Trail Report: Seek the Peak Hikes 2, 3, and 4

By Chris Nichols

June 4, 2025 – Summit 2 of 17

Well, it’s been more than a month since the weather cooperated with my schedule. Rain, cold temperatures, hurricane force winds, more than a foot of snow, and other commitments in May all conspired to keep me off the mountain. But I made it back to the Mountain on Wednesday, June 4th for the second of my seventeen trips.

It was another beautiful day, with summit temps in the 50’s…much warmer in the valley, and a comfortable breeze to help keep the bugs at bay.

Once again, I climbed up the Jewel Trail (now my second time ascending the trail). The snow was gone; the trail was pretty dry except for the very lowest section. No more skiers, as the snow on Jefferson and Adams was not sufficient for more than a turn or two. Above tree line, I met one person attempting to complete a through hike from last year, having recovered from knee surgery and a couple who were out for a month section hiking the trail.

As I neared the summit, I glanced at the observatory and was surprised to see the team waving at me through the window. Wednesday is shift-change day, so I didn’t bother them. I reached the summit in just under 3.5 hours, including some breaks and lots of photos. A pretty good time covering 5 miles and almost 4,000 feet of elevation gain, if I do say so myself.

Summit operations are open for the season at this point, but the summer crowds have yet to arrive. I wasn’t alone, but there was no wait for the obligatory summit photo and plenty of seats in the dining area.

After a snack and some photos, I once again headed back down the Cog Path. I’m pretty sure it is the shortest route down the mountain, especially with no more snow, but it did present some challenges. As the elevation decreased, the temperature increased and there is no place to hide from the sun on the route. With a bit more than a mile to go, and feeling the effects of the increasing temperatures, I hopped onto the connector trail (which has a very steep incline after you cross under the cog tracks) and worked my way back to the Jewel trail to finish the hike.

According to my watch, the trip was 8.96 miles with 4,131 feet of elevation gain. It is also noteworthy that this was the first time I have ever climbed Mount Washington twice in the same year.

June 5, 2025 – Summit 3 of 17

In 2009, when I participated in Seek the Peak for the first time and climbed Mount Washington for the third time, I remember telling myself during the descent that this might be the last time I climbed the rock pile! I was exhausted and thought that putting my body through this just wasn’t a good idea.

Flash forward to 2025 and I have climbed Mount Washington three times this year and now I’ve done it on back-to-back days! Not bad for an old man!

Though showers and thunder showers were predicted for the afternoon, I got an early start (a bit after 6:00 am) and reached the summit about 9:30 am (I beat the first Cog train of the day).

Today I took the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail up and down. I’ve climbed that trail a few times, as it is one of my favorites, but I had never taken the trail down. I did hop on the cog connector on the way down to check it out. I was surprised that it came out right by the base lodge, leaving me with a bit of a road walk.

The first two miles of the trail are pretty tame, a little damp in places but otherwise a nice walk in the woods. Once you hit the Gem Pool, which is a great place to take a break, the climb starts in earnest. The next mile rises more than 1,500 feet. There are several water crossings along the way that were manageable but could be dangerous in high-water. I only got one foot wet.

After reaching the Lakes of the Clouds Hut, where I took a short break, the next 1.5 miles to the summit were relatively easy. I had nice views along the way, though haze limited the distance I could see.

June 15, 2025 – Summit 4 of 17

Another beautiful day, another summit closer to my goal.  Today was a long day. I had trouble sleeping, so I left the house about 3:30 am. I was headed for Pinkham Notch, which is about 45 minutes further from home than the Ammonoosuc trailhead.  Arriving a bit after 6:00 am, I started up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail just before 6:30 am.  With the option of either going up through the ravine, or Lion Head, I opted for the latter.

Lion head is very steep after it leaves the Tuckerman Ravine Trail and there are plenty of places where a good handhold is more important than a good foothold.  I didn’t see another hiker until I was passed by someone about a half mile from the summit.  We chatted a bit, each of us planning to take the Boott Spur trail down.

At the summit, I initially skipped the summit pic as it is Laconia Bike Week and there were plenty of riders waiting for their turn. I did grab a summit snapshot during a lull. I bumped into Alex, one of the weather observers taking measurements out on the deck. Temps were cool, but not uncomfortable and the wind was light, relatively speaking. After taking some pictures and wandering around a bit, I had a snack and stopped by to meet the current shifts interns. That would have been a real adventure in my younger days.

I’ve been up and down Boott Spur in the past.  The trail gives you some unique and spectacular views into Tuckerman Ravine at times, but once you start your real descent, it tends to feel like a never-ending march.  I bumped into the person, Phillip, I met heading up and we ended up sticking together back to the base.  It was nice to have company.

This is Chris’s 18th year participating in Seek the Peak. He has summited Mount Washington a total of 17 times, so as a challenge this year, he’s aiming to hike Mount Washington 17 times this summer ahead of Seek the Peak weekend. You can follow along on his trail reports on mountwashington.org/journal, and you can learn more about Chris, who is also a steward for the event, on his fundraising page here.