# Mt Washington info needed



## catbird (May 14, 2009)

Looking for average hike times/length - how many hours up and down...

if you have stayed in the huts, which is the best one?

Is the famously unpredictable weather stable by June?

Also, if nearby peaks are preferred to Mt Wash - which ones? Thanks!


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## dmc (May 14, 2009)

it snows every month on Mount Washington...


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## thetrailboss (May 14, 2009)

catbird said:


> Looking for average hike times/length - how many hours up and down...



Depends on which approach you take.  Plan on at least a day hike...



> if you have stayed in the huts, which is the best one?



I can only think of two that are considered "close," the obvious is Lake of the Clouds which is an experience.  The other would be Pinkham Notch which is the main starting point for eastern approaches.  Lakes of the Clouds is on the mountain while Pinkham is at the base.  You could stay at the RMC huts on the Northern Presidentials or possibly Madison Springs or Mizpah.  



> Is the famously unpredictable weather stable by June?



The weather is unpredictable every month....be prepared.  



> Also, if nearby peaks are preferred to Mt Wash - which ones? Thanks!



Preferred in what way?  The Northern Presidentials are not as crowded and offer some spectacular rugged terrain.


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## Talisman (May 14, 2009)

catbird said:


> Also, if nearby peaks are preferred to Mt Wash - which ones? Thanks!



I'm not a fan of the Mt Washington Summit because of the auto road, summit buildings, cog railway and large number of people.  When on Mt Washington, I typically don't summit.  I prefer Lafayatte, Clay, Jeffferson, Adams and Madison to Washington.


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## catbird (May 14, 2009)

Talisman said:


> I prefer Lafayatte, Clay, Jeffferson, Adams and Madison to Washington.



Good suggestion. 

But any less crowded routes up Mt Wash recommended? Would like to try it since it's the highest.


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## skibum9995 (May 14, 2009)

catbird said:


> Good suggestion.
> 
> But any less crowded routes up Mt Wash recommended? Would like to try it since it's the highest.


For a less crowded route check out Nelson Crag Trail. I hiked it on a summer weekend a few years ago and didn't see anyone else until after the junction with the Alpine Garden Trail.


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## Mike P. (May 14, 2009)

Weather in June may have T-storms & no place to hide if above trees & still a mile or 1,000 feet of vertical from summit.

least crowded routes are the hardest.  Can you provide some background on what you've done?  People do go there first because it's teh highest but some are miserable because they underestimated the elevation gain.  A reasonably fit person can do the hike in 3/4 of a day, maybe less.

I prefer the Ammo, Crawford Path Jewell loop also hitting Mt. Monroe.   Lakes is the hut closest & you pass it on my loop.  It's teh most crowded & I won't stay there again because of the number of bunks.    (90).  

Strongest hikers could do Huntington or Great Gulf, longer, harder. using your hands required, a slip could kill you in spots.


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## catbird (May 14, 2009)

Mike P. said:


> Weather in June may have T-storms & no place to hide if above trees & still a mile or 1,000 feet of vertical from summit.
> 
> least crowded routes are the hardest.  Can you provide some background on what you've done?



Mt Osceola in NH, et al - those types of one day hikes. Just hiked Equinox in VT this past wkend. I am pretty fit, though we found it strenuous, & obviously Equinox is much smaller than Mt Wash. 

Given the advice here, the less crowded trails will be too hard for us, and we'll stick to easier ones recommended and probably later in summer to avoid worse weather.



Mike P. said:


> ...
> 
> I prefer the Ammo, Crawford Path Jewell loop also hitting Mt. Monroe.   Lakes is the hut closest & you pass it on my loop.  It's teh most crowded & I won't stay there again because of the number of bunks.    (90).  Strongest hikers could do Huntington or Great Gulf, longer, harder. using your hands required, a slip could kill you in spots.



holy %$#. That's not the kind of hike I want. I was looking for high peaks & long trails, not extremely hazardous trails.  For some reason had thought Mt wash was just long, high, & only moderately strenuous/hazardous- mostly bc of weather.

Am taking notes of this, & was going to stay in Lake of clouds, but will be avoiding it for sure now!


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## billski (May 15, 2009)

You can minimize (not eliminate crowds) by going midweek.  I'm with Talisman.  Better yet, go in September.  I've never summited MW and probably never will specifically because of crowds.  Nothing more disappointing than getting to the top and finding 100s of out of shape people, food concessions, electricity and parking lots full of cars.   Go to Katahdin instead: a lifetime of memories without any of the above.


