Washington 6-17-06
| Vital Stats |
| Peak: |
Mount Washington |
| Peak altitude: |
6288' |
| Base altitude: |
2060' |
| Difference from base: |
4228' |
| Cumulative gain: |
4300' |
| Total time (Approx): |
2:15 to summit |
| Total vertical gain: |
4300' |
| Total distance: |
8.4 mi RT |
| Trip Difficulty |
S5D3V5(18) Very Difficult |
| Trail(s) Taken |
Tuckerman Ravine Tr, Lion Head, |
The much anticipated Mount Washington Hike. Started at 5:55 am and reached
the summit at 8:20. I began at Pinkham notch and took the Tuckerman's ravine
trail up to the camping area. At that point I learned that the headwall trail
was closed so I had to do a 10 minute back track to Lions head trail. I climbed
above the tree line to some pretty fantastic views. Lions head trail was quite
steep but leveled off above the tree line. I encountered some snow (mid June...
snow???) and made a snowball and tossed it (probably breaking many laws in doing
so but who knows?) I reached the intersection with the summit trail and began
the final 1000 foot grind. The trail was less a trail and more a rock field with
piles of rocks indicating where the trail was.
As I reached the parking lot I was greeted by a few volunteers for the road
race (1000 people ran up the mountain road starting at 10:00 and no, I did not
stick around to see who won). They cheered me on as I was one of the first
hikers of the day to reach the summit. When I arrived there really were
virtually no people to be seen. Maybe 10 or so. This changed around 9am when
several convoys of cars streamed upwards. before I knew it there were hundreds,
perhaps over a thousand people.
Weather conditions were great. Virtually no wind and it was in the high 50s.I
did get to witness a train climb up the cog railroad (very exciting). I left
around 10:20. I went over to the top of the Tuckerman ravine headwall where I
took a classic photo of me flipping off the "trail closed" sign. Torrents of
people streamed upwards and I was one of the few descending. I could hear crowds
cheering around 11:10 indicating people were crossing the finish line.
Total ascent was 4300, ascent time was 2:15 (very fast).
Click Here for the Hike Map
