The Mount Washington Double, which I'm calling the Joe Dodge Traverse, is as classic a White Mountain trail run as they come. While I'm sure folks have done this traverse historically, either carrying a packboard while crooing the huts or as a parlor trick for locals, it surprisingly hasn't been presented here as a dedicated FKT route. There are few other running routes that cover such quintessential terrain in the Presidential Range compared to the JDT, short of the Presi Traverse itself, though these two routes actually share little trail at all (about 3 miles total on The Crawford Path). I've decided to call it the Joe Dodge Traverse in the name of the hut keeper who I could likely see as being the first to have done this traverse in the early days of the huts, likely a casual stroll for the likes of him, and secondly as the starting trailhead is at the AMC Joe Dodge Lodge in Pinkham Notch. In no way does this trail usurp the mighty history of the Presidential Traverse, in many ways it feels like a complement for those folks in the north country who'd rather spend more time going up and down rather than across. In that way, I feel that this would also make for a classic day out skiing in the woods for those looking for a classic New England ski mountaineering objective.
Start the route at the Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center and Joe Dodge Lodge, traveling up the Tuckerman's Ravine Trail. Once reached, split onto the Lion's Head summer route bringing you up to the summit of Lion's Head and The Alpine Garden. From here continue up the trail to the summit of Mount Washington. Next, follow The Crawford Path down to Lakes of The Clouds Hut and down the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail to Marshfield Station, Cog Base. To complete the route, reverse these steps going back up to Lakes of The Clouds and to the summit a second time and descend back to Pinkham Notch via Lion's Head and The Tuckerman's Ravine Trail. All in all this should provide you with a lovely full day in the hills. For water, I ended up filling up at Lakes of The Clouds twice, once on the way down and once on the return as well as again on the return at the summit station. For fuel, I carried everything with me, that being basically Maurten's and Snickers bars, yum.
