September 17, 2017: Mt. Pierce (15/48) and Mt. Eisenhower (16/48)

This spectacular and unseasonably warm September Sunday in the Presidential Range did not disappoint! Lucy and I met up at the Edmands Path trailhead parking lot, where we left one car before driving down Mt. Clinton Road to begin our hike up Mt. Pierce on the Crawford Connector trail.

After a moderate climb up the historic Crawford Path, we reached the summit of Mt. Pierce in just a hair over two hours. We snapped a few pictures at the summit (my 15th of the 48 4000-footers), then retraced our steps back to Crawford Path to continue on to our next destination, Mt. Eisenhower.

The descent from Pierce was relatively easy until we began the rocky climb up to Eisenhower, which became extremely steep once we reached the base of the summit cone. There were even a couple small ladders (more like stairs, really). That enormous cairn at the top was a most welcome sight! Following a few quick photos, Lucy and I sat down to enjoy some lunch with amazing 360-degree views of the White Mountains. Mt. Washington even made a brief appearance between passing clouds.

Ready to hike!

Plaque near the start of the historic Crawford Path.

Woolly Bear, I think… but it has no brown! I wonder what that means as far as a weather predictor goes…

Great view of Eisenhower (and Washington, in the distance) from just below the summit of Mt. Pierce.

Boots on the summit of Mt. Pierce!

Cairn at the Mt. Pierce summit.

Lucy and I on Mt. Pierce.

Heading that way!

There were lots of slugs along Crawford Path today.

Getting closer to Mt. Eisenhower!

Alpine flora approaching Eisenhower.

Closer view of the plant life.

Looking back toward Mt. Pierce.

Heading up to the summit of Eisenhower.

There’s the huge cairn!

Finally, we’ve arrived!

Mt. Washington briefly peeked out of the clouds as we ate lunch.

View down to Bretton Woods from the summit of Eisenhower.

Descending Crawford Path on the northeastern side of Eisenhower’s summit.

Sweeping view of the Edmands col, and the intersection of Crawford Path and Edmands Path.

Take a left at the sign!

Lucy spotted these awesome mushrooms within the last half-mile or so of Edmands Path.

Descending the northeastern side of Eisenhower’s summit cone was just as steep as the ascent, but it provided exceptional views over to the northern Presidentials and down into the Edmands col. Upon reaching the junction, we took a left on Edmands Path to return to our car spot. This stretch of trail begins with a narrow, rocky section with some tricky footing. Thankfully, that section ended pretty quickly and soon we were below treeline once again.

Other than that first rocky section, Edmands Path was relatively easy to descend. A little on the rocky side, but not too steep, and the last mile or so was a relatively easy hike back to the parking lot.

Calci di merda!

What’s that headline mean? Well, according to Google Translate and a friend who’s fluent, that’s Italian for “shit-kickers”. Which is what I’m fondly calling my brand-new hiking boots.

La Sportiva Nucleo High GTX Hiking Boots

I’ve had them bookmarked on REI for a month or so, and now that I had some birthday money to spend, I noticed they were on sale and jumped right on that. After snowshoeing in my trail runners last winter (with OR Huron gaiters that cover my toes – no issues with wetness) I realized I need more ankle support, particularly when snowshoeing. And I think true boots will be better for some of the tougher 4000-footers.

They’re a high ankle style, so breaking them in is extremely important. I’ve decided to wear them on a few shorter (under 5 miles) hikes before heading up north with them. I chose an easy hike today for their maiden voyage, a simple out-and-back to the north summit of Piper Mountain in the Belknap range. Fortunately, hiking buddy Cat was available to join me for an early (6:30 AM) hike.

Top view of the boots.

Side view.

At the north summit of Piper Mountain. (Doing a lame Captain Morgan pose.)

We started out from the carriage road and headed up the red trail, the most direct route up to the north summit of Piper. We got there pretty fast! After a quick photo at the summit, we discussed our options. Since we still had plenty of time, we decided to take the Old Piper trail (orange) over to the Belknap Mountain white trail, then hike down the carriage road to our cars. The remainder of the hike was equally as fast as the first half.

We both still had a lot of energy left after such a short, quick hike. Cat ended up doing another hike nearby, and I decided to go for a run after making a quick trip to pick up steaks for grilling this weekend.

My report on the boots so far is this: I love them! Besides the fact that they look rather badass:

• The Vibram soles are quite grippy – no problems with slipping today. Though this trail wasn’t particularly steep, there were some sections of slabby rock and I made sure to hike right up them to test out the soles, rather than going around to an easier spot.
• The fit is perfect – I have a good half-inch between my toes and the front of the boot, and plenty of room along the sides of the toe box.
• Even with this extra room, my foot does not slide around within the boot at all. The back of the boot cups my heel extremely well without being too tight.
• Going downhill, there was no toe-smashing at all. Again, that well-fitting heel cup held my foot in place. These boots also have La Sportiva’s “Impact Brake” system, which may aid in this as well.
• The high cut of the boot provided excellent ankle support. No issues with rubbing at all, though I felt I may have tied my right boot a little tighter and I felt one spot of pressure occasionally.
• No blisters at all upon finishing the hike!
• These will likely not be summer boots for me, unless I’m going on a particularly rough trail. They are breathable, but Gore-Tex lined, and my feet felt quite warm through the whole hike.

I’ll hold off doing a final review until I’ve worn them on a few more shorter hikes as well as some longer ones, so I can evaluate how they’re wearing.