How hard are the trails for someone who is in good shape?
What is the best trail route?
Going to summit and back down in one day.
How hard are the trails for someone who is in good shape?
What is the best trail route?
Going to summit and back down in one day.
As messed up as a soup sandwich
We've only summited once so I can't give you a comparison to other trails. We started at the cog railway station parking lot and took the Jewell Trail up to the ridge, then Crawford Path to the summit. Then the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail down to make a loop. It was fun because: we got to cross the cog railway (and see a train pass by!), we got to visit the Lakes in the Clouds Hut on the way down, and because we were on the other side of the mountain from the Auto road. There are many routes to the summit; this is just one.
It was a long day, but we made it fine. I'm not in the strongest hiker in the world by far. We had perfect weather and a clear summit. September--like any month on Mt. Washington--can be dicey. Good luck to you!
"Pips"
Mountains have a dreamy way
Of folding up a noisy day
In quiet covers, cool and gray.
---Leigh Buckner Hanes
Surely, God could have made a better way to sleep.
Surely, God never did.
The peak is easily hiked as a day trip and there are many routes to the summit but the most common are combining Ammonoosuc Ravine trail and Jewell for a loop of 9.6 miles and 3800 ft of elevation. And the other very popular hike is the Tuckerman’s Ravine Trail as an out and back of 8.4 miles and 4300 ft of elevation. You can include Lion’s Head Trail going up if you want to add some additional steepness.
September can be an ideal time for hiking Washington but if the weather is not ideal choose another mountain.
Any time after Labor Day can be very dicey weather wise on the Presidential Range, and especially on Mt Washington. Be prepared for sudden and drastic drops in temperature, snow, icy rain, high winds, and deep localized cloud cover---with you inside the cloud.Originally Posted by Pipsissewa
Backpacker Magazine (in one of its more useful moments) says its one of America's 10 most dangerous hikes.
Outside Magazine says its one of the 20 most dangerous hikes in the world.
And Adventure Journal calls it one of the 10 most deadliest mountains in the Universe.
Almost twice as many people have died on Mt Washington than on Mt McKinley---more than any other peak in the US.
A story from 1989 gives the experience of one group of hikers.
Plan well. Be careful. Plan for cold, wind, snow, and rain. Plan for disaster.MT. WASHINGTON, N.H. — Stephen Sardella and two friends began to hike up this pretty New England mountain on a gentle fall afternoon. A few hours later they were lost, stumbling in an arctic blizzard, facing a frigid death.
They were in the fickle grip of Mt. Washington, a place with weather so quickly fearsome that by some counts it has claimed more lives than any mountain in North America.
"It got worse by the minute. That was the freaky thing. The snowflakes got bigger and the winds got worse. The visibility . . . I couldn't see my hand," the 21-year-old college student said.
"We found a sign (for a hut) but we took about 15 or 20 steps in the direction, and we couldn't find the hut. We looked back and couldn't see the sign. We couldn't see our footprints--they disappeared in seconds. We ran back to the sign and we couldn't find it. We were just lost."
"It's dangerous. It's one of the most dangerous in the world," said Rossi Moreau, 43, an experienced mountain climber who lives nearby.
Fatality Toll
Mt. Washington and its nearby slopes have claimed at least 103 lives in 140 years, more than on any peak on the continent, according to the Appalachian Mountain Club. Mt. McKinley in Alaska, three times higher, has claimed 60 climbers. Mt. Everest in the Himalayas, the highest in the world, 82 by most accounts.
It is easily doable but tougher than the distance and elevation suggest as there is much more up an down since the trail is very rocky. Once above tree line, toward the top, it is scrambling over 4 ft square rocks.
The weather is what kills people since it can be sunny and warm and then a cloud moves in and you are in a cloud. Think thick fog and soaking wet, so no matter how nice the weather is when you star, just be prepared to stay warm and dry to wait it out if it changes.
I hiked Mt Washington many times as a youth and young adult. As I remember it, the weather is what presents the challenge. Once you're above the treeline you'll run into all kinds of weather conditions. The wind can be hurricane velocities. That combined with fog, snow and rain make it dangerous.. The wet weather and poor visibility can make the footing quite treacherous. If the fog is bad you can easily lose the trail.
Most folks hiking up Mt Washington under estimate the weather conditions and are poorly equipped. Below the treeline the trail is heavily hiked. It's like you local 5km road race. You'll see folks that are pretty much dressed like they're running a road race. Many don't have packs or water bottles.
From Pinkham Notch, we got to the summit in about 2 1/2 hours. Pack your ten essentials and be ready for extreme weather even in September.
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