Mount Hope to Mount Crawford

While sitting on the west ledge of Mount Parker during a recent bushwhack, gazing across the remote Razor Brook valley, I was intrigued by the idea of traversing the trailless Bemis Ridge, which encloses the west side of the valley, from Mount Hope to the Davis Path on Mount Crawford. In this photo from Mount Parker, Mount Hope is in the foreground left of center and Mount Crawford is on the far right.

 

 

 

 

The plan was to hike a short way in on Davis Path, then attempt to follow an old bootleg trail to Mount Hope, made by a local resident many years ago. I hoped (ha!) to locate a view ledge on the east side of Hope, then follow the ridge towards Mount Crawford, seeking another view ledge along the way.

 

At its start, the Davis Path crosses the Saco River on the heavy-duty Bemis Bridge.  

 

This trail has an interesting history.

The trail soon enters the Presidential Range-Dry River Wilderness.

 

The old bootleg trail starts up what appears to be a steep old logging road. I had followed this route twice back in the winter of 2005.

 

With a bit of trail and error I was able to follow the path in its lower part up past a long sliding cascade.

There were even a couple of more recently placed cairns here, in addition to some faded old green blazes.

But I soon lost the old trail in an open hemlock grove.

 

Once into an expansive area of open hardwoods, it was impossible to follow the path, so it became a regular bushwhack, and a nice one at that.

Angling rather steeply up the NW slope of Mount Hope.

More open hardwoods as I reached the crest of Bemis Ridge north of Mount Hope.

 

 

Mount Hope itself is cloaked in conifers. I slabbed along the east side of the ridge through some rugged terrain.

 

After some maneuvering, I found the view ledge.

 

Here there was a unique angle on the ridge enclosing the east side of the Razor Brook valley, from Mount Parker across to Mount Resolution.

A nice profile of Mount Parker, including the SW ridge I had bushwhacked up a few days earlier.

 

Mount Resolution, with its trademark gravels splotches.

Adding Mount Langdon (on the right) to the view, with Kearsarge North in the distance.

From the ledge I bushwhacked to the crest of the ridge, where the bootleg trail was clearly defined in the spruces.

 

I followed it south to the ledgy summit area of Mount Hope (2505 ft.), where views are very limited. The vista was more open two decades ago.

I followed the old trail north through the spruces,  then bushwhacked along the ridge through open hardwoods.

 

A well-used bear tree.

The hardwoods cloaked the ridge for more than half a mile, including the broad 2060-ft. col between Mount Hope and Mount Crawford.

Even after the conifers took over, the woods were still mostly open.

 

There were a few areas that were a little more difficult.

 

 

 

The first of two viewless ledges I climbed while ascending towards Mount Crawford.

Farther along, I came to the big, steep ledge I was seeking. Surely this would offer some views.

A steeply sloping granite slab.

 

That's a yes for views. 

Mount Parker, Mount Langdon and the Attitash Range beyond the lower Razor Brook valley.

A different angle on Parker with a wild Crawford spur ridge in the foreground.

 

Down-look into a remote branch of the Razor Brook valley. The long-abandoned WMNF Razor Brook Trail came up this branch en route to the Davis Path on the ridge.

Headwall between Mount Crawford and a knobby spur my late friend Creston Ruiter dubbed "Crawford's Bunion."

 

 

After savoring the views from this ledge, I continued north towards Davis Path through much thicker woods.

 

A ridge bushwhack can't be all peaches and cream.

 

I reached Davis Path at ~2550 ft. Though it was very late in the afternoon, I wanted to see the sweeping views from Mount Crawford's rocky summit, so I headed upward for the 570-foot climb.

A scramble up to the first ledgy outlook on Davis Path.

It was nice to look back down the ridge I had traversed to the dark spruce dome of Mount Hope.

 

This huge sloping ledge is the start of the spur path to Mount Crawford.

The top of this ledge offers a wide view to the south.

The summit of Mount Crawford more than earns its status as a "52 With a View" peak, here looking north into Crawford Notch.

Looking across the wild Sleeper Brook valley to the Southern Presidentials and Mount Washington behind a long spur ridge of Stairs Mountain.

 

Washington rises above Oakes Gulf, with Boott Spur on the right and Mount Monroe on the left.

 

 

The Giant Stairs behind a huge ledge on a spur of Crawford Dome.

The broad mass of Mount Resolution behind Crawford Dome.

A sunbeam highlights the largest gravel patch on Resolution.

 

 

Spruce Grouse peek-a-boo on the Crawford spur trail.

They are not shy.

 

Below the first outlook, a long section of Davis Path is steep and badly eroded. It's a grind of a climb, and a tedious descent.

On the lower part of the descent, the trail has been improved with many rock steps by AMC trail crews. The round trip to Mount Crawford via Davis Path and the summit spur is 5.0 miles with 2100 feet of elevation gain. The view are well worth the effort!

 

Mount Parker Bushwhack

 

The inspiration for this bushwhack excursion came from my friend Dennis Follensbee ("alpinebee"), who emailed an endorsement of the Razor Brook area in the Presidential Range-Dry River Wilderness for some ASAP (April Snow Avoidance Program) wandering. More specifically, the open hardwoods on the west side of Mount Parker, which encloses the Razor Brook valley on the east. I have long been fascinated by this long, trailless Wilderness valley, but had neglected this region in recent years. Thanks to Dennis for rekindling my interest.

