to the lip and above it to Tuckerman Junction over rocks of all sizes, some loose and some stable, 0.6 miles 900'. From Tuckerman Junction to the Auto Road it is rock hopping at its finest over boulders of all sizes, 0.4 miles 700', finally it's 0.2 miles and 200' of road/staircase/gravel/summit rock pile.

- I love the second half of Tuckerman Ravie Trail, it's steep and gnarly with breathtaking views. I made good time to the bottom of the waterfall/Lunch Rocks making it to the second rock staircase in about twelve minutes, from there I held on up through the lip to Tuckerman Junction in fourteen minutes, making the turn towards the summit in just under an hour.

- From Tuckerman Junction to the summit the grade eases ever so slightly, it's still steep but turning over the legs is not as difficult as going through the two staircase sections below the headwall. I covered the last 0.6 miles in about fifteen minutes arriving at the summit in 1:14:52, three minutes ahead of my goal.

Sub one hour for the elites, let that sink in for a minute, incredible! Not too shabby time for me too!!

- Sub two was definitely in sight, and as I started rock hopping down I kept picking up the pace, tap dancing through the technical terrain past Tuckerman Junction down the headwall and by Lunch Rocks to HoJo's. The rocks below Hojo's were dry and grippy and I ripped it down. While I can't keep up on the uphill with the elites I'm proud to say I can hang with any of them on the technical descents, trying to navigate quickly downhill over this type of terrain levels the playing field, advantage me! I made it from the summit to the bottom in under 35 minutes easily attaining my round-trip goal with a 1:49:51. A run I will never forget!

- Over the next week Sarge and I would do our usual early morning hikes up the Rockpile and cheer on other runners who we'd see taking part in the TRT Throwdown, it was really great to see trail runners from all over coming up to Pinkham and giving TRT all they had. It was a really cool challenge that Andrew put out there and I hope it becomes an annual tradition, maybe a Lion Head King of the Mountain next fall??!!

I can hang on the descents. For a week I even held the top spot!

Really proud to do a sub two and to be in the top ten, for now!

Washington & Leaf Peeping Sarge: Waumbek, Great Glen, Cabot

- Sarge and I spent the first week of October getting in a few more hikes of Mount Washington and then the second week of October we stayed below treeline as a cold front came through dropping a few inches of snow up high.

- Foliage was peaking in several spots in the White Mountains which draws a crowd, so we stayed away from the awful traffic areas while getting in some great peeping days.

Early morning in Tuckerman Ravine

Sarge enjoying the clouds floating high above him as the sun rises

Another spectacular morning for the Dood

Hiking up the Starr King Trail

Starr King Trail blanketed in leaves

Great Glen, That is one happy Dood!

Leaf Peepin' at Great Glen

Bunnell Rock and Cabot Cabin

Bunnell Notch Trail

Crawford Notch Loop

Ethan Pond Trail: 1.6 miles / Willey Range Trail: 3.4 miles / Mount Tom Spur: 1.2 miles / A-Z Trail: 2.3 miles / Crawford Path: 3.1 miles / Webster-Cliff Trail: 7.3 miles / Willey House Station Road: 0.2 miles

Total Miles: 19.1 (7,350' elevation gained)

- Sunday morning I made the drive over to Crawford Notch to get in some miles while staying relatively low as the cold front and high winds still had a stronghold above 5K.

- I started the day with a steep hike up Mount Willey along the Willey Range Trail. This trail has seen better days as it becomes more eroded each year and the famous ladder section is looking pretty grim with several steps missing making for an adventurous ascent. It's all worth it though as views from the Willey outlook on this early morning were pretty, pretty, pretty good.

Crossing the train tracks at the start of the Ethan Pond Trail (A.T.)

Oooff, looking pretty sad

Awesome early morning view from Mount Willey Outlook

- After Willey I made the not so exciting trek past Field and over to Tom. Both have obstructed views near the summit but the trees have slowly been swallowing those up over the sixteen years I have hiked these peaks.

- From Tom I dropped back down to 302, after seeing two hikers between Field and Tom I now saw over fifty over the final two miles, all happily enjoying their morning on trail.

- Back down to the road I crossed the street and hooked onto the oldest maintain footpath in the United States, the Crawford Path. Trail was pretty crowded heading up but everyone was in high spirits, amazingly I had the summit and the stellar late morning views to myself before dropping down to Mispah Spring Hut to refill my water.

Mount Eisenhower, Monroe, Washington, Clay, and Jefferson. Boott Spur can be seen all the way to the right

Mizpah Spring Hut

- Webster-Cliff Trail was mostly quiet as I headed over to Jackson and then to Webster. The descent off Webster was the part of the day I was really looking forward to, it was around noon and temps had warmed up and I got to enjoy the views from the many open ledges the trail passes by before dropping into the woods for good. The last group I saw on the day also had a Goldendoodle with them so that made my day, Sarge would have been jealous if he had been with me as I told the pup that they were a handsome Dood!

- Once back to 302 I crossed the road and ran uphill back into the tourist zone as there were cars parked everywhere on Willey Station Road, to add to this nonsense was someone during the day decided to stand on my Jeep's bumper, shoe prints on it and hand smudges on my hood, presumably for a foliage picture while on a Jeep??!! This isn't the first time something like this has happened, there has been a time or two in the summer while out hiking that some boob has sat in my Jeep at Pinkham when I had the doors off, or the one time I actually saw some influencer at the Grand Canyon squat in front of my Jeep posing, my Jeep is not "tricked out" or modded, so very strange and a just a bit creepy!

