| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Washington, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Great Gulf Trail, Osgood Trail, Osgood Cutoff, Gulfside, Trinity Heights Connector, Nelson Crag Trail, Alpine Garden Trail, Wamsutta Trail, Chandler Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, July 20, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Great Gulf trailhead has an iron ranger ($5), but also a brand new two-holer (pit toilet). |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Dry feet on all except 2nd waterfall crossing on Chandler Brook |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
All in awesome shape except near the top of Wamsutta which has a couple sections (maybe 3 or 4 hundred feet total) where the spruce have taken over and need to be cut back. Hard to see the rocky trail bed in these sections so care is needed to avoid a rolled ankle or worse. AMC - a crew of two starting at the Auto Rd trailhead could have this trail work finished in less than a day. AMC - nice work on the recent brushing of the lower section of Wamsutta. The upper section is a nuisance, the lower section being overgrown could be dangerous. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
Mostly face-floating, eye-diving gnats, a few biters too but very bearable. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Two night backpack in the Great Gulf. Headed in about noon on 7/18, and camped at the last designated area on the Great Gulf trail about 1/4 mile past the junction with Wamsutta and Six husbands. No bear box here, and real hard to find a good tree for hanging, so a bear can is needed. GG trail to this point is about as nice a wilderness trail as there is. The water here in the West Branch of the Peabody is flowing strong and is ICE cold. Next morning we headed up the GG to summit Washington. This section of GG is much more rugged but easy to follow. We missed one river crossing below Spaulding lake and found ourselves up in a pretty nice gypsy campsite. Part of the reason why we missed the crossing was the herd path up to the campsite looked like the trail, but there were no cairns across the river either (we built one). Once past the lake and out of the trees, the fun begins. We were able to follow the trail without too much trouble using the occasional cairns and faded blazes, as well as the obvious signs of use. Climbing up next to and crisscrossing the waterfalls is pretty cool. After getting out of the waterfalls we did get a bit left of the official trail, but at this point it's just a steep boulder scramble so as long as you stay off the veg the official trail is just one option. The cairns were a bit more prevalent near the top of the headwall, and were helpful to guide you up the last few hundred feet to the trail junction with Gulfside. We hiked side by side in case we accidentally dislodged a big rock, which is a real possibility. We saw two folks heading down - someone told them it was easier than going down Tucks. I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion - better to be prepared than to have to ask for potentially misinformed guidance. Two male Canucks wearing basically too-tight underwear passed us - we tried not to look :-). The summit was a zoo, but we got lucky and scored two Adirondack chairs by the Cog landing and enjoyed our sandwiches with cold Gold Leaf raspberry ice tea (man that is good stuff!) and then split a Maple Woopie Pie (easily worth the $6). We headed down Nelson Crag, which is no way to restart the legs after a long-ish lunch break. It was slow going down to Alpine Garden, but that short section to the auto road was much smoother. We then headed down Wamsutta and quickly hit the overgrown section. Thankfully, that didn't last too long and we enjoyed tremendous views wandering through the alpine zone, in and out of the spruce. The bottom section of Wamsutta is very steep and rugged, with many scrambles that require down-climbing or getting on your butt to reach your feet down a level. Very slow going, but not a section to try and make time. We made it through unscathed and were glad to get back to camp. After getting dinner rehydrating, we washed up and soaked our feet in the icy river. Ahhhhhhh! Next morning we packed up and headed back down GG to Chandler Brook. We dropped some of the heavy stuff from our packs at the bottom and did an out and back to the Auto road. At the second waterfall crossing, we moved up and crossed about 20 feet above the waterfall drop on some rough ledge in about an inch of flowing water, which was safer than jumping big rounded rocks near the edge. The trail is very steep and rough, but also very cool and unique. The spiders like to make their webs across this trail, and without a lot of use they can get thick. I had to wave my hiking pole in front of me most of the way up to keep them (and the spiders) off me. The top of the trail is a steep boulder field scramble to the road. maybe 300 feet or so, but is well marked with cairns. On the way down we had a nice lunch at the topmost waterfall crossing. From there down to GG was faster than expected. We then casually hiked out GG, enjoying the very scenic riverside and views, and had a lovely swim in the Peabody under the bridge back at the trailhead. That always feels sooooo good!
While researching this hike, we found folks are divided on whether to ascend or descend Wamsutta. Based on our experience, we would definitely recommend ascending Wamsutta. Even though it's a gasser of a climb, we think climbing up the scrambles would be easier and safer than climbing down them. This is especially true if you plan to do a loop of Wamsutta and Chandler Brook, because Chandler Brook is never too challenging going down after getting through the short-ish boulder section at the top. This assumes low water levels on Chandler Brook, which we would avoid for a few days after heavy rains on during active rain. |
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 | Name: |
Notch and Pumbaa |
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 | E-Mail: |
bowmore17@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-07-21 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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