 

With Bear Notch Road closed, I drove the long way around to Bartlett and set off late on a sunny, crisp morning on Mount Langdon Trail.

A short distance in along the trail, on the right, is the grave of Dr. Leonard Eudy, who was living in Bartlett in 1877 when he treated an outbreak of smallpox in a lumber camp. Though he saved some of his patients, he contracted the disease himself and died a few months later.

The first mile of Mount Langdon Trail is a mostly pleasant walk (except for a wet section near the start) along an old logging road on private land.

The trail enters the Presidential Range-Dry River Wilderness just before crossing a brook, and shortly passes this nice cascade.

Open hardwood forest abounds at lower elevations in this part of the Wilderness.

 

I left the trail about 1.5 miles in and began a long northwesterly traverse across the western slopes of Oak Ridge and Mount Parker. In the first section I pushed through some fairly prickly conifer forest.

Then I broke out into some sunny hardwood forest.

This went back and forth a few times but eventually the hardwoods prevailed.

Along the way I crossed several small streams that feed into Razor Brook.

Well into this mile and a half traverse I stumbled upon this artifact. Don't know what it is; there was no sign of a lumber camp in the immediate vicinity.

A random grouping of boulders.

Farther along I passed through this wonderfully open hemlock grove.

 

Crossing another tributary stream. One of the pleasures of a long bushwhack is reading the terrain: seeing the many features of the landscape and relating what's on the ground to what's on the map.

After crossing several more small drainages, I ascended onto the broad SW ridge of Mount Parker.

The open, mature hardwood forest on this ridge was a joy to weave through.

Some large old maples in here.

On Google Earth I had spotted two ledgy patches on the lower part of this ridge. I had hopes that there would be views. Here the first ledge band could be seen ahead. 

I had to navigate a route around its left side.

Rugged terrain!

 

But no open view.

 

This Wilderness has its own Clam Rock.

Between the first and second sets of ledges was this beautiful shelf. This part of the ridge was reminiscent of the Catskills - open hardwoods with alternating ledge bands and terraces.

A smaller ledge band.

A steep approach to the second set of ledges.

No real view here, either - just a peek at Mount Tremont.

 

I took a late lunch break on a lovely terrace behind these ledges.

From here on up, as Dennis had noted, the climb was steep.

Looking back.

 

Not going up that way. The cliff band extended across the slope.

The two-foot contour Lidar map from the NHGranit website helped me find a way around the cliff band on the left.

I worked my way up and back around to the top of the cliffs and found a ledge with a view!

And a pretty good one, peering down into the Razor Brook valley backed by Mount Hope and Hart Ledge, with Mount Whiteface, East Sleeper, Mount Tremont, Mount Kancamagus, the Osceolas, Mount Huntington and Mount Carrigain in the distance.

More to the north were Mount Nancy, Mount Bemis, and the Bond-Twin Range.

A nice spot to hang out in the sun for a while.

Most of the climb from here was unrelievedly steep through conifer forest. Not overly thick, but plenty of grabby, prickly branches.

Yup, it was steep.

The rough side of Parker.

Progress was slow, but eventually I broke out onto Parker's western view ledge, a favorite spot. The sharp peak of Mount Crawford is prominent at top center.

I settled in for a long break in the late afternoon sun.

 

Off to the SW, the Sandwich Range could be seen beyond Bear Mountain, Bartlett Haystack and Mount Tremont.

Another good look down into the Razor Brook valley.

A closer look at Mount Crawford, with the Willey Range and Mount Jackson behind on the right, behind Crawford Dome. Hidden in shadow just to the left of Crawford Dome is a cliff we call "The Razor's Edge."

Wide angle shot of the ledge and view.

 

 

A short but quite thick bushwhack (no herd path) brought me to the 3013-foot summit of Mount Parker and the Mount Parker Trail. The view north to Mount Washington beyond the Rocky Branch valley is why Parker is on the 52 With a View List. The dark, flat-topped mass of Mount Resolution looms to the left.

Mounts Eisenhower, Franklin and Monroe to the left of Washington, Boott Spur to the right. Upper Rocky Branch Ridge on the far right. East Stairs juts out at upper center, with Mounts Davis and Isolation above. A unique view!

Zoomed some more. Good look at Oakes Gulf headwall to the left of Washington.

From a ledge on the SE side of the summit, Mt. Shaw, the Gemini, Kearsarge North, Pleasant Mountain and the Green Hills beyond the lower Rocky Branch valley.

Iron Mountain, with the Doubleheads peering over on the left.

A solitary white pine eking out an existence on the summit.

The Wildcats and Carter Dome.

Wide angle shot of the summit northward view.

Typically good footing on the Mount Parker Trail as it descends off its namesake peak. It's a very pleasant, winding trail, and has just been adopted by Dennis Follensbee - thank you!

Last few surviving bits of monorail. 

Down into the hardwoods.

Junction with Mount Langdon Trail in the col between Mount Parker and Oak Ridge.

One blip on the Mount Parker hike is the  250-ft. return climb of Oak Ridge. Overall the round trip hike via Mount Langdon and Mount Parker Trails is 7.8 miles with 2800 ft. of elevation gain, equivalent to a moderate 4000-footer.

Evening sun in the oak forest on the south side of Oak Ridge.