Stairs Mountain-East Peak (NH) 12/22/2015

Stairs Mountain-East Peak

Location: Sargents Purchase, New Hampshire
Mileage: 10.55 Miles
Elevation Gain: 4250 Feet
Trails Used: Davis Path, Stairs Col Trail, Bushwhack
Views: Views from Ledges Below Mount Crawford
Difficulty: Moderate/Difficult

Hiking Lists: None

The first day of winter so perfect for a hike. I actually took this day off about a month ago as Brian and I were planning to head out and tackle a peak or two for the winter season. Brian had a family emergency which worked out for him, as the weather forecast called for heavy rain to hit New Hampshire by mid-day. My original plan was to hike up the Davis Path, head towards Stairs Mountain-East Peak first, then backtrack and hit Stairs Mountain, and finally Mount Resolution. The only issue would be the bad weather for the day, which I was hoping to avoid. After gearing up quick, I headed towards the Davis Path to begin my long mileage hike day.

I parked at the Davis Path Trailhead parking area, geared up quickly to try and beat the forecasted rain and headed down the road to begin the hike.

You cross the Bemis Bridge, which spans the Saco River as you continue along towards the start of the Davis Path.

The Saco River, which is pretty low at this time of year and no sign of ice yet.

The Davis Path trail kiosk as you are entering the Presidential Range-Dry River Wilderness.

This rock stair section along the Davis Path, which seems to get longer and better looking every time I hike the Davis Path.

One of the steeper sections of the Davis Path just before you come out on some ledges just below the summit area of Mount Crawford.

The views from the ledges below the summit of Mount Crawford looking towards Mount Hope, Bear Mountain, Bartlett Haystack, and Mount Tremont.

The views from the ledges below the summit of Mount Crawford looking towards the Attitash Ski Area and Mount Parker. Note the lack of snow on the ski slopes.

As I continued along the Davis Path, I looked back and got this picture of the summit of Mount Crawford. The rain was still holding off for now. I started encountering snow and ice from here to the Stairs Col Trail junction.

The views looking towards Crawford Notch, with the rain clouds moving in, from the ledges below the summit of Mount Crawford.

The view looking back towards Stairs Mountain as I descend the Stairs Col Trail.

I descended the Stairs Col Trail, where most of the deeper snow was located, to a point where I would start the bushwhack to the summit of Stairs Mountain-East Peak.

The woods on the bushwhack were open as I started heading up, but got a little more closed in as I neared the summit of Stairs Mountain-East Peak. The rain started right around this point too.

The canister register on the summit of Stairs Mountain-East Peak, elevation 2985 feet. With new LIDAR date, this peak falls below the 200-foot prominence needed for the NH 200 Highest.

Heading back up the Stairs Col Trail as the pouring rain is turning the snow into mush.

I headed back down in a steady rain, sometimes a bit heavy and made it back to the stream crossing which was only slightly higher than when I first crossed.

I thought about staying on task and hitting the two other peaks I was after, but with the steady rain and cooler temperatures, I was starting to feel the cold rain soaking my clothing. Plus, with an almost four mile walk back to the car and me getting a pretty good leg cramp and it was not a difficult choice to make. Once I was back to the car, I cranked up the heat to get warm and dry and made the long drive home.