Crawford Path

The Crawford Path is an 8.5-mile-long (13.7 km) hiking trail that travels from Crawford Notch to the summit of Mount Washington (Agiocochook) in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The first iteration of the Crawford Path was cut in 1819 by Ethan Allen Crawford and his father, Abel Crawford. It is considered to be the United States' oldest continuously maintained hiking trail.[1] The trail ascends a cumulative 4,900 feet (1,500 m), first through densely wooded forest for about 3.1 miles (5.0 km), then following the exposed southern ridge of the Presidential Range mostly above the treeline.

History

A brief history of Crawford Path:

  • 1784 - A geology party headed by Manasseh Cutler named Mount Washington.[2]
  • 1790s - The Crawford family moved to New Hampshire's White Mountains from Guildhall, Vermont.[3][4]
  • 1819 - Ethan Allen Crawford and his father, Abel, cut the first iteration of Crawford Path, an 8.5-mile trail from the valley where they lived (then called White Mountain Notch, now called Crawford Notch) to Mount Washington's summit.[5]
  • 1820 - Ethan Allen led one of the first guided expeditions up Crawford's Path to Washington's summit. The group he led collectively named many of the mountains in the Presidential Range on this expedition.
  • 1821 - Ethan Allen Crawford built a house on the summit of Mount Washington, which lasted until a storm in 1826.[3]
  • 1840 - Thomas J. Crawford, a younger son of Abel, converted the path to an equestrian route.[5]
  • Early twentieth century - Hikers dominated use of Crawford Path over equestrian activity.
  • 1994 - The Crawford Path was designated a National Recreation Trail on its 175th anniversary by the U.S. Forest Service.[1]

Changes to the trail

It is believed that the trail mostly follows the original path, except for a section between the summit of Mount Monroe and Mount Washington, which was diverted from the original path off the ridge to go by AMC's Lakes of the Clouds high mountain hut.

Current trail

The Crawford Path is now a popular hiking trail due to its access to the southern Presidential Range summits and its rich history. The primary parking lot for hikers is off Mt. Clinton Road, 0.1 miles from U.S. Route 302. The Crawford Connector is a short trail that leads from the Mt. Clinton Road parking lot to the Crawford Path, bypassing only about the first 0.2 miles of the original Crawford Path. Using short loop trails, either off of or paralleling Crawford Path, the summits of Mt. Pierce, Mt. Eisenhower, and Mt. Monroe can be reached. The Crawford Path also passes the Appalachian Mountain Club's Lakes of the Clouds hut, one of their High Huts of the White Mountains. The Crawford Path is part of the Appalachian Trail from their junction north of Mt. Pierce to the summit of Mt. Washington.[5]

References
  1. "White Mountain National Forest - Crawford Path Trailhead (Rte 302)".
  2. "Condensed Facts About Mount Washington", Atkinson News Co., 1912.
  3. Julyan, Robert Hixson; Julyan, Mary (1993), Place Names of the White Mountains (revised ed.), University Press of New England, ISBN 978-0-87451-638-8
  4. Johnson, Christopher (2006), This Grand & Magnificent Place: The Wilderness Heritage of the White Mountains, University Press of New England, ISBN 978-1-58465-461-2
  5. Smith, Steven D. and Dickerman, Mike (2012), White Mountain Guide, Appalachian Mountain Club, ISBN 978-1934028445

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