| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Madison, Mt. Washington, Mt. Monroe, Mt. Eisenhower, Mt. Pierce, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Fallsway, Valley Way, Brookside, Watson Path, Osgood Trail, Gulfside, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop, Eisenhower Loop, Webster-Cliff Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, June 26, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Crawford Path officially starts from rt. 302 and just has roadside parking, which was plentiful at 8am. Appalachia parking lot was mostly full at 8:30am Wednesday, and was mostly full at 1:45pm today (Thursday). |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I'm pleased to say all water crossings were easy to rock hop! |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Nothing too serious. Biggest issue was a large downed tree on Crawford. Due to the light use of many of these trails, some are overgrown in places and route-finding may be a little difficult. There were a few small snapped trees between Eisenhower and Pierce, but for the most part you could just lean around them - don't even have to walk off trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Dogs not allowed at the huts, and with a lot of sharp rocks, this hike is probably not suited for them anyways. |
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 | Bugs: |
Black flies pretty brutal from about the Edmund's Path/Crawford Path jct. to about 0.6mi above the Crawford Path/Mizpah Cutoff jct. Black flies were present along the whole ridge, but no where near as bad anywhere else. The summits of Mt. Madison and Mt. Eisenhower had large bees that were harmless but enjoyed landing on our shirts and drinking our sweat. If one lands on you, they probably won't sting, but they don't like to leave either so make sure to carefully brush them off before you put your pack on. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Beautiful two days for a Presi traverse. The route we followed up Mt. Madison was very quiet, unusual given how pretty it was. Only followed Valley Way and Webster Cliff for 0.1mi each, probably shouldn't use this report for those trails too much. Most of the trails were pretty well maintained, though Gulfside trail going around Mt. Jefferson and Crawford Path around Mt. Eisenhower seem quite lightly used and a little overgrown in parts, nothing too challenging though. Crawford Path descending Mt. Pierce was very wet with water running down the trail. Lots of wet rocks but they didn't seem too slippery. There were a few muddy patches along Crawford Path between Mts. Eisenhower and Pierce, but they were not too squishy. A little water running down Star Lake trail around the Madison Spring Hut, connecting Valley Way and Gulfside trails. There was also a small amount of water and mud on Crawford Path going around Mt. Eisenhower, but the rest of the ridge was dry. Despite what the map shows, Watson Path is very steep. Some of the signage could be a little more useful - for example, the sign at the jct. of Israel Ridge and Gulfside had mileage to Mt. Washington, but nothing about Mt. Jefferson, the next peak. Other than the many steep patches and loose rock on the Northern Presi's, trails were in pretty good shape. |
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 | Name: |
Mountain goat |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-06-27 |
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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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