The leaves have long since turned colors in the valleys and dropped on the slopes of the White Mountains. Last weekend, it snowed on the higher summits. Fall is marching on its inevitable path to winter.
Except Saturday was sunny and almost 70F in the mountains.
It made for good hiking weather when Benoît came to visit, but also some concerns about this winter’s skiing prospects. The weekend schedule was rather last minute. Benoît and a friend came down from Montreal. Tyson was still in Bethlehem from wave camp, and Isaac and I drove up. Since we had extra cars, we picked a through hike.
The hike up to Mt Eisenhower was mostly in the trees. Eisenhower itself and the ridge descending to Mt Pierce had gorgeous views of the Presidentials, Crawford Notch, western New Hampshire, and even Maine. Higher up but still in the trees, the trail turned to packed snow and some ice. Up on the ridge, especially south of Mt Eisenhower where fewer people had hiked, I sank into my knees in snow. Gaiters would have been a good idea.
We picked Eisenhower first to give the more gradual downhill route. If you want the best crescendo of views, you should start at Pierce and hike up to Eisenhower.
Surprisingly for a fall weekend, the hike wasn’t too crowded. And we had plenty of time afterwards to stop for ice cream.
Both peaks are on the NH four thousand footers list.
All photos
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- Owl in the tree -- Comments (0)
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- Isaac, Mylene, and Tyson hiking up -- Comments (0)
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- Mount Pleasant Brook -- Comments (0)
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- Snow person -- Comments (0)
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- Benoît on the ascent -- Comments (0)
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- First views -- Comments (0)
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- Isaac in the snow -- Comments (0)
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- Summit of Mt Washington -- Comments (0)
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- Taking photos once above tree line -- Comments (0)
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- Looking north along the presidentials -- Comments (0)
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- Cairns for inclement weather -- Comments (0)
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- Mount Eisenhower -- Comments (0)
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- Emilie lagging to take photos -- Comments (0)
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- Benoît -- Comments (0)
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- Climbing up Eisenhower -- Comments (0)
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- Looking towards Franklin -- Comments (0)
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- Tyson, Mylene, and Benoît -- Comments (0)
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- Isaac -- Comments (0)
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- Jefferson, Clay, Washington -- Comments (0)
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- Looking east to Maine -- Comments (0)
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- Isaac and Benoît arriving at the summit of Eisenhower -- Comments (0)
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- Glider above Mt Washington -- Comments (0)
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- Looking south down the Dry River -- Comments (0)
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- Lunch on the summit -- Comments (0)
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- Isaac found more snow -- Comments (0)
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- Pierce and Jackson -- Comments (0)
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- Mylene enjoying the warm sun -- Comments (0)
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- Mount Washington Hotel -- Comments (0)
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- Isaac and Tyson on the way to Pierce -- Comments (0)
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- View of Eisenhower from Pierce -- Comments (0)
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- Descent -- Comments (0)
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- Isaac told mom to walk across the log -- Comments (0)
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- Gibbs Falls -- Comments (0)
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