White Mountains: Hut to Hut Presidential Traverse

Adventurers! This has been a long time in the making, and we are so excited! We are doing the Presidential Traverse in three days, spending our nights in two mountain huts (no backpacking gear needed!) – Madison Spring Hut and Lake of the Clouds Hut. This is going to be an exciting, beautiful, challenging journey on the ridge that connects Madison, Adams, Jefferson, Clay, Washington, Monroe, Franklin, Eisenhower, and Pierce mountains. WOW! We are doing it over three days and two nights to give everyone a chance to finish.

We’ll start our epic journey with a night at the Highland Center lodge and a short hike after the long drive from the City. On Day 2, we are getting up bright and early to climb up to the ridge and get to Madison Spring Hut, our first mountain hut of the trip.

Day 3 is where we will traverse the ridge! We will get a chance to see incredible views and summit many stunning peaks, including Mt. Washington, the tallest mountain in the Northeast.

Finally, on Day 4, we will get up early with an Alpine start to tackle the last of the ridge and the descend to the end of the trail. We’ll then drive back to the City (we are trying to keep this trip a reasonable length and over a holiday weekend, so you don’t have to take too many days off to do it).

Day 1 (July 3)

We’ll depart at 6:30 am, stopping for lunch on the road. After arriving at the Highland Center, we’ll get situated and do a leisurely hike. We’ll stretch our legs, have dinner, and turn in early.

Day 2 (July 4 – Independence Day!)

After breakfast and a drive to the trail-head, we’ll start our ascent to the ridge. We’ll do most of the climbing that day. We will do approximately five miles with an elevation gain of approximately 4,000 feet. It will be a challenging climb, but a shorter mileage day, and we’ll get to relax, eat dinner, and spend the night at Madison Spring Hut.

Day 3 (July 5)

After a good night’s rest, we’ll eat breakfast and start our journey on the ridge. We’ll traverse from mountain to mountain, enjoying the amazing wilderness that the White Mountains offer. If the day is clear, we’ll see stunning views all day long. Today we’ll hike for about eight miles and gain approximately 3,000 feet in elevation. We will spend the night at the legendary Lake of the Clouds Hut.

Day 4 (July 6)

Finally, with an Alpine start, we’ll tackle the last of the traverse and descend to the end trail-head. Today, we’ll hike approximately seven and a half miles and descend approximately 3,500 feet. Then we’ll drive back to New York City after an amazing journey!

NOTE: This hike is CHALLENGING+. We are doing it over three days, and you should feel comfortable doing Catskill 3500s and Adirondack 46ers (our CHALLENGING-level trips) prior to attempting this trip. Please reach out to us at info@adventureuntamed.com with any questions. We are always happy to share a training plan!

Accommodations: We will send the first night at the Highlands Center Lodge. Night two and three will be at the mountain huts; Madison Spring and Lake of the Clouds. All accommodations are shared bunk beds in mountain huts.

Meals: all meals provided except for food stops during the drive to and from New Hampshire.