hiking the west side of mt. washington

[jstarks188]

howdy all,
i hope to be on the western slope of mount washington in september.
i'm looking for any guidance on what route is the best for maximum enjoyment.
i would like to think i can hike the summit and return in one day, but if that doesn't happen i'm not worried about it!
Any time spent on the trails is time well spent don't you think ?
:beer:
cya in the woods
jack

 

[MichaelJ]

The classic loop is to go up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail to Lakes of the Clouds Hut, visit Mt. Monroe (if you're a peakbagger), then head up to the summit of Washington, and finally come back down the Jewell Trail.

Ammo has a lot of ledge, so you do not want to do this hike in wet weather. Of course, in general you don't want to be on Washington in bad weather, since the summit will be a thousand times worse than the valley.

This is a long hike with a lot of elevation and mileage, but you should be able to do it in a day. If you find yourself very short of time, consider climbing Jefferson via the Caps Ridge Trail. This is a short route in mileage and only a couple thousand feet of elevation gain, and is a very enjoyable rock scramble over the Caps. I was on the summit in only 2:20, but already above treeline after only a half-hour.

Either way, a bad day in the woods is better than any day at work!

 

[David Metsky]

Here's a trip report of the loop Michael described (with Clay thrown in). It's the most obvious choice from that side of the mountain.

-dave-

 

[thetrailboss]

The classic loop is to go up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail to Lakes of the Clouds Hut, visit Mt. Monroe (if you're a peakbagger), then head up to the summit of Washington, and finally come back down the Jewell Trail.

I did this same loop in reverse and it ended up being about 10 miles...doesn't sound too bad, but the elevation gain is pretty intenses. You can start and end at the same parking lot off of the Cog Base Road, which is quite handy.

I liked this route...the Lakes of the Clouds made a great afternoon stop.

It took about 11 hours to complete...but that was with a group and a weather delay. So, it could be easily done in a day.

 

[Mike P.]

The classic loop usually done by going up Ammo & down Jewel. Here's why I like doing it this way

Walk along river in spots is scenic
In some cover until you almost reach hut
in less than fair weather can do just Monroe & retreat, distance from hut round trip is under a mile & only 350 feet of elevation gain to 4th highest peak in the Northeast
Can add Monroe in & make a Washington trip a two peak day

To descend Washington take C-Path back to Gulfside, Trinity Connecter is just rocks with paint on it, although shorter, it takes longer.

Heading down Gulfside to Jewell you can appreciate view of Northern Peaks & into great Gulf better walking towards it

View from Clay is great if you've been before the matching part of Gulfside may be smoothest piece of the entire Gulfside trail, rocks are well laid out & flat.

Trail down Jewell satay above treeline longer & is more gentle allowing you to look up occasionally while walking. (in poor weather this exposure can be a bad thing.)

 

[Stephen]

I found Ammo to be mild whereas geting up the rock pile on Crawford took a lot of concentration to avoid busting an ankle.

Here's one of my favorite pics from that hike, looking down on the Lake of the Clouds hut as we came back down from Mt. Monroe.

-Stephen