The light was excellent in the crisp, early morning and made photographing the Presidential peaks a pleasure. Unlike the evening before, the wind was calm and sun warmed me as I walked on a very nice trail. The first peak the AT traversed was Mt. Monroe. The views of the peaks ahead and the valleys were outstanding and helped me forget the forecasted rain late in the afternoon. I needed to keep moving to reach Highway 302 and Crawford Notch while it was dry.
See my current location and daily log of my progress on the trail.
Mt. Eisenhower appeared to be the most massive mountain of the range except for Washington, but with a summit lower than Monroe. The AT traversed below the top to my left as I enjoyed viewing the treeless, brown rocky face of the mountain and the green, treed flank I would soon traverse.
In the late morning the AT led me to the summits of Pierce, Jackson, and Webster, the last being the edge of the Webster Cliffs. The AT descends three miles and 3,000 feet with occasional WTF moments along ledges and extreme boulders. There, I changed my approach on the scary, steep bouldery descents. Instead of facing ahead as I cautiously stepped/slid down, I turned to face the boulder using handholds, looking down for sturdy places for my shoes to precariously grip on each step down. This approach increased my confidence on the WTF boulders. However, I did reopen a scab on my elbow after slipping on a slick rock slab.
At highway 302 I caught a ride to the AMC lodge as the rain fell heavy. I had a nice dinner and long sleep to allow my knees to recover from 5,000 feet of pounding downhill. Bottom line…I arrived safely after a scenic, sudrop-off.
This sounds like it is a much more challenging hike than was the Continental Divide. Is it?
Stay safe!
Yes, the AT is challenging in different ways than the AT. I started this hike with the two hardest states first, Maine and New Hampshire.