Hiked by: Tim and Valerie on April 6, 2008 - Crawford Connector to Crawford Path.
Conditions: The temperature was a balmy 29 degrees as we started our hike at 10AM. It was a relatively warm day. Tim and his dad just did this hike about 10 days ago, and maybe Valerie was feeling a little jealous at their absolutely perfect hiking day, so we were going for the same summit today. Of course, the weather was good but not like it had been for Dad.
We crossed the bridge, at the intersection of the Crawford Path and Crawford Connector. Valerie was very glad that there was a sturdy railing considering the walking conditions.
The trail was hard-packed and great on the way up. No need for traction or snowshoes, as long as we stayed on the trail. We hiked at a steady pace and made decent time. Tim was in front, and he finally got his wish to see a pine marten. It was in quite a hurry to get out of there and we didn't get any pictures. It was also getting warmer. The thermometer registered high 40's. The snow and ice that has been in the trees for probably months now was raining down on us while the skies were blue overhead. We wore our Gore-Tex coats and pants to protect ourselves from the wet. As we moved higher, the "rain" stopped as the temperature again dropped.
At the summit, we met up with lots of other people who were also enjoying the day. It was a little cold, but we ate a snack and got our picture taken next to the tiny bit of cairn that is now showing. Views towards Mount Washington were completely obscured by clouds, and sometimes we were in them too, but overall it was a nice leisurely visit at the top. Val put on her crampons here to travel more safely across the ice and rocks.
On the way back down, the snow was softening in a way that made it a bit slippery, but still strong enough to support us. Valerie left her crampons on the entire way. Tim continued to bare-boot without incident. We passed *many* people on their way up. Perhaps they got better views from the top than we did, but the snow conditions were going to continue to deteriorate until the sun went down.
We stopped to take a quick picture of Gibbs Falls. This is just perhaps a half-mile from the car. There was plenty of water running, but most of it was well under the ice. It will need to open up a bit before it will make for good picture-taking.