Presidential Traverse Report

Presidential Traverse Report – July 25, 2020

With all of my big races cancelled, my coach’s Boundless Team decided to put together some big challenges to help fill the void. The first of which was back in early June when we summited Mount Elbert, Colorado’s highest peak at 14,400. The second one was a “Soft-Rock,” which follows the Hard Rock 100 course but drags it out over 3-4 days. Unfortunately, I missed that one due to a conflict, but will definitely get that one done in the future. The feedback I got from others on that run centered around big blisters!

When the opportunity to join a group on the highly acclaimed Presidential Traverse of the White Mountains of New Hampshire, I quickly signed up. After all, I had climbed Mt. Washington a few times before and climbed into Tuckerman’s Ravine a few times as well. But to do the whole traverse was something I only dreamed about. I figured I’d get to it one of these days, but always assumed I would like it with a backpack over the course of 2-3 days like most people. I based that on the reports I received from friends who had hiked it in the past as either a specific trek or part of their AT thru hike. Until I started focused training for the Leadville 100, I would never have considered doing it in one big push. At just over 20 miles, it’s not the distance that makes this a difficult single day excursion. It’s the vertical and the terrain. The White Mountains are appropriately named because from a distance, they look white even in summer when the snow is gone. The granite is endless. But unlike Yosemite, where it provides long stretches of fun hiking due to its solid state, the White’s are huge piles of loose rocks and boulders that seem to be in a constant state of motion, albeit extremely slow. Well at least until you step on them, then a surprising number move. In fact, I found myself up close and personal with them on three occasions. How I avoided significant injury can only be attributed to luck and the willingness to fall into a bush rather than more rocks.

Our group of about 20 gathered at the meeting spot at 5 am near the AMC Headquarters at Crawford Notch. From there we carpooled to our start in Randolph. By 6 am we were moving quickly up the Valley View trail toward the Madison Hut. This first climb of the day is over 3000 feet and with Ryan’s CO lungs leading the way, he succeeded in cooking us all on the way up. The climb took about 90 minutes and we consolidated briefly before turning to the summit of Madison. This is where we first got introduced to the Class 2 bouldering that seemed to go on all day long. Climbing Madison is scramble over very poorly placed boulders the size of small cars. Though it is only about 500 vertical feet above the Madison Hut, it will definitely work you and make you second guess the endeavor ahead with 6 summits left.

After a brief water resupply at Madison Hut, we were off to Mt Adams. We took the Heart Lake trail up the back side which practically disappears before the summit. Here the trail became a vertical Class 3 scramble where a rope is not necessary, but could certainly prevent a fall from becoming catastrophic. At the summit, we again consolidated, but only briefly as we had much work to do. It was obvious at this point that we were going to break into smaller groups, and just like that the rabbits were gone as we made the long descent and traverse across to Mt Jefferson. Back on the summit of Mt Adams, my new friend Cassandra decided to attempt the whole traverse after a very brief “you got this” conversation. I was with her about 300 yards later when she fell on a loose boulder, hitting her head, hip, leg and lacerating her hand on the sharp granite. Like a trooper, she picked herself up, allowed us to bandage her up and pushed on.

After Jefferson, we started the much anticipated climb to Mt Washington along the Gulf Slide Trail which puts you right on the precipice of a 500-1000' cliff. By the time we got to the top of Mt Washington, I was thinking how nice it would be to get on the train and ride down, but after chowing down on some food and re-hydrating, I was ready to tackle the rest of the traverse. Cassandra was beat when we got to the summit, but after eating one of almost everything in the snack bar, she was ready to go as well.

We descended down to the Lake of the Clouds Hut, got some water, and then bounced along across the range summiting Clay (which was unnecessary but seemed worthwhile), Franklin, Monroe, Eisenhower, and finally Pierce. As the shadows lengthened and the sun provided a warm orange glow on the Ridgeline, we knew we had hit the absolute perfect day for this grand adventure.

We needed headlights to descend back down to the Appalachian Mountain Club, and fortunately I had two with me because Cassandra was not counting on this long of a day! After arriving at the bottom, we made the trip down to where I had parked the truck and trailer and we drank a few beers to celebrate the day with the rest of the party. Afterwards, we headed to Ryan's condo at Bretton Woods where we celebrated a bit more and ate pizza, wings and everything else we could scrounge up. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day in the White Mountains.