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Mt. Pierce and Nauman Tentsite Backpack
Route Summary This two-day backpack brings you to Mount Pierce which is a 4000-footer in the Presidential Range. The overnight is spent at Nauman Tentsite next to AMC's Mizpah Spring Hut. Both the summit and portions of the walk between the hut and the peak offer fantastic views. Near the start of the hike you will visit Crawford Cliff outlook and Gibbs Falls. Day 1: Crawford Cliff, Gibbs Falls, Mizpah Spring Hut
Day 2: Mt. Pierce, Gibbs Falls
Day 1: Crawford Cliff, Gibbs Falls, Mizpah Spring Hut
Daily Rating: Moderate/Difficult Daily Elevation Gain: 2250 feet (cumulative) Daily Typical Hiking Time: 2:50 Daily Typical Outing Duration: 4:00 Day 2: Mt. Pierce, Gibbs Falls
Daily Rating: Moderate Daily Elevation Gain: 550 feet (cumulative) Daily Typical Hiking Time: 2:30 Daily Typical Outing Duration: 4:00 |
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Trail Guide I've been having a great time hiking this spring. I've been trying to do a good hike every weekend and a major hike every other weekend. I have been blessed with great conditions for all of my hikes so far and I have beautiful pictures from all of them. I've been learning from each outing and I've barely even seen clouds on my White Mountain trips. I'm always well prepared for the cold and wet and I have used less than 30% of my clothing and food on most trips. My latest trip was a weather challenge. I planned a nice trip up Mount Pierce via Crawford Path and Mizpah Cutoff, a night at Nauman tentsite, then over Pierce and Eisenhower and down Edmands Path. Now this is not a particularly difficult route for me, but I was bringing my eight year old son Joshua and I wanted him to enjoy the trip too. The weather forecast was calling for rain and I was worried about two days of hiking in heavy rain. Well, we left Thursday afternoon and arrived at the Crawford Path parking area by 5:00 p.m. We dressed up and got on our way. Since this is a long trip report, I've divided it into sections: Crawford Cliff, Gibbs Falls, Mizpah Spring Hut | Mt. Pierce, Gibbs Falls Crawford Cliff, Gibbs Falls, Mizpah Spring Hut I was pretty loaded down and my son was carrying his sleeping bag and a water bottle, but using a school bookbag. On the way up we dropped the bags and took the side path to Crawford Cliff. The trail ran close to the brook and a small pool with a pretty waterfall. The view from the cliff was impressive to Joshua, but not particularly spectacular. We could see the clouds rolling by. The weather was cooperating so far, but the tops of Mounts Tom, Field, and Willey were shrouded in clouds (as we could see from the cliff). Just after the falls is when Joshua just couldn't carry his bag anymore. I decided that I didn't want him to be miserable, so I attached his bag to the back of my pack (which weighed somewhere in the order of 65 pounds total now) and we continued the climb. I was pretty overloaded and was ready to be at the campsite. Joshua seemed to enjoy the hike, but by the time we reached the cutoff he just wanted to be done too. Along Mizpah Cutoff Joshua was torturing me (and himself) with "how much farther is it" and relating it to walks he knows (i.e. do we have to go farther than I walk to school… is it twice as far?) The day turned from gray to ominously dark as we got over 3,500 feet. The forest at the top is thick and very green (everything was covered in thick moss). I was worried that we were going to be setting up camp in the dark. We got to Nauman Tentsite / Mizpah Spring Hut and Joshua selected a platform (none were taken, which surprised me a little) and we set up our gear. Joshua was awed by the bear box and the hut. We ate, stashed the food and went into the hut to check it out. Joshua wondered why we didn't stay at the hut. We stayed for a couple of minutes out of the bugs and then returned to the tent for the night. As we settled our gear in my two-man tent (which barely fits just me) it started to rain and we quickly fell asleep around 9:30 p.m. I hoped the tent would stay dry in the rain. We slept very well and didn't get wet! Mt. Pierce, Gibbs Falls My son awoke at 8:30 a.m. (very late for him) and it was still raining. We were nice and warm (we had 15-degrees bags) and watched the drops land on the fly, grow and then fall down the sides. So now I was stuck... it's raining pretty solidly, the cloud cover limits the view to about 100 yards and I'm carrying a 63-pound pack (subtracting two pounds of food and water). We rainsuited up and headed to the summit of Pierce. The trail was rough and wet and despite having waterproofed Joshua's boots before the trip, his feet were soaked before we hit the top. We summited in short order, took the obligatory summit pictures, saw nothing and Joshua decided that he was done for the day. We went back to the hut at a rapid pace, Joshua hung out and I went back to the camp to pack while Joshua drew on my new maps in pen. I packed a nice wet tent and raingear into my backpack. The rain stopped and it was just foggy as we headed down just before noon. Since the hike was easier we made fast time. Joshua seemed to enjoy the trail a bit more on the way down. We stopped for an extended view of Gibbs Falls. We turned right onto the spur, but then climbed up the side on the rocks that are on the same side as Crawford Path. The rocks go up about 20–30 feet in a steep climb and they were wet and somewhat slippery. The falls were really raging from all of the rain. Not wanting to descend back down this way, we did a short bushwhack back to Crawford Path from the top of the falls. The rain did have the advantage of making the falls very loud and rough – in other words cool and a great place for some pictures. We got back to the car around 2:00 p.m. and Joshua tells me that he likes hiking, but that if he had a pack like mine he could carry the weight for much longer (this is probably at least partially true since he was shouldering all of his weight – no hip belt). He pestered me all the way home to buy him a real pack and then we could plan another hike. New resolutions: Try not to hike in the rain with the kids unless you are staying in a hut or shelter. Don't leave the maps alone with Joshua and a pen. |
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Driving Directions
The trailhead for Crawford Connector is located on Mount Clinton Road, off of Route 302, in Carroll (Twin Mountain), New Hampshire. From the West:
Facilities Toilets at the parking lot. Other Notes WMNF Recreational Pass A parking permit is required to park at White Mountain National Forest trailheads and parking areas. You can purchase a WMNF permit from the forest service and other vendors and can also pay-by-the-day using self-service kiosks located in many parking areas. For more information on parking passes please refer to the White Mountain National Forest website. Rates:
More Mt. Pierce and Mizpah Spring Hut Trail Reports
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