Hiking in the White Mountains: Mount Monroe

- Winter is quickly vanishing in the White Mountains as February was one of the warmest and snowless months in almost ten years. With the warm temps and easy snow conditions Sarge and I took full advantage of it as February rolled into March.

- Frist up, a pre-work scamper to Tuckerman Ravine for Bowl Pawtrol with special guest Bo Jackson (see pic below). We made it to Lunch Rocks at 8AM, it was unseasonably warm and quiet, I could have easily taken a nap in the sun without worrying about getting cold at all.

- Sarge and I had the whole ravine to ourselves and we spent about fifteen minutes soaking up the sun and taking pictures before heading back down.

- We quicky made our way down to Pinkham Notch and were surprised to see the ravine was now full of clouds as a storm was about to roll in, perfect timing for the Dood and I and a reminder that Mount Washington's weather is always one pitch away from tossing a curve ball.

Sarge takes a seat on his thrown in Tuckerman Ravine

All smiles in the sun with Wildcat Ski area to the east

Just another morning on Bowl Pawtrol

Sarge Brings his favorite baseball card, a 1987 Topps Bo Jackson.

"Bo Pawtrol Jackson"

A stick snack before heading back!

- Next up was a post work beach day on Mount Washington with Todd. We took the express way to the summit, the Cog Path. Not knowing what to expect we brought our snowshoes and extra gear. It ended up being so warm and easy we could have worn our summer rockpile kit of shorts, tshirt, and Houdini jacket.

Sarge cools off in the snow as we ascend next to the Cog

Posing with the Northern Presidential Range in the background

Sarge and Todd head up the summit cone

Beach day!

- It was such a nice day that instead of heading back down to the trailhead we made our way to Lakes of the Clouds Hut and over to Mount Monroe before steeply dropping down the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail.

Leaving the summit and hooking onto the Crawford Path

Abundant sunshine as we descend Crawford Path

Sarge leads us towards Lakes of the Clouds

A still frozen Lakes of the Clouds

Sarge on Mount Monroe, capping off an incredible day above treeline!

- On Saturday, March 9th, Todd and Nate joined us for a Washington to Jackson traverse. Snow and ice conditions were the same as the day before but the winds were whipping consistently over 30 MPH with gusts around 45MPH.

- We started at 7AM and headed up the Cog path then booked it south on the Crawford Path taking the loop trails over Monroe and Eisenhower before hooking onto the Webster-Cliff Trail over Pierce and Jackson before dropping down to Crawford Notch.

- The reason for the early start was to beat the weather as one last significant snowstorm was going to roll through by nightfall. Winds on the day were going to be rising, up to 100 MPH overnight, and temperatures would be falling throughout the day so the early start would give us plenty of time to casually hike and trail run this fourteen-mile route.

- We were shielded from the wind for the first two miles and then it instantly picked up as we gained the ridgeline just before the Westside Trail junction. It was definitely strong enough to pull us a little but not strong enough to knock us around. I was a little worried about Sarge but he had absolutely no issues at all, he led the way and sniffed the wind most of the time.

The gang heads up the Cog

Winds start whipping around up higher, time to layer up.

Sarge follows Nate along the tracks

Last hundred feet to the summit

Big snow drift against the Yankee building on Mount Washington

- Heading down from Washington we were pleasantly surprised that the wind wasn't as brutal as we thought it was going to be so it was smooth sailing all the way to Lake of the Clouds. However, once past the hut we were back into high winds over Monroe and most of the way to Eisenhower where we experienced the last of the big gust on the summit before quickly retreating to relative comfort in and out of the trees to Pierce before finally bidding ado to any exposed sections sans the summit of Mount Jackson.

Sarge sniffing the breeze on the Crawford Path

Nate, Todd, and Sarge heading to Lakes of the Clouds

Lakes of the Clouds

Another Sarge in the wind shot as we head up Mount Monroe

Sarge scopes out the trail conditions as we make our way through the Southern Presi's

The lack of snow for the early March was a little unsettling

Looking back at Little Monroe and Monroe with Washington playing peekaboo

Mizpah Hut. Unfortunately, about a mile past Monroe we headed under the beautiful undercast we had been above leaving us in the clouds for the last six miles.

