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<h1>Hut to Hut Presidential Traverse, White Mountains, NH</h1>
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<!-- table of contents start -->
<h2><a name="toc" id="toc"></a>Table of Contents</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="hut-traverse.html#tocref1">Northbound</a></li>
<li><a href="hut-traverse.html#tocref2">Southbound</a></li>
<li><a href="hut-traverse.html#tocref3">Adding Mizpah Hut</a></li>
<li><a href="hut-traverse.html#tocref4">Bypassing the Summits</a></li>
</ul>
<!-- table of contents end -->
<p>The classic hut based Presidential Traverse is a three day trip
across the top of the White Mountains of New Hampshire, with nights
spent at Lakes of the Clouds and Madison Spring huts. It can be
extended to a fourth day by spending an extra night at Mizpah Hut.
It can obviously be done in either direction, there are
considerable differences in difficulty between the two
directions.</p>
<p>This is a popular trip, and in good weather it is spectacular,
with about one and a half of days spent above treeline.
Unfortunately hut reservations must be made weeks in advance, and
so it is impossible to predict what the weather will be like.
Distances and elevation gains are given on the assumption that all
summits will be ascended, see the Notes on Bypassing the Summits
for a discussion of the distance and elevation savings of bypassing
them.</p>
<h2><a name="tocref1" id="tocref1"></a>Northbound</h2>
<p>The northbound traverse is easier, as it rises gradually on the
first day, following the Crawford path, which was initially a
bridle path.</p>
<p>On the first day take the Crawford Path from the notch to Lakes
hut, going over (or around) the summits of Pierce, Eisenhower,
Franklin and Monroe [ow: 7.4 miles, 4,250 feet, 5:50]. While the
elevation gain is substantial it is spread out over seven miles ,
and the trails all have good footing and are nowhere very steep.
There are patches of scrub between Pierce and Eisenhower, beyond
that the trail is entirely above treeline.</p>
<p>On the second day continue on the Crawford Path to the summit of
Mt. Washington, then take the Gulfside trail to Madison hut,
optionally taking loop trails to go over the summits of Clay,
Jefferson and Adams [ow: 7.0 miles, 1,900 feet, 4:25].</p>
<p>On the third day ascend Madison by the Osgood trail, and descend
to Appalachia either by returning to the hut and taking the Valley
Way, or going down the Watson Path to the Valley Way, the distance
is the same for both [ow: 4.7 miles, 550 feet, 2:40]. In bad
weather a direct descent by the Valley Way is almost completely
sheltered (ow: 3.8 miles, 0 feet, 1:55).</p>
<p>A longer alternative is to take the Osgood Trail all the way
down to the Great Gulf Trail, and exit by that trail [ow: 5.6
miles, 550 feet, 3:05], or by taking the AT along the Madison Gulf
and Old Jackson Road trails to Pinkham Notch [ow: 7.7 miles, 1,100
feet, 4:25]. Either alternative gives an additional mile of above
treeline ridge walking, it should not be done in bad weather when
the steeper but more protected Madison Gulf Trail can be used to
descend to the Great Gulf. Since the Madison Gulf Trail is very
steep and has a few scrambles it is rarely used as a descent route
except when the weather makes the more exposed routes
dangerous.</p>
<p>It is possible to add Jackson to the first day of the trip,
going up the Jackson branch of the Webster-Jackson trail and taking
the Webster Cliff trail to its junction with the Crawford Path [ow:
9.2 miles, 4,350, 6:45].</p>
<p>Here is a summary of the three day south to north traverse:</p>
<div class="C">
<table cellspacing="0" border="3" cellpadding="3">
<caption>Three Day Northbound Hut-Based Presidential
Traverse</caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Route</th>
<th>Distance</th>
<th>Elevation Gain</th>
<th>Book Time</th></tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="L">Day 1: Crawford to Lakes</td>
<td>7.4</td>
<td>4,250</td>
<td>5:50</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Day 1: Crawford to Lakes adding Jackson</td>
<td>9.2</td>
<td>4,350</td>
<td>6:45</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Day 2:Lakes Hut to Madison Hut</td>
<td>7.4</td>
<td>4,250</td>
<td>5:50</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Day 3:Madison Hut to Appalachia, over Mt.
Madison</td>
<td>4.7</td>
<td>550</td>
<td>2:40</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Day 3: Valley Way bypassing Mt. Madison</td>
<td>3.8</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>1:55</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Day 3: Madison Hut to Great Gulf trailhead</td>
<td>5.6</td>
<td>550</td>
<td>3:05</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Day 3: Madison Hut to Pinkham by AT</td>
<td>7.7</td>
<td>1,100</td>
<td>4:25</td></tr></tbody></table>
</div>
<h2><a name="tocref2" id="tocref2"></a>Southbound</h2>
<p>The southbound traverse involves a stiff climb on the first day,
with three options allowing you to choose as much distance as you
wish. The first is simply to go up the Valley Way to the hut (ow:
3.8 miles, 3,550 feet, 3:40), and doing the summit (rt: 0.8 miles,
550 feet, 0:40) either then or later (in summer, often after
dinner). A more strenuous variation is to start on the Valley Way,
then take the Watson Path to the summit and descend to the hut by
the Osgood Trail (ow: 4.6 miles, 4,050 feet, 4:20). The distance
and elevation gain are the same as for taking the Valley Way all
the way to the hut and then doing the summit, but the trail is
steeper and the footing is rougher.</p>
<p>The second option is to start from the Great Gulf trailhead, and
take the Great Gulf and Osgood trails over the summit of Mt.
