Southern Presidential traverse

Leaders
Bjorn Poonen (Leader), Dirk Lauinger (Leader)
Program
3-season hiking
Type
Hiking
Trip date
Saturday, August 15th
Difficulty rating
Difficult (L4)
Prerequisites
Physical condition for a hike of this length and elevation gain

For those of you not able to spend an entire weekend at circus, join us on a challenging point-to-point day 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 winds and cold, so there is a chance that the weather will force us to modify or cancel the trip.

This trip is independent of the circus happening the same weekend.

Route: 10.6 mi, 3650 ft. gain, with a very steep section, and 3-4 miles above treeline. Map: https://caltopo.com/m/UESAN4H

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 zoom pre-trip meeting Thursday, August 13, 9:00pm.

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
8
Signups opened at
Aug. 11, 2026, 6:49 p.m.
Signups close at
Aug. 13, 2026, 9 a.m.
Notes
  1. Are you free to hike Saturday, Sunday, or both? (We're planning Saturday, so this is in case weather forces us to shift the date.)
  2. Describe a hike you have done before (location, length, and elevation gain, if you remember them).
Signups are open!
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