7/6/23

Old Jackson Road: 1.7 miles / Nelson Crag Trail: 3.6 miles / Crawford Path: 1.6 miles / Mount Monroe Loop & Herd Path: 0.6 miles / Crawford Path: 0.4 miles / Old Crawford Path: 1.0 miles / Tuckerman Crossover: 0.3 miles / Tuckerman Ravine Trail: 1.2 miles: Shelburne Ski Trail: 2.3 miles

Total Miles: 12.7 (5,200' elevation gained)

7/7/23

Tuckerman Ravine Trail: 4.2 / Crawford Path: 1.6 miles / Mount Monroe Loop & Herd Path: 0.6 miles / Crawford Path: 0.4 miles / Old Crawford Path: 0.5 miles / Camel Trail: 0.4 miles / Rock Whack: 0.1 miles / Lawn Cut-Off: 0.3 miles / Tuckerman Ravine Trail: 1.2 miles / Shelburne Ski Trail: 2.3 miles

Total Miles: 11.6 (5,050' elevation gained)

7/8/23

Shelburne Ski Trail: 2.3 miles / Tuckerman Ravine Trail: 1.8 miles / Crawford Path: 1.6 miles / Mount Monroe Loop & Herd Path: 0.6 miles / Crawford Path: 0.8 miles / Tuckerman Crossover: 1.0 miles / Tuckerman ravine Trail 1.2 miles / Shelburne Ski Trail: 2.3 miles

Total Miles: 11.6 (5,050' elevation gained)

7/9/23

Tuckerman Ravine Trail: 4.2 miles / Crawford Path: 1.6 miles / Mount Monroe Loop & Herd Path: 0.6 miles / Crawford Path: 0.8 miles / Camel Trail: 0.7 miles / Davis Path: 0.6 miles: Boott Spur Trail: 0.7 miles / Boott Spur Link: 0.6 miles / Tuckerman Ravine Trail: 2.4 miles

Total Miles: 12.5 (5,150' elevation gained)

Trip Report: Thursday, July 6th

- The weather on the Rock Pile finally looked promising enough for a few days of heading up above treeline in the morning and early afternoon before daily thunderstorms came rolling through.

- On day one, Thursday, Todd and I headed across Old Jackson Road to Nelson Crag for a steep hike up to treeline. We started at 10AM and the roots and slab sections were quite greasy below treeline. The weather was disgustingly humid as we sweated our way to the Alpine Zone. Luckily once we broke out of the trees we were greeted with high cloud cover which made above treeline hiking very enjoyable.

Todd maneuvers his way up some slick steep slab below treeline on Nelson Crag Trail

Beautiful above treeline hiking as we passed by Cragway Spring

- Between Agiocochook Crag (5,735') and Ball Crag (6,112') we crossed paths with our friends Gwen and Stacy who were out on their weekly mountain marathon hike. This week's adventure included King Ravine, Great Gulf (Buttress & Wamsutta), Tuckerman & Lion Head, ending with the long descent down the Castellated Ridge. We hiked with them to the summit stopping along the way at the Lizzie Bourne and McAdams and Chadwick memorials located along the Cog Railroad swath.

Gwen and Stacy with Mount Adams and Mount Madison rising up high into the sky behind them

Approaching the auto road and summit cone

Lizzie Bourne and McAdams & Chadwick memorials

Near this spot, Perished January 31st 1932

Earnest Wentworth McAdams, Born 1909

Joseph Benjamin Chadwick, Born 1909

Northern Presidential Range as seen from the observatory

(Clay, Jefferson, Adams, Madison)

- We parted ways with Gwen and Stacy at the summit and headed to Lakes of the Clouds enjoying the views while descending the Crawford Path. At the hut we refilled our water and up Mount Monroe before looping back around the east side of the peak before jumping off trail to follow the original cut of the Crawford Path to try and retrace the steps of two hikers, William Curtis and Allan Ormsbee, who perished while hiking during a snowstorm in June of 1900. Our goal was to find a clump of dwarf spruce where the two hunkered down and the spot where Curtis succumbed to the elements along the old Crawford Path near Lakes of the Clouds. Ormsbee would die higher up the mountain within two hundred feet of the summit, a site which we have visted before where there is a memorial plaque. We struck out trying to find the spruce and Curtis's resting spot but we were determined to study maps and old books that evening and come back on Friday to locate both places.

Descending Crawford Path to Lakes of the Clouds with Mount Monroe in view

Lakes of the Clouds and Mount Washington

Lakes of the Clouds and Mount Washington as seen from Mount Monroe Loop

Southern Presidential Range

Friday, July 7th

- Armed with detailed information, (screenshots from Google Earth and old photos), we headed back up the rockpile at 5AM Friday morning to solve the mystery (to us) of William Curtis's whereabouts. Joining us was our friend Kristina from White Mountain Endurance Racing.

- We started up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail making quick work up to HoJo's (Hermit Lake) and into The Bowl (Tuckerman Ravine). The last of the snow in the bowl is on life support with only a few patches remaining.

