A Loop Hike to Mt. Crawford

Perhaps it's a rather brazen statement to make, but it will be difficult for me to ever do a hike again to Mt. Crawford using a simple "out and back" route via the Davis Path.   Nonetheless, that's how I feel after having done a thoroughly enjoyable loop hike on 22-April.  The route is depicted on the GoogleEarth image shown below.  (The yellow line on this image is the Davis Path, and the red line is the approximate route taken for the bushwhack portion of this loop.)

Route of travel as depicted on GoogleEarth image (click to enlarge)

The idea for this hiking adventure came to me a few days ago when I was doing some general meandering off the Davis Path (click HERE for details about that trek).

During the short off-trail hike referenced above, I visited the unnamed brook that runs in the valley between the ridge to the east where the Davis Path is located, and the ridge to the west where there is no trail.  I noticed that the slope along the ridge on the west bank of the brook appeared very inviting as it rose northward.  This prompted me to look at a topographic map when I returned home.  One thing led to another, and it wasn't long before I was plotting out a course for the adventure that is the subject of this report.

The bushwhack portion of this loop hike seemed no steeper to me than the climb on the Davis Path.  Also, my round-trip hiking time of just under 5 hours was comparable to the book time (4 hours 38 minutes) that is listed for a conventional "out and back" trek using the Davis Path exclusively.

The vast majority of the hike was through open hardwoods.  However, there were a few short segments consisting of a mixture of conifers and hardwoods.  The longest portion of these mixed (and less open) areas was between the spot labeled above as "Ledge #2", and the point where open ledges begin to appear to the west of Mt. Crawford's summit.

And so, that is the background for this adventure.  The remainder of this report will consist mainly of photos with some brief narration about the photos.   I'll skip a presentation of the historical aspects associated with this trek.  Most readers of this Blog are already familiar with facts such as the Davis Path was constructed by Nathaniel T. P. Davis, and it has been in existence since 1845.

The first snapshot was taken on the outbound portion of my trek as I was ascending the lower part of the Davis Path.  For whatever reason, I'd never noticed this large triangular shaped boulder off the side of the trail.  It looked like a miniature pyramid when I first spotted it.

Trailside boulder shaped like a pyramid (located on lower portion of Davis Path)

Referring back to the Google Earth image shown above, you'll note that there are spots labeled as "Ledge #1", and "Ledge #2".  Although I encountered more than two ledges during the bushwhack, these are the ledges from which I took photos.

Shown below is the view from Ledge #1 looking southward (Mt. Tremont is in center of photo).

View from Ledge #1 looking southward (Mt. Tremont is in center of photo)

Ledge #2 consisted of a complex of several ledges.  Shown below are two snapshots taken from the Ledge #2 area.

Looking northward up the Crawford Notch from Ledge #2

Tops of Presidential Range as viewed from Ledge #2

After leaving Ledge #2, I headed eastward toward the summit of Mt. Crawford.   As mentioned earlier, the woods were less open for this portion of the journey.  However, within 20 minutes I started to hit the wide open ledges on the west side of Mt. Crawford (about 0.1 mile below the summit).  From here the imposing view of Stairs Mountain came into view.  The next photo is a zoomed view of that mountain with its unique stair step shaped cliffs.

Zoomed view of Stairs Mountain

Backing off from my zoomed view, here are two more snapshots which also include Stairs Mountain.  The first one shows the view to the north of Stairs, and the second one shows the view to the south of Stairs.

Stairs Mountain with the snow-capped Presidential Range behind it on the left

Stairs Mountain with Mt. Resolution to its immediate right

Besides Stairs Mountain, there are many other impressive views from these ledges located below the summit of Mt. Crawford's western side.  One such view is looking northwestward toward the Crawford Notch area (next photo).

Crawford Notch and surroundings as viewed from ledges below Mt. Crawford's  summit

After spending quite a bit of time enjoying the views from the ledges below the summit, it was time to make the final ascent to the top of Mt. Crawford and meet up with the Davis Path.  The next photo shows the scene looking up at the summit of Mt. Crawford from ledges on its western side.

Looking up at summit of Mt. Crawford from ledges on its western side

Once on top of the summit, I noticed the small memorial consisting of a bird sculpture surrounded by several colorful stones.   I posted an image on Facebook and asked if anyone had any details about this particular memorial.  In response, a Facebook Friend (Dan Szczesny) kindly provided me with a photo he had taken of this same memorial in October 2012.  By the way, Dan authors a great Blog (click HERE) which I'd encourage you to visit.

Although I still don't know any details about the memorial itself, it's interesting that it has endured on the mountaintop for at least several months (maybe longer).  The next photo is a composite image showing the memorial as it existed in October 2012 when Dan visited Mt. Crawford, and a photo showing its appearance on my April 2013 visit.  It's sort of amazing that it has remained pretty much intact over the months. The "Remember" stone is missing, but it might still be up there somewhere.  It could have been accidently kicked aside.

Memorial on Mt. Crawford as it existed in October 2012 vs. April 2013

Although viewed from a slightly higher vantage point, and from a slightly different angle, the vistas from the top of Mt. Crawford are similar to those that I presented in the photos taken from the ledges located 0.1 mile below the summit.

I lingered for just a short time on Mt. Crawford and then began my descent to the trailhead via the Davis Path.  Early on into my descent, I stopped to take a photo from one of the last open ledges before the trail is immersed in the trees for the remainder of the trip.  The vista in this photo is looking southward.  The Attitash ski slopes are on the left.  Various peaks in the Sandwich Range are on the distant horizon, including the sharply pointed peak of Mt. Chocorua (slightly right of center).

View from open ledge near the point where Davis Path becomes immersed in trees

To sum it up, I'll simply repeat what I said at the outset of this report. This was a thoroughly enjoyable loop hike.  It ranks highly in terms of my most favorite adventures to date.  But to each their own, as the saying goes.  Some might do this trek and come away with a totally different opinion!

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ADDENDUM:  Subsequent to this adventure, I did a similar trek in August 2015, but used a route that differs from the one described in this blog posting.  Click HERE to access my August 2015 posting.
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