Madison and down to the hut (ow: 5.6 miles, 4,050 feet, 4:50).
There is a long ridge walk as Mt. Madison is approached, with
excellent views in good weather but very exposed to the elements.
In bad weather it may be advisable to bypass the summit by taking
the Parapet Trail. Note that this is a very rough trail, and many
hikers who use it to avoid the exertion of going over the summit
regret the choice.</p>
<p>The longest way is to start at Pinkham Notch and to take the AT,
which follows the Old Jackson Road, Madison Gulf, Great Gulf,
Osgood Cutoff and Osgood trails (ow: 7.7 miles, 4,050 feet,
5:50).</p>
<p>The second day is spent entirely above treeline, taking the
Gulfside Trail from Madison Hut to the summit of Mount Washington,
and descending to Lakes of the Clouds Hut by the Crawford path (ow:
7.9 miles, 3,400 feet, 5:40). The only option here is whether to go
over the summits or around them.</p>
<p>The third day is spent on the Crawford Path, optionally going
over the summits of Mounts Monroe, Franklin, Eisenhower and Pierce
before descending to Crawford Notch (ow: 7.4 miles, 350 feet,
3:50). It can be extended by following the Webster Cliff Trail down
to Mizpah Hut and then up to the summit of Mount Jackson,
descending by the Jackson Branch of the Webster-Jackson Trail (ow:
10.6 miles, 700 feet, 5:40).</p>
<div class="C">
<table cellspacing="0" border="3" cellpadding="3">
<caption>Three Day Southbound Hut-Based Presidential
Traverse</caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Route</th>
<th>Distance</th>
<th>Elevation Gain</th>
<th>Book Time</th></tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="L">Day 1: Appalachia to Madison Hut, over Mt.
Madison</td>
<td>4.6</td>
<td>4,100</td>
<td>4:20</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Day 1: Madison Hut by Valley Way, bypassing Mt.
Madison</td>
<td>3.8</td>
<td>3,550</td>
<td>3:40</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Day 1: Madison Hut from Great Gulf</td>
<td>5.6</td>
<td>4,050</td>
<td>4:50</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Day 1: Madison Hut by AT from Pinkham</td>
<td>7.7</td>
<td>4,050</td>
<td>5:50</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Day 2: Madison Hut to Lakes Hut</td>
<td>7.9</td>
<td>3,400</td>
<td>5:40</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Day 3: Lakes Hut to Crawford Notch</td>
<td>7.4</td>
<td>1,150</td>
<td>4:15</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Day 3: Lakes Hut to Crawford Notch adding Mt.
Jackson</td>
<td>10.6</td>
<td>700</td>
<td>5:40</td></tr></tbody></table>
</div>
<h2><a name="tocref3" id="tocref3"></a>Adding Mizpah Hut</h2>
<p>It is possible to add Mizpah Hut and make it a four day trip.
This is most often done by northbound hikers who want to shorten
the long first day. However you get to the hut on day one, day two
is 5.0 miles, with 2,350 feet of elevation gain and a book time of
3:40.</p>
<p>The shortest way to the hut is by the Crawford Path and the
Mizpah Cutoff (ow: 2.6 miles, 1,900 feet, 2:15). For the many other
possibilities check the <a href="mizpah-hut.html">Mizpah Hut</a>
page.</p>
<h2><a name="tocref4" id="tocref4"></a>Bypassing the Summits</h2>
<p>The distances and elevation gains in the text and tables assume
that you will be going over all of the summits. It is possible to
save some elevation gain (and a very small distance) by bypassing
some or all of them. The following table gives the approximate
savings. While none are individually very large, bypassing all
summits between Lakes and Madison huts saves about a mile and 1,400
feet of elevation gain.</p>
<div class="C">
<table cellspacing="0" border="3" cellpadding="3">
<caption>Savings from Bypassing Summits</caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Summit</th>
<th>Distance</th>
<th>Elevation Gain</th>
<th>Book Time</th></tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="L">Mount Pierce</td>
<td>0.2</td>
<td>100</td>
<td>0:10</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Mounts Eisenhower and Monroe</td>
<td>0.1</td>
<td>350</td>
<td>0:15</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Mount Washington</td>
<td>0.5</td>
<td>500</td>
<td>0:30</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Mounts Clay and Jefferson</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>300</td>
<td>0:10</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Mount Adams</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>300</td>
<td>0:20</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="L">Mount Madison (Valley Way)</td>
<td>0.8</td>
<td>550</td>
<td>0:40</td></tr></tbody></table>
</div>
<p>Note that in many cases the bypasses are on an easier trail than
the summit loop. The sections of the Gulfside bypassing the summits
of Mounts Adams and Clay have excellent footing, while the scramble
up and down Mount Adams is more rockhopping than following a
trail.</p>
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