Early Oct. conditions in the southern Presidentials

I just got back from a 4 day trip in the southern Presidential / Zealand Valley area. Here's some observations. Sunday and Monday were cool and breezy, with temps generally in the high 20's and low 30's. The cloud ceiling was around 4800 feet or so. We summited Eisenhower, Pierce and Isolation in various weather ranging from brief sunny periods to snow squalls. There was a light dusting of snow starting at around the 3000 foot level, and Eisenhower had patches of it up to 6" deep in places. The spruce trees along the Isolation trail were snow covered and because it is quite thickly grown in, we ended up getting pretty wet from the constant contact with the branches. Washington had snow and ice to 4" overall thickness.

By Tuesday, the weather had improved greatly, clear skies except for a cloud cap on Washington. It had warmed a bit, up to about 40 on the summit of Mt. Tom, and the snow up to around 4,000 feet is mostly gone at this point. On Wednesday, it was cloudless the entire day and warmer still. By the end of the day it appeared that the snows on the Presidentials were mostly gone except for Washington, and even that had been greatly reduced. All the river crossings were average, no problems noted. The views from Zeacliff were spectacular. Thoreau Falls was running nicely and it was not too muddy traveling through the Ethan Pond area. All in all, it was a fun trip with varying weather conditions...New England at its finest!

Here are some pictures from the trip: http://community.webshots.com/user/maxyboy17

Nice shots, Max. So when you were there, and of course things have continued melting, did you see any need for any kind of traction (stabilicers, step-in crampons, etc) ? I'm grabbing Tom, Field, and Willey this weekend (in the clouds and rain, apparently) and so far, based on weather, I don't think I need them...

You won't need them for sure on the Willey Range Michael. By the time we had left on Wednesday afternoon, the snow was basically gone from 5,000 feet on down. With Thursday being another warm day, it's probably melted everything except a bit on Washington. The mud situation on A-Z trail was minimal all the way over to Zealand hut. On the other end, the trail out from Ethan Pond to 302 was in fine shape, not very wet at all and not enough mud to make pies for a boy scout troop! Great views from Mt. Tom. The true summit is to the left (cairn), but don't miss the short trail to the right that takes you to a nice log bench and scenic view of the Presidentials over the blowdowns.

Great - thanks Max!

Grat pics and info. Thanks for sharing!

Geez, Greg, just what did you do to your poor avatar?