Main content

Winter Presidential Traverse Logistics

Meeting Times

Barring unforeseen weather or other variables, we’ll meet at the Crawford Notch AMC Highland Center at 7am on the first day.  At the Center, we'll put the finishing touches on our gear prep and then depart for the Appalachia Trailhead parking lot, west of Gorham, NH.  Our goal is to be there by 9am.  We will plan to touch base with you on the evening prior to establish the final plan, but keep in mind that cell phone coverage is only reliable in the central area of Mt. Washington Valley (Conway/North Conway), so if you plan to stay elsewhere, let us know ahead of time.

Lodging

For purposes of picking up equipment and arranging your shuttle vehicle (see below), the North Conway area is the best place to stay on your night before the Traverse.  There are many lodging options in North Conway.  Check out your options here.  The White Mountains Hostel offers some good budget options, depending on the size of your group.  As you would with any mountain hut, bring earplugs!  If you wish to stay right by the Crawford Notch trailhead and have rented/gotten your equipment beforehand, the Appalachian Mountain Club’s  Highland Center is a convenient option.

Transportation 

Air Travel to New Hampshire

The White Mountain region can be conveniently accessed via two different airports.  Maine's Portland Airport is the closest option (1h45m).  New Hampshire's Manchester Airport is further away (2h30m), but it offers more flight options and more travel on the interstate.  Both are great options—the final choice will depend on considerations of flight availability and cost. 

Ground Travel in New Hampshire

The Traverse is a one-way hike, beginning on Route 2 and ending at Route 302.  This means a shuttle is necessary.  For groups of up to two, we can coordinate a shuttle with our car and yours.  For larger groups, it is necessary for your group to have two vehicles or one very large one.  We will park one vehicle at the unsigned lot at the top of Crawford Notch, just south of the Highland Center (40 minutes from North Conway).  Then everyone—and their equipment!—needs to travel to the Appalachia Trailhead on NH Route 2 (50 minutes).  At the end of the trip, one group member and a guide will go get the other car(s) while the others enjoy a hot chocolate at the Highland Center! 

Equipment

We can outfit you with all climbing hardware, including boots, crampons, ax, harness, helmet, and avalanche transceiver as necessary.  You will need to have or rent snowshoes in North Conway, NH.  For more information about your equipment and clothing preparations, please see our Winter Presidential Traverse Clothing & Equipment Guide.  

Physical Prep for The Traverse Experience

The Presidential Traverse is demanding. You’ll be traveling for several hours a day with a 40-50lb pack up and down over rough terrain in difficult conditions.  The more you do to prepare for these specific demands, the more successfully you’ll meet them.  Complex training routines are unnecessary—people generally spend more time mapping out their training than they spend training, because the training itself isn’t much fun. 

The best training routine is one that is enjoyable (so that you’ll actually do it) and one that mimics the activity you’ll be asking your body to do.  Complex training routines never mimic the actual demands of mountaineering as well as mountaineering itself.  At least three times a week, load up your pack with water jugs or other heavy items and go for a 1+ hour walk in the hilliest terrain around.  If the weather is bad, that’s all the better—it’ll help to build the mental toughness the Traverse also demands and it’ll allow you to learn the ins and outs of your clothing and gear.  Complement this training by jogging, bicycling, rowing, or doing other aerobic activities that you enjoy on the other days. 

If you are doing the Traverse with a larger group, getting together for weekend hikes is a great way to motivate one another and celebrate progress.

Food (Energy)

Food is our life-source on the Traverse.  The high activity and extreme conditions mean we need every BTU of heat energy that it provides.  We don’t eat when we are hungry—we just eat…and eat. 

Because conditions on the Traverse often aren't very conducive to a sit-down lunch, your lunch should consist of lots of easily accessible snacks that you'll munch on all day long.  When considering what snacks to bring, consider how it will be to eat in the cold.  For example, a sandwich wouldn't work (too cumbersome to get out and eat) and many types of energy bars freeze up and are impossible to chew.  Any items like sausage or cheese pre-cut into bite-size pieces or they will be difficult or impossible to eat once frozen.

Your breakfast and dinners should be "just-add-water" style pouch meals or similar home-made concoctions (mashed potatoes and stuffing is a favorite of ours!).  Any meal that requires any actual cooking (e.g., boxes of mac n' cheese) just doesn't work in those temps.  And a cup of instant soup is a great pre-dinner way to re-warm and re-hydrate.

Packing & Prepping for the Start

The Appalachia Trailhead parking lot, where we begin our Traverse, can be moody—and that mood is often a bit sour.  We won’t want to hang out there too long, so the more prepped you are upon arrival the better.  Packing and preparing for winter expeditions is a lifelong craft and advancing your learning of that craft is one of the outcomes of this experience, but here are some key pointers:

  • Be sure to check out the Presidential Traverse Clothing & Equipment Sheet and make sure you’ve got it all covered.  If you’ve got any questions about things, get in touch with us beforehand—that’s what we’re here for.  It’s pretty easy to solve most gear-related problems with enough advance notice.
  • The Traverse is hard work and we don’t want to make it any harder—so we don’t want to carry anything we won’t need.  The Clothing & Equipment Sheet outlines what we feel you need for a successful experience.  Please be very judicious about bringing any other “frills” (e.g., books, big knives, battery-powered toothbrushes, etc.).  Also, work with your group to eliminate redundant items.  For example, you can all share the same camera, cell phone, toothpaste, and sun lotion.     
  • Put your heavier stuff and the stuff you won’t need before we hit camp in the bottom of your pack (e.g., sleeping bag).
  • Keep things that we may use on the hike in handy: Food, water, eyewear, headlamp, and any personal medications.  For most packs, it works well to keep all of these in the “lid” of the pack.
  • Keep your down/fill parka at the top of your pack’s main compartment.
  • Boil your water (or get it piping hot from a convenience store) on the first day, then stick it in one of your spare socks (or an insulated holster if you have one).
  • Sleeping pads and crampons should be attached to the outside of your pack.  If you have an air mattress, keep it in a nylon bag to prevent puncture.
  • Remember it will be cold, so any items with batteries or any kinds of lotions, contact lens fluid, etc, that you plan to use during the day should be kept in a pocket near to your body.
  • You'll be given your lunch food for day one when we meet in the first morning.  This food should also be stashed in convenient pockets, keeping it warm and handy for the day's adventures.
  • Compression sacks are a great way to reduce the size of bulky winter items like sleeping bags and layers of clothing you won’t be using during the day. 
  • Pre-tape any hot-spots on your feet that you've noticed during your training hikes.  It is much easier to tape up in the comfort of a warm room the night before than it is to take off your boot and tackle it above tree line!
  • Make sure that after you’ve packed your own items in your pack there is still plenty of room left so that you can fit in your food and other group gear items like tents, fuel, and cookware.

With all of these things properly packed, we’ll be ready to go soon after arriving at the Appalachia Trailhead, so make sure you arrive dressed for the day.  While prepping in the parking lot, you’ll want to keep your down/fill parka on, but beneath that you should be dressed so that when the parka comes off you feel slightly chilled—you’ll warm up very quickly on the trail!

____________________  

With all of the above logistics covered, you’ll arrive ready for a great go at the Presidential Traverse.  If there are any additional logistical questions that you have, feel free to contact us!