Pano of the loop I did. Willey, Field, Tom on the right, and Pierce and Jackson on the left

View from Mount Webster of Jackson though Washington, with Jefferson peaking out to the left in the background

Looking down to where I began and will end the day

Pano of lower Crawford Notch

Mount Willey looming large over Crawford Notch

Swim / Bike / Run / Hike . . . Mount Jackson

Date of Hike: 4/14/18

Webster Jackson Trail: 5.20 (2,547 feet elevation gained) White Mountain Guide Online

Trip Report:
- More subpar hiking weather blanketed the north country over the weekend, with rain/sleet/snow forecasted. Once again, it was off to the athletic club early Saturday morning for an indoor tri with a quick mountain chaser before the storm came moving in.
- My slow and steady pace in the pool is getting better, I broke the 2:00 / 100 yard pace I set, finishing my 1800 yard swim with a pace of 1:59 / 100 yard. My next goal is a thirty minute mile swim, which I'm about five minutes off of, it will take awhile to achieve this in a pool but I might have better luck lake swimming this summer, no turns!
- Following the swim I headed downstairs and jumped on the stationary bike, it's just as rickety as it was last week but hasn't broke yet. I set it on the hill workout and peddled for 35 minutes doing my usual 12.4 miles while drenching my shirt in sweat.
- Last but not least was a quick 5K on the treadmill, finishing in 20:45, with mile splits of 7:25 / 6:43 / 6:04. There are five treadmills at the athletic club, the one in the middle is in great condition, while the rest are hit or miss, the two on the end work fine but are very loud, especially when you turn up the speed. The second from the left works fine but is a very old model, and the second from the right doesn't go any faster than five miles an hour!
- After finishing up at the gym I headed home for a big breakfast and to hang out with Sarge and Whitney before heading over to Crawford Notch for a short hike up Mount Jackson.
- Conditions for Mount Jackson were very good, a little ice down low but the trail was packed and firm, my snowshoes went for a free ride on the pack. It was a relatively quiet day on the Webster-Jackson Trail, seeing only eight other hikers and a very happy small Chocolate Lab named Mr. Wilson!
- I was expecting socked in views from the summit, but I got lucky and caught a clearing across the notch of the Willey Range just as I was descending the steep open slab section below the summit.
- I made quick work of the hike down and was able to make it back home just as the weather came rolling in and before Whitney headed to work.
- As I've said before, I enjoy this Tri-Hike challenge but I'd prefer better weather for just hiking all day. Hopefully next weekend will provide above treeline weather!

Hiking up the Webster-Jackson Trail. A little icy down low but plenty of snow left everywhere else

Mount Jackson Summit

Webster-Cliff / Webster-Jackson trail junction

Looking west toward Bretton Woods

Mount Webster and Mount Willey

Mount Willard, Avalon, Field, and Tom

Mount Carrigain and the Hancock Range

Playoff Sarge is ready to throw down!

Swim / Bike / Run / Hike . . . Tom, Field, & Willey

Date of Hike: 3/10/18

Avalon Trail: 1.2 miles / A-Z Trail: 1.0 miles / Mount Tom Spur: 1.2 miles / Willey Range Trail: 3.8 miles / Avalon Trail: 2.8 miles
Total Miles: 10.0 (3,749 feet elevation gained)

Trip Report:
- Another Saturday, another "Quadrathlon," my fourth this winter. I started the day with a one mile swim. I improved my 100 yard pace, dropping down from 2:08 to 2:05, finishing strong by swimming the last 400 yards under a 2:00 pace.
- After my swim I headed downstairs and jumped on the stationary bike for 35 minutes of rolling hills, which turns out is just 35 minutes of going up one hill, no reprieve, I guess this is what happens with old equipment, but it's clean and works which I'm grateful for.
- Next up was a quick 5K on the treadmill of death, there was a slight equipment malfunction with the treadmill this morning, as every couple of minutes the treadmill would go up to a 2% incline and stay there for several minutes, what a bunch of BS! Anyway, 2% of incline is nothing but it was slightly annoying, especially at the end. Twenty-one minutes later my deathmill 5K was over, mile splits were 7:30, 6:45, 6:15.
- With the athletic club portion of the day complete I headed home for a quick breakfast and to hang out with Sarge and Whitney for an hour before heading to Crawford Notch for a hike of Tom, Field, and Willey. They're not the most exciting 4K's but after a Thursday's 18+ inch snowstorm they transformed into a winter wonderland!
- I started my hike at 10:30am, vulturing up the trails (vulturing = letting early morning hikers break out the trail making my hiking much easier). I made quick work up to the Field/Tom col, passing by Rachel and her Shiba Inu, Isis along the way. I had not seen Rachel and Isis in years so it was nice to see them again. click here for Rachel's blog.
- There were no views along the Willey Range today but that was fine as all the trees were blanketed in white while it snowed throughout the day too. There were plenty of hikers out and about, I counted thirty-two, thirty of which were wearing snowshoes and two barebooters who were trashing up the trail as I headed up to Willey, luckily there were still several hikers in snowshoes so their mess was stomped out and hopefully everything has a nice snowshoe track for the immediate future.
- After a big snowstorm there are a few spots along this hike that stick out, a small buried water crossing on the A-Z trail, the path becomes very steep at this point but this little lull in the trail has a secluded feeling to it eventhough it's a well traveled trail. Next, I enjoy a section of narrow pine trees along the Mount Tom Spur, very unique looking grouping. From here as I head across the Willey Range, there is a beautiful part of the trail that snakes its way up to Mount Field, followed by a small open blowdown section further along the trail as it heads up to Mount Willey. Last but not least is heading down the Avalon Trail just before the spur to Avalon's summit, there is a flat section of woods that have some strange looking trees that have grown in every sort of direction to get to the sun.
- It was a fun late morning / early afternoon hike in Crawford Notch, I finished a few minutes after 2PM and headed home and I was able to see Whitney before she headed to work, while spending the rest of the day relaxing with Sarge :)