Flags on the 48
Yesterday was the Flags on the 48 memorial hike and, coincidentally, the day of our hike as well. Sunday’s hiking crew was: Ken Guerin, Gary Braxten, Chuck Rowe, Chuck Hacala, Joey Tang.
First, let me say that yesterday’s hike was superb. Absolutely fantastic. The only downer was that the muscles behind my knees were giving me fits during the climb up and we had to stop more frequently than I would have liked.
After the drive up, we parked the cars at the Crawford Depot / Macomber Center and used the facilities there. After dumping cold weather gear from our packs, we began our ascent at 9:30am.
We took the Crawford Path, the oldest continuous-use footpath in America. Near the beginning we took a short side path to Gibbs Falls. As everyone else had digital cameras, I opted to keep my camera in my bag. I wasn’t in a picture taking mood today so I’ll just beg for copies from the others.
After the restart, we stopped to rest about 6 more times on the way up for water and snacks. Each time, my knees were shaky right before we stopped. After a while, it really began to wear on my confidence.
All that changed once we hit the granite ledges. What an amazing sight!! There were no clouds in the sky nor any haze. There, to the north of us, in crystal clarity, lay the Presidential range from Eisenhower to Franklin, Monroe, the hulking mass of Washington and over to Jefferson. With the naked eye, we were able to see the US flags flying on Monroe and Eisenhower. It was incredible! Gary likened it to the scene in LOTR when the bonfires were lit across the mountaintops of Gondor.
After donning some layers due to the chilly winds, we finished our ascent and reached the summit at around noon. There were about 20 people there already and the US flag was flying high on a makeshift flagpole made from a telescoping pole, shower curtain hooks, carabiners and a duct taped tennis ball on top to keep the flag from flying off.
After several pictures at the flag and meeting the other hikers up there, including year-and-a-half old Matthew who high-fived us, we had a big lunch among the shelter of some scrub trees near the summit.
After lunch, we lingered at the top and took more pictures by the ledges we first climbed up. I brought out my binoculars and could see flags on Jefferson as well as the aforementioned peaks. I couldn’t see any flags on Washington, but the buildings on the summit may have blocked my view.
As we were enjoying the sights, another hiker mentioned that he could see the building tops of Portland, Maine through his binoculars. After listening to his hints, I checked it out myself and, sure enough, there were about 11 thin, boxlike structure on the far distant horizon. Portland, Maine is 75 miles from where we were. Outstanding!
After Pierce, we descended to the Mizpah Springs AMC Hut via the Webster Cliff Trail. The trail here, apart from the Crawford Path, was steep in sections, but not too bad. From the granite ledges, we had amazing southerly views, including Mt Jackson and the flag flying from its summit. At the hut itself, there were about 6-10 people lounging around outside and a 2 person “croo” inside. Gary gave me a quick tour of the hut’s comfortable, yet rustic, accomodations. There were about 5-6 rooms with bunk beds and two restrooms with indoor commodes, a welcome feature.
After buying a new pin for my hiking hat and a t-shirt, we set out for the final descent via the Mizpah Cut-off Trail to the Crawford Path, completing the loop. We finished the hike at approx. 4:30pm.
As we had a couple of White Mountain newbies with us, we drove a bit into Crawford Notch to Silver Cascades for some pics and then left for our final destination, dinner at the Lucky Dog in Plymouth, NH. The food and company was outstanding!
After the drivers of the two cars finished their coffees, we left at 7pm for the ride home.
All in all, it was an almost perfect day! 