Date of Hike: 6/21/14
Great Gulf: 7.8 miles / Nelson Crag: 1.0 miles / Alpine Garden: 1.1 miles / Lion Head: 1.1 miles / Tuckerman Ravine: 2.3 miles
Total Miles: 13.3 miles (5,140 feet elevation gained)
Trip Report:
- The Great Gulf Trail, and more specifically the headwall is one of my favorite spots in the White Mountains, it's a wild and beautiful hike up to the summit of Mount Washington that is seldom used. Each year I try to hike up the headwall and when Denise and Marc invited me to join in I jumped at the opportunity.
- Saturday was one of the busiest days on Mount Washington. The annual road race was on Saturday, it was bike week, and the invasion of the mini coopers was also taking place. We spotted a car at Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center, where we picked up Julia and Sean who would also be coming along on the hike. It was 7:30 in the morning and as we drove up Route 16 to the Great Gulf trailhead there was already a line of cars full of runners going to the auto road entrance. Luckily, we were able to sneak around them in the breakdown lane passing about 100 cars.
- We started hiking just before 8 a.m. The Great Gulf Trail travels southwest deep into the Great Gulf Wilderness. It is six miles of in the woods hiking over gradual grades with good footing for the first few miles followed by rugged footing once past the trail junction for the Six Husbands Trail. It's a pretty hike as the trail follows the West Branch of the Peabody River by some really attractive cascades and small waterfalls. Usually, the trail is a muddy wet mess the two miles leading up to Spaulding Lake but it seems as though it's in much better shape than ever.
- We had a great time hiking over to Spaulding Lake, where we took a break before popping above treeline and attacking the steep Great Gulf Headwall. The headwall gains 1,600 feet of elevation in less than a mile and the views keep getting bigger and bigger as you gain the ridge above the headwall. The trail is marked with yellow painted blazes and small cairns, there was a big slide that swept through the trail during Hurricane Irene which has made parts of it tricky to follow but it doesn't matter if you're off the trail, all the boulders lead you to the same place.
- Once above the headwall we headed to the summit and retreated to the pack room to avoid the circus that was the upstairs cafeteria. We had lunch and warmed up before dropping down to the Alpine Garden to check out the flowers. The Alpine Garden is a beautiful section of trail that cuts below the summit cone on the eastern slope of Mount Washington. It's relatively flat and in June tiny flowers of all colors (yellow, white, purple, red) bloom.
- From here we headed down the Lion Head Trail then hooked onto the lower section of the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. Along the way we were treated to great views of the Wildcat and Carter range and close up views down into Tuckerman Ravine. There is still snow on the slopes of the bowl leading to the headwall which might last until August! There were no crazy skiers out and about attempting to ski a patch of snow here and there, probably too much of a risk of falling through into the rushing water beneath the snow.
- It was a great day on Mount Washington and we lucked out as the trails on the descent were less crowded than I though they'd be. It was a lot of fun to hike with Denise, Marc, Sean, and Julia, they are a great group to hike with. After, we headed to Gorham to grab a bite to eat at the Boott Spur Grille. A nice way to end a fun day on the biggest peak in the northeast!
Great Gulf: 7.8 miles / Nelson Crag: 1.0 miles / Alpine Garden: 1.1 miles / Lion Head: 1.1 miles / Tuckerman Ravine: 2.3 miles
Total Miles: 13.3 miles (5,140 feet elevation gained)
Trip Report:
- The Great Gulf Trail, and more specifically the headwall is one of my favorite spots in the White Mountains, it's a wild and beautiful hike up to the summit of Mount Washington that is seldom used. Each year I try to hike up the headwall and when Denise and Marc invited me to join in I jumped at the opportunity.
- Saturday was one of the busiest days on Mount Washington. The annual road race was on Saturday, it was bike week, and the invasion of the mini coopers was also taking place. We spotted a car at Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center, where we picked up Julia and Sean who would also be coming along on the hike. It was 7:30 in the morning and as we drove up Route 16 to the Great Gulf trailhead there was already a line of cars full of runners going to the auto road entrance. Luckily, we were able to sneak around them in the breakdown lane passing about 100 cars.