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (May 15, 2009)

billski said:


> You can minimize (not eliminate crowds) by going midweek.  I'm with Talisman.  Better yet, go in September.  I've never summited MW and probably never will specifically because of crowds.  Nothing more disappointing than getting to the top and finding 100s of out of shape people, food concessions, electricity and parking lots full of cars.   Go to Katahdin instead: a lifetime of memories without any of the above.



They sell food at the top of Mount Washington???


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## catbird (May 15, 2009)

billski said:


> Nothing more disappointing than getting to the top and finding 100s of out of shape people, food concessions, electricity and parking lots full of cars.   .



Concessions & a parking lot?! God! Awful! Thanks again, am convinced to try Katahdin or one of the other presidentials.

I checked out some other sites after reading the replies here and found one that said:
 Do you really want to spend your time hiking the Microsoft of NH’s mountains?
>>

No! 

But too bad what state of NH has turned Mt Washington into. Had thought it was NH's pristine, mini-Montana. Obviously not.


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## billski (May 15, 2009)

GrilledSteezeSandwich said:


> They sell food at the top of Mount Washington???


  The gift shop is quaint.


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## billski (May 15, 2009)

GrilledSteezeSandwich said:


> They sell food at the top of Mount Washington???



[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"A modern summit building            houses a cafeteria, restrooms, gift shops, the Mt. Washington Observatory            and its museum."

source: http://www.nhstateparks.com/washington.html[/FONT]


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## Mike P. (May 15, 2009)

Washington is Washington, I found germany's highest point to be more built up & crowded on the top.  Even Katahdin is a bit crowded as day traffice enters the same time, most trails to the top are about the same length, therefore even though people start at differnt points, you get to the common goal around the same time.

On weekends in good weather, most summits over 4,000  ft. in the Northeast have people on them.  I've used AC groups hikes published ahead of time to find places they were not going.  

Mid-week rules,  within reason, bad weather can rule also, it keeps crowds down.  I've been on Washington's summit twice with almost no people.  One October with freezing  rain & fog which closed the road & made paying for a train ride silly.  It was just me & the guy I was hiking with & Mike Pelchat who works at the park.

The Hut is a convenient place to use the John, get water & socialize.  if i wanted a hut & more solitude, I'd pick Madison Hut on a weekday & do both Madison & Adams.

BTW,  most trails up don't require hands, just those with headwalls.  Presidentials are all covered with rock fragments up high.  Rocky part of Osceola has different footing then Equinox.  from the Seminary, the logging road is pretty steep for a road.


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (May 16, 2009)

billski said:


> [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"A modern summit building            houses a cafeteria, restrooms, gift shops, the Mt. Washington Observatory            and its museum."
> 
> source: http://www.nhstateparks.com/washington.html[/FONT]



So you can have an iced cold gatorade and a hot dog..good stuff..on the appalachian trail near me..you have to bring your own food and hike to the top..no ATVs allowed..


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## SIKSKIER (May 18, 2009)

catbird said:


> Concessions & a parking lot?! God! Awful! Thanks again, am convinced to try Katahdin or one of the other presidentials.
> 
> But too bad what state of NH has turned Mt Washington into. Had thought it was NH's pristine, mini-Montana. Obviously not.



It's been that way since the the first horse path was built in  mid 1800's and the cog railroad shortly after.


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## thetrailboss (May 18, 2009)

SIKSKIER said:


> It's been that way since the the first horse path was built in  mid 1800's and the cog railroad shortly after.



+ 1.


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## Talisman (May 19, 2009)

SIKSKIER said:


> It's been that way since the the first horse path was built in  mid 1800's and the cog railroad shortly after.



Another way to look at it is if the masses had no access to Mt Washington, there would be fewer people to apprecaite the view and support preserving mountains with parks like WMNF, GNF and Adk Park.  I don't like the development at the summit of Mt Washington and just go to scores of other peaks instead, happy they don't all have communication towers, auto roads and restaurants.


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## Jonni (May 22, 2009)

The other time to hit Washington would be early in the morning. Start hiking before sunrise and summit it just as the auto road and cog railway are opening. Just make sure you don't go on one of the days that the road is open for sunrises, though that only happens about twice a year.

For any that aren't all that familiar with the mountain (I know most of you are, but still) here's the Wikipedia entry for it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Washington_(New_Hampshire)


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## billski (May 22, 2009)

Jonni said:


> don't go on one of the days that the road is open for sunrises, though that only happens about twice a year.



