Afternoon thunderclouds building over the Northern Presidentials
A Big Day in the Sky
New Hampshire's Presidential Traverse holds the highest points in the East, all above treeline, and they're spiced by the world's worst weather
Our years of preparation required considerable discomfort (blisters, mosquitoes, nights camped in the rain), but by the age of 18, we were ready. And not just ready: Craig and I were stoked, so frigging eager to thrash ourselves silly attempting New England’s premier backcountry endurance route—what Laura and Guy Waterman, in their classic Forest and Crag: A History of Hiking, Trail Blazing, and Adventure in the Northeast Mountains, describe as “a major test piece for ambitious hikers from the late nineteenth century to the present day.” Though we were Vermonters by birth and upbringing, the Presidential Traverse, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, had long been calling to us from across the state line.
How could it not? Seven summits taller than 4,000 feet, including Mount Washington (6,288 feet), the tallest peak in the Northeast. Twentyish miles and 9,000 feet of vertical gain. Craig and I had put in plenty of big slogs together—in our native Green Mountains, in the Adirondacks of Upstate
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