White Mountain Backpack - Presidential Range and Franconia Ridge

   Inviting adventurous members of the AOC to join me as I make a second attempt to traverse the fantastic and difficult Presidential range in New Hampshire. I started across this range several years ago, but was forced to cut the trip short due to bad weather. I will be making a second attempt over the fourth of July week, with this strenuous 5-day backpack, from Franconia Notch to Pinkham Notch on the Appalachian trail.  This section will also include a traverse of the beautiful Franconia Ridge. 

   The Applachian trail through the Whites is epically steep and rocky. Due to the rugged terrain, a ten-mile day in the Whites, is comparable in difficulty to a fifteen mile day here in Georgia. Also, the presidential range has some of the worst weather in the continential United States. The reward of undertaking this adventure will be to experience several of the most spectacular peaks in the eastern United States, including Mt Washington, the highest peak in the Northeast.

Section Details:

   "One of the most intense and scenic activities in the Northeast is the Presidential Traverse hike in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Covering nearly 20 miles of sometimes grueling, often beautiful terrain, it takes hikers over the Presidential Range, crossing seven 4,000-foot peaks, all named after U.S. presidents: Madison, Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Monroe, Eisenhower, and Pierce. "

https://newengland.com/today/travel/new-hampshire/white-mountains/expert-tips-on-hiking-the-presidential-traverse-in-new-hampshires-white-mountains/

"The Franconia Ridge Traverse is one of the most magnificent hikes in New Hampshire’s White Mountains and one that I never get tired of hiking. Located in Franconia Notch, the route involves climbing four 4000 footers: Mt Flume (4328′), Mt Liberty (4459′), Mt Lincoln (5089′), and Mt Lafayette (5260′) by the Franconia Ridge Trail, which runs north to south between Flume and Lafayette."

https://sectionhiker.com/great-hikes-franconia-ridge-traverse/

Schedule:

  This will be a 5-day backpack in the White Mountains, including the epic Presidential Range.   The trip will depart and return from Boston Logan airport (BOS). If you wish to enjoy a bonus visit to Boston, you could arrive early on July 3rd or leave late on July 9.

Tuesday, July 3: We will depart from Boston Logan Airport at 8:30pm. We will drive approximately a half hour north to Harold Parker State Park, where we will camp for  the night.

Wednesday, July 4: (~10.5  miles) We will depart by 6am Wednesday morning. I will drop the group members at Franconia Notch/Whitehouse Bridge trail crossing. After leaving the group I will continue up to the AMC highland center where I will catch the 9am bus back to the trail crossing. We will start the hike around 10:30am. 

We will begin with a long 4000 foot climb up to the Franconia ridgeline. We will proceed along the ridgeline enjoying epic views at Litte Haystack Mt, Mt Lincoln, and Mt Lafayette. We will finish our day just past Mt Garfield at the Garfield Ridge camping area. 

Thursday, July 5:  (14.2 miles) We will start the day with a descent down to Garfield Pond, before ascending up South Twin Mountain. We will finish with a long descent, past Zealand falls to finish at Ethan Pond campsite.

Friday, July 6:  (9.3 miles) We will start with a descent down to Ripley Falls and Crawford Notch. Then we will head up to start the Presidential range, and enjoy the views at Webster Cliffs, Mt Webster, and Mt Jackson, before stopping at Newman campsite.

Saturday, July 7:  (11 miles) Today will be the highlight of our trip as we continue (weather permitting) on the Presidential traverse. We will pass Mt Clinton, Mt Eisenhower, Mt Monroe, before reaching the famous Mt Washington. We will continue past Mt Clay, Mt Jefferson, and Mt Adams, before descending 0.9 miles down a side trail to the camping at Perch shelter.

Sunday, July 8:  (10.4 miles) We will hike the rest of the way down to Pinkham notch, finishing by 4pm. I catch the 4pm bus from Pinkham notch to the Highland center to retrieve the car. I will then return to retrieve to rest of the group, before heading back down towards Boston. We will camp for the night at Winter Island Park.

Monday, July 9:  We will get up early and leave the park by 6:15am to  drive the additional 45 minutes to be back at Boston Logan airport by 7am.

 This is an advanced backpack and requires prior experience backpacking with long distances! Everyone wishing to participate will be added to the waitlist pending vetting. In order to be allowed on this trip, you will need to have a solid history of D5/D6 backpacks with the club, or other extensive backpacking experience.

  The Presidential Range, especially Mt Washington, is considered to have the worst weather in the continential united states. You will be required to bring full-body fleece and rain gear. In case of bad weather, we will have to detour around the range, or cut the trip short. 

The Trip Leader(s) for this event has (have) elected either to personally collect the funds that event participants are required to pay, or to require participants to pay funds directly to a third party. No funds will be paid to the Atlanta Outdoor Club for this event. Therefore, by registering for this event, you acknowledge and agree to the following: (1) the monies paid by registrants will not be monitored, managed, or otherwise accounted for by the Atlanta Outdoor Club; (2) that the Atlanta Outdoor Club bears no financial responsibility for this event; and (3) you waive any and all claims against the Atlanta Outdoor Club, and hold the Atlanta Outdoor Club harmless for the loss of any monies you paid for this event.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, any paying registrant may request directly from the Trip Leader, prior to the event, a breakdown of funds collected, estimated expenses, and deposits made in anticipation of the event. Following the event, the Trip Leader must complete his or her financial accounting for the event, with supporting documentation, within 30 days of the completion of the event, and a paid registrant may request a breakdown of funds collected, money spent and supporting documentation after that time. If you are unable to obtain requested documentation, please contact the Director of Paid Events.

Money will be collected the week of June 18-22 via Paypal or check. The cost shown above is a worst case estimate. The cost will be somewhere between $102 & 170 each depending on the number of registrants.

Included in cost:

• Car Rental ($307) & Gas ($60)

• Camping fees at State Parks on the first and last nights ($59 &39)

• Bus tickets for car shuttling ($56)

Not included in cost:

•Airfare (~$150-200)

•Camping during the hike. Please plan to bring an extra $35 to pay camping fees on the trail.

•Food

•Showers, Fuel, airport parking in atlanta...

In the case that a participant cancels, and they are replaced by a member on the waitlist, then a refund will be issued regardless of drop- date. The refund will be issued after the new participant pays.

If a cancellation is made before June 18, even if the slot is not taken by another participant, then a full refund will be issued.

If the minimum registration number has not been reached by June 22, any paid fees will be refunded.

For any cancellations made after June 22, where the slot is not taken by a replacement from the waitlist, there will be norefund issued. (This is out of fairness to the other participants in the event, so that they can lock down their budgets and schedule for the month.)