Presidential Traverse
Camping


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Introduction
Gear Selection
The Cooking System
The Clothing System
The Food System
The Sleeping System & Miscellaneous
The Route
The Whiteout Navigation Plan
The Escape Routes
Emergency Strategies

There are numerous camping spots on the traverse, particularly when the weather is good. The National Forest Rules for camping may change but are generally this; you can camp anywhere above tree line on at least 2 feet of snow except on bodies of water or within ¼ mile of a hut. The only exception, there is no camping in the Cutler River Drainage, which is roughly the area around Huntington and Tuckerman Ravine to the summit of Mount Washington. Contact the AMC Pinkham Notch Camp at 603 466 2721 or the Ammonoosuc Ranger District at 603 466 2713 for up to date information about camping.

Just because it is possible to put up a tent in an area it doesn't mean it is a good campsite, particularly on the Presidential Traverse. If you are fortunate enough to have no wind when you are stopping to camp that does not mean the wind will not pick up during the night and cause you some serious problems. The reality of winter camping in the Northeast is that you will spend more time at your camp than on the move due to those long winter nights. Therefore, the chances the weather will change at night are higher than during the day, you need to pick campsites with that in mind.

A good campsite will have these features: it will be near or at tree line for protection against the wind, it will be close to the ridgeline so you will not add much mileage to the overall traverse, it will be close to or better yet, part way down at an escape route so that you do not have to go up to escape, it will fit into a system of campsites that will be spaced in such a way that will allow you to complete the traverse in the allotted time and it will be a legal site.

Here is a list of places that I have used or have noted as good sites. How you put them together to form a trip will change from party to party due to, start time, the weather, footing and how long you plan on taking to complete the traverse. How many days the traverse takes can vary greatly. Strong aggressive teams have done it in a day with good weather! While others planned on four days and were unable to complete it!

1. Valley Way Campsite; This campsite is located on the Valley Way Trail 3.1 miles from the trailhead and .7 miles before the Madison Hut.
2. On the Israel Ridge Trail at the junction of the Randolph and Gray Knob Trail; Follow the escape route down to tree line. This is a good campsite and is not as far down as it first seems. To return to the ridge follow the Randolph Trail to Edmunds Col.
3. Sphinx Col; Follow the Sphinx Trail down a few hundred yards to some sheltered areas. This is the last good spot for nearly 5 ½ miles of above tree line travel.
4. Junction of the Crawford Path, Eisenhower Loop Trail and Edmunds Path; From the junction head south Southeast a couple of hundred yards to a sheltered area.
5. There is good camping on the Crawford Path once it enters into the trees.

There is an emergency shelter at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut, it is illegal to camp there except in an emergency. Lakes is not a good place to camp. Because the escape down the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail is toward the Northwest the prevailing wind is in your face during your escape. Lakes is a windy place even for the traverse, its shape tends to funnel the wind. There have been times when the wind was blowing so hard campers at Lakes were unable to descend. Only use the emergency shelter in an emergency, if you stay there in good weather you may find yourself in an emergency when the wind does pick-up!

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