FKT: Josh Burns - Presidential Traverse (NH) - 2020-06-26

I started my day for a standard double Presidential Traverse in the White Mountain Nation Forest at 5:09 AM heading north on the Crawford Path. A cool morning with temperatures in the 50s made for a quick outbound route hitting the Appalchia trailhead in 5 hours 6 minutes. The climb back up Valley Way trail is when the heat and humidity set in where I went through most of my 1.5 liters of water carried. As I reached Mt. Madison for the second time, some clouds rolled in with a slight breeze cooling it off for the remainder of the day. I even watched some rain showers over Mt. Washington as I made my way south. I refilled my hand held at the Lake of the Clouds Hut water source, and got the legs somewhat moving through the southern Presidential Range. I finished the day at the Crawford Path trailhead in 11 hours 28 minutes and 49 seconds. I carried all my calories for the day including a hand held of soda and energy chews. I ran into a couple rangers on the Valley Way trail, but it was mostly a quiet day for the White Mountains. The Presidential Traverse is such a classic route that you might as well do it twice!