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!