Don't go during motorcycle weeks either.   Over 2000 summit Washington.  And one or two occasionally wipe out :-o


"The Mt. Washington Auto Road welcomes motorcyclists throughout Laconia Motorcycle Week to “Ride to the Sky” and offers two motorcycle-only days on Monday, June 11 and Thursday, June 14, the latter sponsored by Meredith Harley-Davidson/Buell. Thursday also features a fundraising barbecue by the local Harley Owners Group with vendors and a band, the White Mountain Boys."

We were up there in June 3 years ago during that week.  The peace and traquility of the mountains was shattered throughout the region for hundreds of miles.  Glad to see they picked black fly season, since it's unusual to find me up there then.  You could hear them from the other mountain summits and backcountry 

While the majority of bikers are nice folks, there are always a few testosterone-laden youth who decide to see how fast they can go on narrow mountain roads.  We were passed on a few occasions on road switchbacks and turns with oncoming traffic.  Very scary.  I'll just avoid the whole week.
http://www.biker-events.com/2008/04...enture-in-mt-washington-valley-nh-june-14-22/


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## riverc0il (May 23, 2009)

catbird said:


> Concessions & a parking lot?! God! Awful! Thanks again, am convinced to try Katahdin or one of the other presidentials.
> 
> I checked out some other sites after reading the replies here and found one that said:
> Do you really want to spend your time hiking the Microsoft of NH’s mountains?
> ...


I think a lot of people are overly dramatic about the summit. But that said, I don't visit it often and usually only when slacking it up the auto road for skiing. It has the worst views of any place above treeline on the mountain. So the best option is hike Mount Washington but only go as high as the plateau around the summit cone. You can do some amazing loop hikes without visiting the summit. Nelson Crag was mentioned, Tuckerman Ravine is a good hike once the hiking trail is opened, plenty of trails under the summit area such as Alpine Garden that are nice, you can loop around the ravines, Glen Boulder is an excellent option... etc. The list goes on and on with the potential great hikes on this mountain without visiting the summit. Or, just go for one of the northern Presidentials for similar vertical with a non-building summit.

In regards to NH being pristine, I think the state has two auto roads up mountains and Washington happens to be one of them. Out of the 48 Highest (as defined by the AMC), only three buildings have summit development and two of them are due to ski areas. Plenty of other options for the remote and pristine feeling far away from civilization.


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## billski (May 26, 2009)

riverc0il said:


> I think a lot of people are overly dramatic about the summit. But that said, I don't visit it often and usually only when slacking it up the auto road for skiing. It has the worst views of any place above treeline on the mountain. So the best option is hike Mount Washington but only go as high as the plateau around the summit cone. You can do some amazing loop hikes without visiting the summit. Nelson Crag was mentioned, Tuckerman Ravine is a good hike once the hiking trail is opened, plenty of trails under the summit area such as Alpine Garden that are nice, you can loop around the ravines, Glen Boulder is an excellent option... etc. The list goes on and on with the potential great hikes on this mountain without visiting the summit. Or, just go for one of the northern Presidentials for similar vertical with a non-building summit.
> 
> In regards to NH being pristine, I think the state has two auto roads up mountains and Washington happens to be one of them. Out of the 48 Highest (as defined by the AMC), only three buildings have summit development and two of them are due to ski areas. Plenty of other options for the remote and pristine feeling far away from civilization.



Leave it to Steve to bring  perspective, wisdom and a moderating voice to a perfectly degenerated message thread 8)

As with all outdoors sports, there is always a crowd-avoidance strategy that can be employed year-round.

As I got to thinking about the resorts that have/had roads to the top, I was surprised at the list I developed:
Moosilauke NH (no more)
Mt. Mansfield VT
Washington NH
Greylock MA
Equinox VT
Burke VT
Ascutney VT


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## riverc0il (May 26, 2009)

billski said:


> Leave it to Steve to bring  perspective, wisdom and a moderating voice to a perfectly degenerated message thread 8)
> 
> As with all outdoors sports, there is always a crowd-avoidance strategy that can be employed year-round.
> 
> ...


Wachusett as well. Plus a few other lost areas that I can not recall the names to. Thankfully, the Green Mountain Parkway was never built :lol:


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## Talisman (May 26, 2009)

In Western MA, Mt Holyoke at the Skinner Park end and Sugar Loaf both have paved roads to their summits.


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