Camping/hike #4: two presidentials!

It was a pretty big weekend for us in terms of our northern excursion. With such a great prediction for the weather--high 80s and sunny--we decided to camp on Friday night and then get an early start on Saturday for a longer hike. I've been choosing the trails thus far, and now it was Jeff's turn to pick. He chose Crawford Path in the Notch starting at route 302.

Our campground was within a 15-minute drive of our hike's trailhead. We stayed at the Crawford Notch Campground right on the Saco River. We managed to get a tent site where we had to walk down a path and carry our gear and food in.

Once there, we hardly saw anyone and had a lovely view of the river. The prospect of a starry sky seen from our tent (without the rain fly) and listening to the river tumbling over small rocks seemed so heavenly. We even had a view of Frankenstein Cliffs from the river, right near Arethusa Falls.


When we arrived, it was still super hot outside, so we set up our tent and walked along the river. After a yummy camp dinner of fish, veggies and rice, we settled in to watch the fire and the stars. Zoe, as much as she loves to hike and be outdoors, is a downright princess when it comes to her sleeping arrangements. Thus, she hates camping. Look at this pathetic face.

It got a lot colder than I was predicting, and so it was a loooonnnngggg night without much sleep. It was Shelby's first camping experience and she didn't get any shuteye because she was up listening to all the creatures and valiantly trying to protect the herd inside our tent. In true ninja style, she snuck out of the tent twice through a small opening in the zipper.

Anyway, we wearily climbed out of the tent in the morning, had some oatmeal and set off for our destination: Crawford Path, the oldest continuously hiked trail in the nation. How amazing is that?!

Crawford Path is as long or as short as you want it to be. It ascends Mt. Pierce at ~4,300 ft., continues above treeline along the mountain's spine towards Mt. Eisenhower, Mt. Monroe, and on eventually to Lakes of the Clouds and Mt. Washington. We decided we'd start out and see how we felt. Pretty purple lupine greeted us at the trailhead.

The dogs were not feeling really well, likely due to stress from camping and weird food, and it was humid and hot, making the ascent more difficult. Plenty of other hiking groups were tackling this trail and we were concerned it would be a steady train of folks up the mountain all day.

Luckily, we separated from most of them and began our hike. It was a very steady, albeit pretty steep, upward climb. Not quite as ridiculous as Moat Mountain (which is now our measuring stick against which all other trails shall be judged), but there were no breaks, just a constant climb.

Plenty of waterfalls, rivers running right down the trail, and wet roots and rocks made the climb a bit slick, but nothing this klutz couldn't handle. I actually felt pretty good going up, like maybe my legs were finally in good hiking shape. My heels felt good too, and everything was falling into a nice groove. Most of the trail on Mt. Pierce was in the woods, shading us from the unforgiving sun.

Suddenly we arrived at the treeline edge, and voila!! The views began to unfold. The views were so spectacular, just absolutely stunning.

The trail wound its way along the ridgelines like the Great Wall of China, and all the tall peaks were at hand. They felt so close, like we might even try for Mt. Washington that day (you can see the observatory on its peak). But being realistic, we figured we'd hit Mt. Eisenhower and see how it went. But first, to enjoy Mt. Pierce! Jeff points for my mom's favorite photo opp.

I love the way the cloud shadows draped over the mountains.

Mt. Eisenhower laid ahead, but we had to walk on hot rocks and the sun was beating down mercilessly. The dogs were panting and Shelby was burrowing in the alpine shrubs whenever she could to escape the heat. We poured some water over her and Zoe to cool them off, they were real troopers!

We heard about some giant swarm of big angry bees at the top of the Mt. Eisenhower cairn, so we hiked up near the top but avoided the tippy top. Instead, we enjoyed the views at ~4,700 ft. So reminiscent of the Smokies but even more spectacular. Some days, I just can't believe I live here and am lucky enough to enjoy this place and what it has to offer.

Behold, our goal for this summer, Mt. Washington! So close, but so far...and Tuckerman's Ravine STILL has a bit of snow in it!

The long hike down was tough. My knees were screaming at me as much as my calves had been burning going uphill. It felt much longer than the nine miles it actually was. Phew! We were all wiped out from the hike in the heat. The girls fell asleep almost immediately in the cool air conditioned Jeep, and Jeff and I took a quick dunk in the Saco River to wash off the salt, sweat and dirt. We had hiked not one, but TWO presidentials today!!! And amazingly, my legs were not sore the next day. My knees, on the other hand, were not very happy. But the views were incredibly well-worth all the efforts.