One of our guests had signed up for this past winter’s overnight adventure at the Mt Washington Observatory (MWOBS), but something came up that interrupted these plans and our guest was given a credit to use later. Fast forward to later — to now — and the credit was applied to something just as cool and perhaps a bit more personal. A self-challenge: a one-day Presidential Traverse. This was led by Redline Guide Mike Maciel who also happens to be a friend to this guest. And with that we will turn over the writing space to Mr Maciel so he can do his thing.
Leveling Up
Yesterday was different for me, in that I was guiding a friend. She gave me no choice in the matter of going the professional route, booked this particular trip without my knowledge, and told me something along the lines of I’m going to make you carry most of the stuff so you might as well get paid for it. Well ok bossypants (she’s Type A, we are allowed to say this). Sidebar: all of these shady behaviors were immediately forgiven when she brought me summit pizza. Take note future guests, this is how it’s done! 🤣
There is nothing better than watching someone accomplish things they weren’t sure they could do. Granted, most people aren’t going to book a trip they don’t think they can handle. But once dates are confirmed and initial conversations have happened, guests are given something very dangerous: time to think. Doubt can start to creep in. Maybe the 14 day way-too-early forecast (that my guide told me not to look at) doesn’t look good. Maybe I didn’t get to train and prepare the way I wanted. Maybe I bit off a little too much.
And after all that time to think, the Classic Presidential Traverse ‘rewards’ the guest with an alpine start up Valley Way in the dark. Over these first four miles and thousands of feet of elevation working on hardly any sleep everyone will huff and puff and start to feel the burning of their lungs and legs. That’s when the doubt really makes its presence felt: ‘What the hell was I thinking?’ I mentally prepared our guest for this moment, but it’s hard to get out of your own head. Real problems and real challenges can be overcome, it is the mental ones that often have no solution. How can they? These problems in our head don’t actually exist.
Sometimes as guides our job is to believe in our guests at a moment when they don’t fully believe in themselves. It’s a beautiful thing to watch someone push through that. To see a smile as they catch a perfect sunrise atop Mount Madison. To hear the joy and surprise that we have already ascended the beautiful but rugged Star Lake Trail to Adams. To see that exact moment the body language changes, when the guest knows that they can actually do this. Soon fellow hikers will ask where we came from and our guest confidently says ‘We started at Appalachia.’ People, realizing we are doing a Presi, are suddenly impressed. The world looks and feels a lot different when you believe in yourself.
Yesterday was an absolute dime of a day and I hope this White Mountain rite-of-passage is one our guest never forgets: her first Presidential Traverse.
Well done my friend, you absolutely crushed it just like I knew you would. —Mike M.
What follows are several photos of their awesome, incredible physical — and psychological — adventure…
