July 14, 2024

Start/End: Pinkham Notch Visitor Center

Peaks: "Boott Spur" (5,492'), Washington (6,288'), Monroe (5,384')

Elevation Gain: 5,475 ft

RT Mileage: 11.76 mi

Duration: 9 hours, 48 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 1+

I had been waiting all summer for an exceptional weather day to bag Monroe and Washington, and it finally came on July 14th. For my route, I decided to ascend via the incredibly scenic Boott Spur Trail to Boott Spur, cross Bigelow Lawn and summit Washington, hike over to Monroe, cross Bigelow Lawn again, and descend via Tuckerman back to Pinkham.

Waking up at 3:30 AM, I left the house at 4:05, and arrived at the trailhead at 6:45. I was surprised to see Pinkham so crowded so early in the morning, although in fairness it was an exceptional weather day like I said. I started out on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail at 6:50. After just a few minutes, I took the much less crowded Boott Spur Trail off to the left. Right near the beginning of the Boott Spur Trail I came to a wooden ladder, the sole reason this route is rated Class 1+ instead of Class 1.

The trail entered the coniferous forest fairly early, at around 2,700 ft. This part of the hike was fairly standard, but occasional glimpses through the trees of the terrain above teased what was to come. At 4,000 ft I came to a viewpoint of the eastern side of Washington, and it did not disappoint.

The viewpoint was good enough for me to get my camera out and take photos for a few minutes. As nice as the viewpoint was though, the real fun began at 4,200 ft, where the trail broke treeline. The next 1,200 vertical feet up to Boott Spur had some of the finest alpine scenery in the Whites, with views up towards Boott Spur, across the valley to Washington, and back towards Pinkham Notch. At times the route even gave off big mountain vibes, and I remember thinking to myself that it resembled the section below the South Ridge on Grays, a Colorado 14er.

I took too many photos on this section to insert them all individually here, but I'll put some of the best ones in an image carousel below.

After an hour of pure bliss, I summited Boott Spur just after 10:10. Here, I had my first views of the southern Presidentials. I didn't linger long on the summit before beginning to make my across Bigelow Lawn to the base of the Washington summit cone. The lawn was a beautiful expanse, albeit a little rockier than your average lawn.

After the 1.1 miles over Bigelow Lawn, I joined back up with the Tuckerman Ravine Trail at Tuckerman Junction for the final ascent of the Washington summit cone. It had been a good few hours hiking in solitude, but unfortunately the crowds had to catch up at some point. Low clouds also moved in while I was around halfway up the boulder field, and it remained partially socked in when I summited just after 11:40.

It was even more crowded on the summit than it had been on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail thanks to all the folks who took the Cog or Auto Road up, so I didn't linger longer than I had to. From the summit, I descended via the Crawford Path to Lakes of the Clouds Hut in the col between Washington and Monroe. This trail was a bridle path back in the day, so the grade was a lot gentler and the surface a lot less rocky than the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. The only people who use this trail are people bagging both summits, so it was a lot less crowded too.

Low clouds cleared not long after I began descending the Crawford Path, and the day was looking up. I made it down to Lakes of the Clouds Hut along with the lakes the hut is named after at 1:00 PM, where I took my first real break of the day.

From the hut, it was a steep 300 vertical feet to the summit of Monroe. I summited at 1:40. The summit had probably the best views of the day of the southern Presis further down the Crawford Path, as well as decent views of Washington and the northern Presis.

From the summit, I descended back to the hut, from where I took the Tuckerman Crossover back across Bigelow Lawn to Tuckerman Junction. From Tuckerman Junction, I took the Tuckerman Ravine Trail down the Tucks headwall to the base of the ravine. This trail had been advertised as being fairly gentle due to switchbacks, but it was still rather steep and covered in scree. I made it down to the base of the ravine at 3:50.

Having hiked to the base of Tuckerman Ravine a month ago, I was already familiar with the rest of the descent, and I made it back in under an hour. I was back at Pinkham just before 4:50, and 4,000ers #40 and #41 were in the books.