There is more to the White Mountains than just Franconia Ridge and it would be a mistake to stop talking about the New Hampshire sections of the Appalachian Trail there. The Presidentials are the most famous part of the White Mountains and our time there was incredible. Not only did we have great weather and amazing views but we were able to hike that section with Longterm, who we have really missed ever since he decided to head up north and flip-flop.
Our first day with the gang back together we hiked up to and stealth camped on top of Mt. Pierce. The next day we hiked over Mt. Eisenhower and Mt. Monroe, ending our march at the base of Mt. Washington. Scattered throughout the White Mountains are ‘huts’. People can stay at these huts for a cool 125 smackeroos a night. So, they are typically full of a different kind of crowd than most other shelters on the Appalachian Trail, but this particular shelter has a dungeon-like basement whose six bunks are used to smuggle hippies through stormy conditions on cold nights. Which just happened to be one of the nights that we stayed there. Lil Bell and I climbed up Mt. Washington that afternoon to watch the storm rolling in as the sun was setting, and it was one of the most spectacular views of a sunset I have ever seen.
From the other side,
Pan and Bell
from the other side 