Southern Presidential Traverse
- Leaders
- Bjorn Poonen (Leader), Dirk Lauinger (Leader), Vinayak Bansal (Co-Leader)
- Program
- 3-season hiking
- Type
- Hiking
- Trip date
- Sunday, August 9th
- Difficulty rating
- Difficult (L4)
- Prerequisites
- Physical condition for a hike of this length and elevation gain.
Join us on a challenging point-to-point hike to four of the high peaks in the Presidential Range, Mts. Monroe, Franklin, Eisenhower, and Pierce, with grand 360-degree views of the entire region! We'll be ascending via one of the steepest trails in the White Mountains, the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, and descending via Crawford Path. These mountains can be subject to extreme weather, so there is a chance that we will need to modify or cancel the trip. Along the way, we'll stop at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut for water and restrooms.
Route: 10.6 mi, 3650 ft. gain, with a very steep section. About 3-4 miles above treeline.
We will leave Cambridge early so that we can hike at a comfortable pace. We'll stop for a quick breakfast along the way.
Mandatory virtual pre-trip meeting Thursday, August 6, 9:00pm. Zoom link will be sent in pre-trip email.
Participants will share car costs (about $30-50/person). If you can drive your own car or are willing to drive a rental car, please edit the lottery preferences on your MITOC profile to show this.
Signup
- Algorithm
- first-come, first-serve
- Maximum participants
- 7
- Signups opened at
- Aug. 4, 2026, 10:26 p.m.
- Signups close at
- Aug. 6, 2026, 9 a.m.
- Notes
- Describe a hike you have done before (location, length, and elevation gain, if you remember them).
- Do you have hiking boots or trail runners or one of each?
- In case of inclement weather, which of Saturday, Sunday, Monday could you do?