May 30, 2009
I have a big, big day planned today. I've climbed five 4000 footers in a day several times, but today I will be climbing six in a day for the first time. I'll also be climbing a bonus peak, Mount Webster, because it is "in the way" to the other peaks. I thought I put freshly charged batteries in my camera, but I guess not. As a result, I have no pictures today. Sorry :(
I hit the trail at 7:00 on the dot. About an hour later I was at the spur trail for Mount Tom. I dropped my pack and went up to tag Tom. The summit was in the fog, but the fog was beginning to lift. I headed back down to the col and up to Mount Field, my 2nd 4000 footer of the day. There was a partial view into the valley. I stayed on the move. There were some isolated patches of snow throughout today's hike, but the largest section was just before Willey were there was still 1-2 feet of snow on the trail for a couple hundred feet. By the time I got to Willey, my 3rd four of the day, it had turned into a gorgeous day. I had an awesome view looking into the Pemi Wilderness.
I looked across to Mount Webster. It wasn't a 4000 footer, but would be the toughest climb of the day. As the bird flies, it was a mere 1.75 miles away, but on foot it was 6.7 miles away with major elevation loss and gain. I made my long descent back down to Route 302. I lost all of my elevation gain and then some since this was actually the low point in today's hike.
I had to drive through this spot on the way to the trailhead today. I had wanted to keep my pack light so I left half of my provisions for the day hidden behind a tree. I resupplied and began my assault on Mount Webster. I've hiked most sections of the Appalachian Trail through the Whites numerous times, but this section I had only hiked once and it was southbound. So this was my first time making the tough climb up to Webster. I was glad I wasn't an A.T. thru hiker with a big pack. This has to be one of the toughest climbs on the whole A.T. It is a rewarding climb however with lots of great views down into the notch. There is quite a bit of scrambling required and several false summits.
I met a couple hikers on the way up. They were heading to Mizpah Spring Hut to spend the night.
"This is quite a climb," one of them said.
"We've passed Webster haven't we?" another asked.
"Not yet," I replied. "You still have another quarter mile."
Up I went to the top of Webster, my bonus peak for the day, and then on to Mount Jackson. I had some friends who were climbing Webster through Eisenhower today. I was hoping to catch them. Once on Jackson, my 4th 4000 footer of the day, I decided I deserved a break. As I ate my grapefruit, dark thunderclouds rolled in. I decided I shouldn't be on the open summit, so I got back on the trail and headed for the safety of the trees. Then the skies opened, not with rain, but with hail. Ouch! Fortunately, the hail only lasted for about 10 minutes.
I pushed on to Mizpah Spring Hut. I peaked inside hoping to find my friends that were ahead of me. Nope. Next I made the short but very steep climb up to Pierce, 4000 footer #5. The summit was in the fog so I just kept moving. I pushed with all I had hoping to catch my friends by Eisenhower, but by the time I reached the top of my 6th 4000 footer of the day, there was still no sign of them. I headed down the other side and began my descent down the Edmands path which was a new trail for me, and it is also a section of the Cohos Trail that I had not done. I ran the last mile down to the road. No sign of my friends. I later learned that the hail hit while they were at the hut. They decided to call it a day and took the Mizpah Cutoff back down to Crawford Notch. If I was at the hut at the time, I probably would have done the same. My hike still wasn't complete. I was still 2.6 miles from my truck. I made the walk down the road in less than an hour finishing my long day at 5:40.
So that is it for May. I bagged fifteen 4000 footers this month, bringing my May Grid count up to 28.
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