Alex in the White Mountains

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Pierce and Eisenhower

5/28/2018

Crawford Path, Edmands Path

Around 10.1 miles

3180 feet of elevation gain

Sage and I posed for a picture before I left to hike solo. I am excited that we are now wearing T-shirts with Union of Concerned Scientists' (UCS) logo when we hike.

Photo by Trish Herr

After saying our goodbyes, I started hiking on Crawford Path. Mom and Sage took the 2-mile road walk leading to Edmands Path.

There they went! I watched them for a second before immersing myself in Crawford Path foliage.

When I am alone, I become more confident, observant, and clear-headed. When I first began solo hiking, I was nervous and wanted to make sure I did everything perfectly. Now that I have solo hiked several mountains, I feel more comfortable being responsible for myself out there. Since my first solo hike, my enjoyment of solitude has increased.

Brand-new shoes:

Rocky trail...

I spotted a chipmunk sitting on a tree branch, enjoying her/his snack.

After reaching this intersection, I believe I started hiking faster. It usually takes me the first mile or mile and a half to "get into my hiking groove," if you will.

Onward...

I saw numerous streams along the way.

I love this shirt! I am happy to be supporting UCS.

Trying to show the logo...

Close to the alpine-zone...

I was excited to get above treeline!

It was a cloudy day, but it felt amazing to be up there.

Hiking up Pierce...

Little plant formations...

On the summit...

Powerade tastes better on a hike, when you are working out.

Heading over to Eisenhower...

Little beauties...

The clouds dissipated a bit.

The Mount Washington Hotel...

More flowers...

Pretty rock...

I loved seeing beautiful purple and green plants...

When I reached the intersection with the trail leading to the summit of Eisenhower, I had not yet seen Sage and Mom (who were hiking the loop from the other side, starting from Edmands Path). I figured I would see them on the summit of Eisenhower.

Cool ladder...

Up I go...

Still cloudy...

I reached the summit! I still hadn't come across Sage and Mom.

I took some summit selfies and then ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

After a mildly short break, I started heading back down...

I was getting a little bit worried that I had not seen Sage and Mom yet, but I assumed I would see them soon.

Sure enough, I came across them while hiking down Eisenhower! We greeted each other, took some pictures, and then I headed down the summit cone while they kept ascending.