- We started hiking just before 8 a.m. The Great Gulf Trail travels southwest deep into the Great Gulf Wilderness. It is six miles of in the woods hiking over gradual grades with good footing for the first few miles followed by rugged footing once past the trail junction for the Six Husbands Trail. It's a pretty hike as the trail follows the West Branch of the Peabody River by some really attractive cascades and small waterfalls. Usually, the trail is a muddy wet mess the two miles leading up to Spaulding Lake but it seems as though it's in much better shape than ever.
- We had a great time hiking over to Spaulding Lake, where we took a break before popping above treeline and attacking the steep Great Gulf Headwall. The headwall gains 1,600 feet of elevation in less than a mile and the views keep getting bigger and bigger as you gain the ridge above the headwall. The trail is marked with yellow painted blazes and small cairns, there was a big slide that swept through the trail during Hurricane Irene which has made parts of it tricky to follow but it doesn't matter if you're off the trail, all the boulders lead you to the same place.
- Once above the headwall we headed to the summit and retreated to the pack room to avoid the circus that was the upstairs cafeteria. We had lunch and warmed up before dropping down to the Alpine Garden to check out the flowers. The Alpine Garden is a beautiful section of trail that cuts below the summit cone on the eastern slope of Mount Washington. It's relatively flat and in June tiny flowers of all colors (yellow, white, purple, red) bloom.
- From here we headed down the Lion Head Trail then hooked onto the lower section of the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. Along the way we were treated to great views of the Wildcat and Carter range and close up views down into Tuckerman Ravine. There is still snow on the slopes of the bowl leading to the headwall which might last until August! There were no crazy skiers out and about attempting to ski a patch of snow here and there, probably too much of a risk of falling through into the rushing water beneath the snow.
- It was a great day on Mount Washington and we lucked out as the trails on the descent were less crowded than I though they'd be. It was a lot of fun to hike with Denise, Marc, Sean, and Julia, they are a great group to hike with. After, we headed to Gorham to grab a bite to eat at the Boott Spur Grille. A nice way to end a fun day on the biggest peak in the northeast!
Peabody River Suspension Bridge
Parapet Brook
West Branch Suspension Bridge
Clam Rock
Mount Jefferson from the West Branch
Nice little swimming hole
The Great Gulf Trail
Denise at one of the cascades
Small waterfall along the Great gulf Trail
Close up of the waterfall in the previous picture
Another little 'shelf' waterfall
Dual waterfall / cascade
Marc crosses the west branch
Weetamoo Falls
Weetamoo falls
The Great Gulf Trail
Alpine zone, just past the Spaulding Lake
Heading up the Great Gulf headwall
Marc leads the way
Spaulding Lake
Denise leads the way
Sean gets a good grip as he navigates the brook section of the trail
Marc taking a break
Julia and Denise head up the loose talus
Looking up to the top of the headwall, it's steep!
The gang makes their way up
Denise, Julia, and Sean head back over to the trail
Looking back down
A little cave
Slowly making our way up
Marc, takes a break to take in the views
Mount Clay and Jefferson
Denise on the final section of the headwall
Hikers making there way up the Gulfside Trail to our west
Gaining the ridge, the summit is in the clouds, as usual!
Julia gains the ridge
Two beautiful dogs enjoying the cool weather and high winds
The Cog!
Lizzie Bourne Memorial
The cog
On the way down the clouds cleared off
The Cog with Ball Crag behind it
Bike Week!
Looking down the tracks, Mount Clay in view
Nelson Crag terminus
Descending Ball Crag
Looking back up to the summit
Wildcat Ridge and Ski Area
Nelson Crag Trail
Look at all those cairns!
Dogs on Washington!
Alpine Garden
Alpine Garden Trail
The beautiful and flat Alpine Garden Trail
Boott Spur
Alpine Garden Trail
Hiking along the Alpine Garden Trail
The Boott Spur rising above Tuckerman Ravine
Tuckerman Ravine
Tuckerman Ravine snow waterfall
Upper Falls in Tuckerman Ravine
Hermit Lake
Hermit Lake and slide formed from Hurricane Irene
Descending Lion Head Trail
Froggy Rock!
Boott Spur Slide
Tuckerman Headwall
Wildcat and Carter Range
Dropping back to treeline
Hermit Lake
Crystal Cascade
Crystal Cascade
Denise, Marc. Sean, and Julia (L to R)
Ravine Info
Tuckerman Ravine Trailhead
Route for the day, click here for more details
