Backpacking The Presidential Traverse | White Mountains, New Hampshire
Hiking the Presidential Traverse in the White Mountains of New Hampshire is one of the hardest things I have ever done. My brother Tyler and I are always sending each other pictures of places we want to travel but they’re rarely realistic. When we found the Presidential Traverse somewhat within driving distance, we knew we had to make it happen. After some planning, we embarked on a 2-day hike across 20 plus miles of rugged mountain terrain, filming as we went. Although the hike was brutal, we can look back now and laugh about our trip. Hope you enjoy our adventure and get inspired to take one of your own. So, here’s to adventure and here’s to the next trip!
Due to weather and time constraints we had to make a few adjustments to the Traverse. First of all, we opted to take the direction that most people consider backwards, starting at the AMC Highland Center and ending at the Valley Way trailhead. We knew we would have no visibility the first day and wanted to save the clear skies for the more dramatic views from Washington, Jefferson, and Adams. With wet trails and the risk for more rain, we decided to skip Webster/Jackson and head straight for Pierce. Other than that, we stayed true to the Traverse until the end. We had to skip Madison because we just didn’t have enough time.
Anyone interested in doing this hike should take time to plan the trip and make sure you’re well aware of what you’re getting into. Weather is unpredictable and has the reputation of being the worst in America. You are very exposed for the entire hike once you get above tree line and there are not many bail out routes. I spent quite a while planning it all out. Still forgot the butane (idiot!).
Transportation is tricky since it’s a traverse and not a loop. With Covid, there were no shuttles. We ended up calling Bill who is essentially a personal taxi for the area. I believe he is called the Mountain Courier Shuttle or something. Highly recommend him for a ride!
At the end of the day, this hike was hard. And despite all the bumps along the way, it was an incredible adventure. My advice to anyone who wants it is to take some time, get off Instagram, call a friend and plan an outing. It doesn’t matter where you live, how old you are, whatever, I guarantee there are things nearby that are worth seeing/doing. Get out and take an adventure.
Пікірлер: 52
Thank you for sharing guys. Enjoyed watching your experience.
@GregWhiting
2 жыл бұрын
Appreciate it!
Welcome to the whites! A humbling experience for most. You don’t get altitude sickness on the east coast. lol. You can cold soak anything freeze dried if you find yourself in that situation again. cool video🤙
@GregWhiting
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah we just really needed the moral boosting hot meal more than anything.. 😅
I’m so glad you made this happen and brought us all along. I hope you guys have many more. Your comments on what’s important is so spot on.
@GregWhiting
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Jeff, really appreciate it!
Such a great video! Way to go Greg and Tyler! Hope to see you in the White Mountains someday!
@GregWhiting
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks Tina 😁 Maybe we'll cross paths one of these days! Enjoy the trails in September!
This is the best video so far, great explanation, much appreciated
New sub here, great job! Looked like a perfect day! Beautiful footage thanks for putting it out there, be well 🙏
@GregWhiting
2 жыл бұрын
Appreciate it!
Loved the Cannibal the Musical reference but shucky dang darn that looked like a long hike! I'd say the video alone was worth the trip. Awesome job and well done!
@GregWhiting
3 жыл бұрын
A very select few people who watch are probably going to understand them but gotta fit them in somewhere haha. Thank you good sir.
OMG! Just came off the PT doing a five day and wanted to find a video to help explain my experience. This is epic!
@GregWhiting
2 жыл бұрын
I think it does a good job of showing what the PT is really like. Good and bad! Certainly can't sugar coat it! Glad you liked it 🙂
Found your video and it's hilarious (after the fact I am sure). Planning on doing this Aug '23. Glad you made it and hope I get better weather! The trail looks more like just a bunch of rocks, so I guess I better work on my walking on rocks! - thanks for the fun video! Keep it up.
@GregWhiting
Жыл бұрын
Looking back it is certainly a good memory. It really is a good hike and yes, lots of walking on rocks! Enjoy the Whites!
This is awesome Greg, way to go :-)
@GregWhiting
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks Damon, appreciate it!
@DamonHodgesOfficialPagePlus
3 жыл бұрын
@@GregWhiting keep up the good work :-)
Awesome
@GregWhiting
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
LOl you guys are hilarious "The view is AWESOME, the weather is GREAT!!" LOL; "we just passed a guy that was running... what an idiot"! LOL 🤣
Ahh, my crazy grandsons!! But ya gotta love them!!
@GregWhiting
2 жыл бұрын
Never thought I'd see the day that you get a KZread account! 😄
Ooo, yeah, those White Mountains can be unforgiving. Interesting you guys chose to do the Presis from south to north, since most people will opt to do what's considered the more difficult section first, where there is also more camping options as well, and then it's (relatively) smooth sailing through the southern portion past Washington. Glad you guys were able to make it through though...there are a multitude of White Mountain hiking horror stories out there!
