Chauvin Guides International, Presidential Traverse Guide

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Due to the severe weather that you may encounter or if the traverse is taking longer than expected, you may need escape routes. There are a number of trails that descend off of the ridge, some are safer routes than others. Many trails that would just be a little rough in the summer are to steep or have snow slopes that create either avalanche or falling hazards and should be avoided. Because you are often using these escape routes in poor weather it is important to have bearings that will get you to where the trail enters into the tree line. Here are some route plans for the better escape routes.

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From Altitude Latitude/Longitude	Follow	For a Distance of	Elevation lost or gained on the route	Approximate Time	Comments along the route	To Altitude Latitude/Longitude
Thunderstorm Junction 5490’ 44°19’18” 71°17’47”	315°TN	1.2 miles	-910’	50 minutes		Gray Knob Cabin 4400’ 44°19’55” 71°18’38”
Junction of the Gulfside Trail and Israel Ridge Trail 5225’ 44°18’57” 71°18’22”	310TN°	.3 miles	-400’	15 minutes	The Junction of the Israel Ridge Trail and Gulfside Trail is on the leg between Thunderstorm Junction and Edmunds Col and is .6 miles from Thunderstorm Junction.	Junction of the Israel Ridge Randolph and Gray Knob Trails (Tree line) 4825’ 44°19’08” 71°18’41”
Edmunds Col 4938’ 44°18’40” 71°18’46”	Descend northward to 4825’then follow that elevation north northeastward	.7	-113’	30 minutes		Junction of the Israel Ridge Randolph and Gray Knob Trails (Tree line) 4825’ 44°19’08” 71°18’41”
South End of Jefferson Loop 5375’ 44°18’03” 71°18’55”	275°TN	.5 miles	-490’	20 minutes		Tree line on the Caps Ridge Trail 4885’ 44°18’04” 71°19’29”
Sphinx Col 5015’ 44°17’28” 71°19’02”	50°TN	.4 miles	-585’	15 minutes		Tree line on the Sphinx Trail 4430’ 44°17’39” 71°18’42”
Junction of the Jewell Trail and Gulfside Trail 5400’ 44°17’01” 71°19’04”	275°TN	.6 miles	-1100’	25 minutes	The junction of the Jewell Trail and Gulfside Trail is below the summit of Clay and is .9 miles from Sphinx Col.	Tree line on the Jewell Trail 4300 44°17’03” 71°19’47”
Cog Railway/Westside Trail 5540’ 44°16’34” 71°18’44”	The railroad tracks down	2.1 miles	2840	1 hour 25 minutes		Marshfield Station 2700’ 44°16’12” 71°21’02”
Crawford Path 5615’ 44°15’59” 71°18’31”	100°	.7 miles	-582’	30 minutes	Once you get to the Lion’s Head follow the Winter Lion’s Head Trail to the Fire Road. This escape is not for bad weather.	Lion’s Head 5033’ 44°15’52” 71°17’37”
Lakes of the Clouds Hut 5012’ 44°15’31” 71°19’10”	69°TN	1 mile	+371’	1 hour	This is not a good escape in bad weather, but is a good alternative if you do not have the time to finish	Tuckerman Junction 5383’ 44°15’47” 71°18’10”
Lakes of the Clouds Hut 5012’ 44°15’31” 71°19’10”	338°TN	.4 miles	-717’	15 minutes	This is the best way down from Lakes in bad weather.	Tree line on the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail 4295’ 44°15’50” 71°19’21”
Junction of the Crawford Path, Mount Eisenhower Loop Trail and Edmunds Path 4475' 44°14’32” 71°20’43”	276°TN	.3 miles	-20	15 minutes	You can also follow the 4450’contour line	Well into the trees on the Edmunds Path 4455’ 44°14’34” 71°21’03”
The junction of the Crawford Path and the Webster Cliff Trail 4250’ 44°13’39” 71°21’54”	265°TN	.2	-60	10 minutes		Well into the woods on the Crawford Path 4190’ 44°13’38” 71°22’09”

Some of these escape routes will get you out of the weather but will leave with quite a bit of walking back to your car. The descents from Thunderstorm Junction, the junction of the Israel Ridge Path and Gulfside Trail or from Edmunds Col will get you back down close to your car at the Valley Way Trailhead. The descent down the Ridge of the Caps Trail, Jewell Trail, the Cog Railroad tracks or the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail will drop you down to unplowed roads quite some distance from your cars. The descent down the Sphinx Trail will drop you off in the Great Gulf Wilderness with the potential of a long walk out an unbroken trail to Route 16. The descent down the Edmunds Path will get you onto an unplowed road but pretty close to your car in Crawford Notch.

As the comments suggest it is not wise during bad weather to head towards Tuckerman Ravine for a descent down the Lion's Head Trail from the traverse route. The distance you will have to travel above tree line to get yourself down is not that much less than continuing across the Southern Presidentials. Instead from the time you get to the Jewell Trail all the way to Lakes of the Clouds Hut you will have to head down westward to the Cog Railway Base at Marshfield Station and walk out the unplowed road to Route 302.

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