Our first of two “Sturgeon Moon” adventures went well, albeit with a very small turnout of only one guest. We did want at least one more person to join the fun, but as the Rolling Stones put it: “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, well, you might find, you get what you need!” Here’s hoping our next scheduled night adventure, a New Moon Franconia Ridge Traverse, draws more attention. Leading this trip was Redline Guide Debra McCown. Her words and photos follow…
Moonlight on the Presis
The goal was simple: Hike the southern Presidentials by moonlight, with no headlamps needed under the bright, full moon. The weather cooperated beautifully despite the wildfire smoke, and we couldn’t have asked for better for our guest’s first-ever night hike.
We went up Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, arriving at Lakes of the Clouds in the evening just as the full moon was rising above the ridge. We shut off our headlamps on the summit of Monroe and left them off all the way down the ridge: over Little Monroe, Franklin, Eisenhower, and beyond. We turned them on again for the tree-covered stretch to Pierce and the descent to Crawford Notch.
Beyond the hut, we didn’t see a soul. It was a perfect, magical, moonlit summer night — and the kind of thing every 4000-footer hiker should have on their bucket list. —Debra
