Austere Conditions in the High Summits : The Presidential Traverse Hike

In this video I get up at 2am to begin my ascent from the valley way trailhead 3500 feet up to the summit of Mt Madison. The presidential traverse is a 19-mile point to point hike covering 9 mountain summits above 4000 feet including Mt Washington which is known for the worst weather in the United States. My goal was to complete this hike in one day. I had researched the hike for weeks trying to find a good weather window where i would be able to hike the route safely but also have weather conducive for the amazing views the high summit areas are known for. Unfortunately, mother nature was not my friend, the forecast ended up being wrong, instead of sun and light winds, i had cold temps, on and off rain, winds sustained at 40 mph and above with gusts into the 70's, and the summits stayed in the clouds the entire time. While I missed out on the views, I feel very proud of myself for pushing through and accomplishing the task. I used the book times from the Appalachian Mountain Club White Mountain Guide as a guide/benchmark and adjusted based on my average hiking speed in similar terrain. based on that information I had planned my route based on being ahead of the book times which i was able to accomplish even in the bad weather. It was a crazy experience for which if i was not prepared physically, mentally and gear wise I feel i would not have finished. sorry for all the wind noise but there was really nothing i could do about it. thanks for watching, please consider giving me a like, leave a comment or ask a question and consider subscribing if you want to see more videos like this, just with better audio and better views!

Gear I use now:

Hyperlite Southwest 4400 pack - For a (15% discount) on all hyperlite mountain gear, use code JAMES98110

Gossamer Gear Murmur 36 hyperlight - https://www.gossamergear.com/collecti...

Altra Lone peak 7 shoes - https://amzn.to/3NyplzX
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Sleep system is a Zenbivy light quilt 25 degree - https://zenbivy.com/
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Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 long tent with ground pad - https://amzn.to/465kY6N
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Disclosure: There are Affiliate links in this video description as well as my gear lists. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases, it only helps out my channel and does not cost you anything extra on your purchase

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#newhampshire
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