Presidential traverse 3 days, 2 nights, staying at huts

[md1486]

I’m starting slowly to prepare my presidential traverse for next june. We would like to bag all peaks of the presidential (11 peaks I think?) and to do it in 3 days, 2 nights, and to stay at huts at night.

What would be the most logical route since I think that I’m restricted to stay at Madison Hut and Lake of the Cloud hut. I don’t know how to spread the traverse over 3 days.

Also, I need to start and end at an AMC shuttle since we will have only 1 car (we live at more than 5-6 hours of the Whites).

Thanks,

[Driver8]

I’m starting slowly to prepare my presidential traverse for next june. We would like to bag all peaks of the presidential (11 peaks I think?) and to do it in 3 days, 2 nights, and to stay at huts at night.

What would be the most logical route since I think that I’m restricted to stay at Madison Hut and Lake of the Cloud hut. I don’t know how to spread the traverse over 3 days.

Also, I need to start and end at an AMC shuttle since we will have only 1 car (we live at more than 5-6 hours of the Whites).

Thanks,

Option 1: Start at Appalachia on Rt. 2 at the north base of Adams and Madison. It's an AMC shuttle stop. I'd say park your car on the other end, for instance at the Highland Center, or near the Willey House where the A.T. crosses Rt. 302, depending on your hike routing, then take the shuttle to Appalachia. Outdoors.org will give you the Shuttle schedule for planning purposes.

Hike up to Madison Spring Hut. Bag Madison from there Day 1, at least. Maybe hit Adams, too, and backtrack to the hut for the night. Day 2, hit A, if not done already, and Jefferson, en route to Washington. Some consider the full traverse to include hitting Mt. Clay between J and W, though it's not an official 4000-footer due to insufficient prominence. It reputedly has an outstanding view of the Great Gulf due to its angle and the sharp dropoff east of its summit. I'll leave that to you. Carry on to Lakes Hut, or, if ambitious, to Mitzpah, snagging Madison and Ike and Pierce along the way.

If you want to bag all eight 4000-footers in the Presi Range's principal ridge, continue on to Mt. Jackson, which has a lovely perspective up the Dry River Valley to Oakes Gulf and Big W, taking in a broad, panoramic sweep of the Whites.

From Pierce/Mitzpah, if skipping Jackson, you can descend via Crawford Path, which is gorgeous, or via Mitzpah Cutoff, then the Crawford, to car if parked at Highland or hiker parking at base of the Path off Rt. 302 opposite Highland. Or you can hit Jackson then the Webster Cliffs Trail down to 302, a knee-busting, breathtakingly pretty finish to your hike. Or, after Jackson, you can descend to the Highland Center via the woodsy, very green and pretty Jackson leg of the Webster-Jackson Trail, which crosses above two pretty and famous waterfalls, the Silver and Flume Cascades, which fall down to 302 in the notch. Your choice. Gibbs Falls, about 0.3 up the Crawford from the Highland Center is beautiful and a must-stop if descending or ascending along that route, and worth an easy, short side-trip if coming down another way.

You could also flip the script and hike the opposite direction. The northern presi territory is much rougher and rockier than the southern, I gather from trail guides and lots of reports (haven't hiked up there except the Jewell Trail-Gulfside routing to Washington, while I've hiked Jackson through Washington, minus Monroe, in three day hikes). So climbing it from the north might be preferable, then descending the gentler southern slopes. Also, you could get rid of the hardest work of the hike, ascending to Adams and Madison, Day 1, when you're freshest. This is the way most ppl do the traverse, I'd say about 4 out of 5 or more, based on reading many dozens of trail reports.

There are multiple routing options, pretty much all of them beautiful. The Whites are such a fine adventure, especially the Presi's. I'm getting excited just thinking about it.

[md1486]

There are multiple routing options, pretty much all of them beautiful. The Whites are such a fine adventure, especially the Presi's. I'm getting excited just thinking about it.

Thanks ! I have done a few hikes in the Whites (Lafayette/Lincoln/Adams/Washington), can't wait to do the Presidential !

[Driver8]

Thanks ! I have done a few hikes in the Whites (Lafayette/Lincoln/Adams/Washington), can't wait to do the Presidential !

Awesome. Best of luck - it's beautiful country.

[Mr. Clean]

Also, don't forget the Perch leanto if you want to get a few more miles in on day one than Madison. Then maybe Nauman/Mitzpah on night 2.

[redseal]

Here is my trip report from this past summer. It is fairly detailed to give you one option. Enjoy your trip!

http://www.backpackingengineer.com/r...tial-traverse/