Stairs Mountain | Maine Wanderlust

SUMMARY

We began this hike from the Davis Path parking lot on Route 302 in Hart’s Location, New Hampshire. We followed Davis Path to Giant Stairs spur trail and slept at the established tent site on the top of Stairs Mountain. In the morning we returned to Davis Path and followed it to Mount Davis where we took the spur path to the summit. We returned to Davis Path and continued to Mount Isolation, where we again took the spur path to the summit. We we again returned to Davis Path and this time followed the path to its terminus on the shoulder of Mount Washington where it met Crawford Path. We completed our ascent of Mount Washington by following Crawford Path to the summit. For our descent we followed Nelson Crag Trail until it ended. Finally we jumped on Old Jackson Road and followed it to our other vehicle waiting at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center on Route 16 in Jackson, New Hampshire.

This massive hike was over 21 miles long and included 7100 feet of vertical gain. Not including the time we were sleeping on Stairs Mountain, this hike took almost 13.5 hours to complete.

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SUMMARY

We accessed Davis Path from the Davis Path parking lot off Route 302 just south of Crawford Notch in Bartlett, New Hampshire. We took Davis Path to the intersection with the Mount Crawford spur path, which we took to Mount Crawford. We backtracked to Davis Path and continued along it until the intersection with Mount Parker Trail, which we took to Mount Resolution. We again backtracked to Davis Path and continued north to the intersection with Giant Stairs spur path, which we took to the vista overlooking Giant Stairs. We then backtracked to Davis Path and began the return trip to our car. At the intersection with Mount Parker Trail we took an old side trail to AMC Resolution Shelter (demolished) and returned to Davis Path. Midway between Mount Resolution and Mount Crawford we bushwhacked over an unnamed peak marked as 3088′ to a remote cliff. We finally bushwhacked back to Davis Path and returned the remaining distance to our car.

This hike and its many side trips and bushwhacks turned out to be nearly 12 miles long and accumulated over 3500 feet of elevation. Including several breaks it took us just under 9 hours to complete.