@GregWhiting
2 жыл бұрын
The reason we went "backwards" was because we knew the first part of our hike would be cloudy with no visibility and we wanted to save the views from the taller peaks for when it was cleared up. Surprisingly, it actually worked out that way! Definitely made for a difficult second half to our hike though.. 😅
This trip looks awful and miserable, iwth horrible weather and lots of danger. I cant wait to try it out! : ) for real - very helpful and down to earth and informative video to realize what kind of conditions to get rdy for haha
Awesome vid! Btw, next time cold soak that food 😅
I really enjoyed your video. My buddy and I were going to do this hike last year (August 2021) but had to cancel at the last minute. So, we will be on the trails this August and hope to have weather way different than what you two had.😄 What month did you do this hike? I'll be checking out your other videos. Thanks for sharing your trip.
@GregWhiting
2 жыл бұрын
Appreciate it! We went near the end of July so August is probably a good time to go. Definitely be prepared to cancel or have some flexibility for the days you are planning to hike. The weather is super unpredictable and if the forecast isn't looking great a few days before your trip it's worth rescheduling. The weather in the Whites is no joke and you're very exposed almost the entire hike. Makes it tough to plan in advance.. haha. We got lucky and were able to condense our hike slightly due to rain. Hope you have a good hike!
1.Madison Spring Hut had quesadillas and soup a couple weeks ago. 2. A lot of folks who regularly hike the Whites would say the reason you were grumpy was because you took Valley Way down (not me, though, I don't think it's that bad).
@GregWhiting
2 жыл бұрын
We stopped at Madison and got a quick snack. Wish we had more time to hang out there it's a great spot. Going down Valley Way would've been much better had we not been in a rush.. 😅
I’m thinking of doing this and curious about your hammocks and how difficult it was to find good trees to set up on? I can save 7lbs if I drop my tent and sleeping pad and go hammock.
@GregWhiting
9 күн бұрын
@MyVanMonty It wasn't too bad for us but it definitely depends on where you try to camp at. Almost the entire traverse is really exposed with no trees at all. So you have to hike back down till you hit the trees. Technically, you're supposed to keep dropping down until you're no longer in the alpine zone. We planned to camp where we knew we wouldn't have to hike down as far (Eisenhower). If you get to the top of Washington and then decide to set up a hammock, you're going to be hiking down a long ways before you hit trees again. I'm very glad we went the hammock route. Any weight you can not carry is absolutely worth it in my opinion. Honestly, finding a hammock spot felt easier than a tent spot. You're not supposed to camp in the alpine zone, so if you do it properly, you have to hike down like I was mentioning before for a tent as well. Finding flat spots on the side of these mountains seems a lot harder than finding some trees that work for a hammock... good luck!
Bro looks like hes never done anything physical in his life😂. Tyler looks like hes been outside his whole life😂
Nice job. Just think some can run that entire length in just over 3.5hrs. Nuts!
@GregWhiting
18 күн бұрын
@@ctclimberguy34 craziness if you ask me! 😅
I see the Hookies hoodie. Did you go to Virginia Tech? My older brother graduated from VT in architecture, and it was an awesome college!
@GregWhiting
18 күн бұрын
@Dendro_Dave I did go to Virginia Tech! And I also graduated from the architecture program! It was in the top 3 architecture programs in the country while I was there. Really an awesome school! Go Hokies!
What hammock u use? And roof. Please soon reply thank
@GregWhiting
2 жыл бұрын
We used ENO Doublenest Hammocks, Wise Owl bug net for hammocks and then Pro Venture rain tarp. Would recommend them all. Good luck!
@AlexStormDrake
2 жыл бұрын
@@GregWhiting Thank you so much!
I loved watching this 💜 “moved to hallucinations”. Relatable 😭😭 Also what camera did you use to record this?
@GregWhiting
Жыл бұрын
Yep! 😅 I used the DJI osmo action for most of it and some shots with my Sony a6400
Thanks for the sharing! Do you think we can bring a dog ??
@GregWhiting
11 ай бұрын
I'd say that really depends on your dog. We did see a handful of them when we did it, but they were all really fit and well trained. In my opinion, for the average dog, I'd say no. There's a ton of rock that you're walking up and around basically the whole way and just didn't feel like a great hike for dogs. I wouldn't bring mine. But, the ones I saw looked like they were having a great time, although they clearly were pretty experienced hikers!
Go Hokies!
@GregWhiting
2 жыл бұрын
Go Hokies! We actually came across a few on the hike. Small world. Always love running into people in the VT community!
ooh your poor feet! definitely invest in some sturdy waterproofed boots and smart wool socks to avoid trench foot and frostbite if you do lots of hiking in the whites!
@GregWhiting
2 жыл бұрын
Yes, never again wearing tennis shoes! Rookie mistake not buying a decent pair of shoes 😬
@ctclimberguy34
2 ай бұрын
I completely disagree. I've done 29/48 in the Whites. 2 with boots the rest with trailrunners. Waterproof or not, your feet will get wet. The Waterproof boots will stay wet for couple days. My trail runners dry out so fast. & they are significantly lighter.