- With all the rain from El Nino over the past month there were plenty of waterfalls flowing everywhere across the headwall.

Kristina and Todd reach Hermit Lake ranger station

HoJo's and Lion Head with Tuckerman Ravine to the left

Heading into Lunch Rocks looking up at the headwall and its "Falls of a Thousand Rivers"

Tuckerman Ravine trail

Todd measures the height of the last of the snow below the falls

Rainbow effect from one of the upper falls.

- Once above the headwall we enjoyed the stellar views as high clouds floated above us against a bright blue sky. Temperature were lovely as we made our way up to the summit and we were thankful to be out of the humidity of the valley below.

Todd and Kristina on Tuckerman Ravine Trail with Boott Spur in the background

Clouds breaking up to the south

Nice mixture of clouds and blue sky early in the morning

Mount Monroe seen behind Todd and Kristina

- We made it to the summit at 7AM to the sound of heavy machinery. The observatory is having two 12,000 gallon water tanks installed so the summit will be quite loud for several weeks. We tapped the summit sign and quickly bolted down Crawford Path to Lakes of the Clouds and Mount Monroe to enjoy more views while traveling the quiet and peaceful trails.

Construction zone

Pretty wild scene up there!

Kristina descends Crawford Path

Todd leads the Way to Lakes of the Clouds

Lakes of the Clouds

Heading up Mount Monroe Loop. What a view!

Kristina heads down Mount Monroe Loop Trail with the Southern Presidential Range in full view

- After summiting Monroe it was time to start our mission. First up was to find the dwarf spruce where Curtis and Ormsbee hunkered down during the storm before trying to continue on. As we curved around the Crawford Path on the eastern side on Monroe we easily spotted the clump of spruce we recognized from Nicholas Howe's Not Without Peril.

Approaching the clump of dwarf spruce located on the right side of the trail

Kristina hikes past the scrub where Curtis and Ormsbee hunkered down. Notice the small gap in the clump of spruce, that is where they cut branches off and burrowed down.

Todd snaps a picture of me where they huddled up, holding an old tent stake

Todd recreates a photo from Not Without Peril which helped us locate the clump of dwarf spruce

- Next up was to find the final resting place of William Curtis. We knew it was close by on the original cut of the Crawford Path before crossing the Dry River Trail. After a few minutes we were able to find the spot where a memorial plaque used to be. The plaque was stolen by vandals* long ago but the rock that it was bolted into had been chiseled out so it was easy to spot. *A few online ghost stories tell of the plaque being removed and left at Lakes of the Clouds Hut, then returned to the memorial spot, only to be returned to the hut, and finally the hut croo bolting it to the wall of the crew headquarter.

Todd and Kristina at the memorial site for William Curtis

Lakes of the Clouds Hut in view. In 1900 there was no hut so there was no way for the two gentlemen to escape the harsh conditions

The rock where the plaque had been bolted into

Once again Todd Todd recreates a photo which helped us locate the site of the Curtis memorial

- After our mission was complete, we passed by the site of the emergency shelter that was erected after the deaths of Curtis and Ormsbee before jumping onto the Camel Trail. More info on the emergency shelter can be found by clicking here from a previous trip report.

- Once on the Camel Trail we headed over to Lawn Cut-Off and down Tuckerman Ravine and the Shelburne Ski Trail making it back to Pinkham Notch in time for all of us to drive home (Gorham, Jackson, NoCo) for morning work meetings.

- It was a good start to a Friday and Todd and I were pretty pumped to have been able to retrace the footsteps from this tragic event from 123 years ago.

Kristina and Todd on the old Crawford Path

Site of emergency shelter

Picture of the shelter from Not Without Peril

Hiking along the lightly traveled Camel Trail

Lawn Cut-Off

Descending Tuckerman Ravine Trail

Saturday and Sunday, July 8th & 9th

- Saturday and Sunday Nate joined Todd and I on Washington and Monroe. Saturday was the same route as Friday without the off trail adventure and Sunday we headed out via Boott Spur and Boott Spur Link. Weather on Saturday was already hot and humid when we started at 7:30 so Sunday we were on trail at 5AM and were rewarded with some killer undercast.

- Nothing too exciting to report from either hike except we jumped off trail at the summit of Washington so I could snap a picture of the Allan Ormsbee memorial which I am happy to say is still bolted into a rock.

- It was a good four day run of the Rock Pile before the all day rain storms came rolling through Monday and Tuesday. This summer has been never ending subpar conditions so I will be taking advantage of any chance I get to head above treeline like we just had. Hopefully I will be able to get Sarge up for a final Bowl Pawtrol before the last of the snow melts as he was on the DL this week after breaking a claw swimming at Nonna's house :)