From a vantage point like Mount Crawford in Crawford Notch, N.H., it’s easy to see how Stairs Mountain on the horizon got its name. Its distinctive Giant Stairs resemble something like a stairway to the stars.
From the ledges on Stairs Mountain looking over to Mount Crawford and its mantelpiece, one sees why hikers make the trip to Stairs’ “stage” (the summitt), which rests 3,468 feet in the air.
Stairs is one of those destinations hikers tend to visit on a loop encompassing other fine peaks like Mounts Crawford and Resolution, often from the Davis Path trailhead in Crawford Notch.
But by approaching the mountain from the east, hikers can enjoy a more solitary journey and travel on portions of the repair work that went on in the White Mountain National Forest following the damage done in 2011 when Tropical Storm Irene wagged her damaging finger around the region.
In addition, the trek affords opportunity to camp for free in designated areas, including on those Stairs Mountain ledges.
The forest sustained some $10 million in damages during the ferocious storm. Trees, trails, waterways, bridges and more were impacted. Since then the U.S. Forest Service and others have worked to restore the damaged areas, including sections of Nancy Pond Trail and Greeley Ponds Trail. A bridge over Moriah Brook in Evans Notch was removed. Portions of Davis Path and Avalon Trail also received much-needed TLC. Two new bridges await hikers on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, a popular pathway used by thousands of hikers annually to access Mount Washington.
One section particularly hit hard was a stretch of the Rocky Branch Trail which reopened last fall.
The Rocky Branch Trail, reached at a dead end along Jericho Road and Rocky Branch Road from U.S. Route 302 in Bartlett, N.H., is part of an 8.8-mile challenging round-trip journey. Though it’s a flat two miles along the Rocky Branch, the 1.8-mile steep slog up the Stairs Col Trail is a challenge. Then it’s about a 0.4 mile hike with some scrambling on the Davis Path before a benign and spongy 0.2 miles along the spur trail to the ledges.
The Rocky Branch Trail follows along its namesake river, a 13-mile long Saco River tributary that flows from the southern flanks of Mount Washington in the Presidential Range Dry River Wilderness. The trail was once home to the Rocky Branch Railroad, owned by Conway Lumber Company. The logging operation existed from 1908 until 1914.
The initial portion of the trail has a nice bridge and concrete stretch with pleasant valley vistas before hikers venture onto a stretch of gravel laid down for heavy equipment. Along the way, it’s possible to venture down to the trickling river and see the massive log jams caused by the storm. Also, there is an easy-to-follow reroute with forgiving cushion underneath. The trail leads to the weathered Rocky Branch Shelter No. 1 with tent platforms nearby. A clean lean-to here has a fire pit, shovel and is easy access to a privy and the river.
From there it’s payback time as the Stairs Col Trail ascends with a bite, crosses into the Presidential Range Dry River Wilderness, passes dry streams and contains a number of steps — quite apropos considering the destination — and offers glimpses of Stairs’ towering ledges near the junction with Davis Path. These are just about the only mountain views until reaching those ledges.
What a vantage point it is; expect nothing but the great outdoors on the mountain top. First, there are designated areas for primitive camping. Emblazoned with a geodetic survey marker, the ledges plunge dramatically, suiting the stunning vistas from the prime piece of alpine real estate. The south-facing perch yields a vista featuring Crawford, Resolution, Attitash and other peaks. It was there my wife, Jan, and I met a couple of hikers for an incredible 10-day hiking trip from Chelsea, Vt., to the Mount Washington summit.
It was an uplifting journey and it got Jan and I thinking about other adventures we can do from our home in the woods.
Beyond that, as we sat on that fine overlook, it was very easy to gaze out upon the rippling mountain landscape and shout kudos to the many hands from many organizations that work in the forest doing sweaty physical labor during days of sun or rain, with a cool breeze or in brutal heat, surrounded by invading insect air forces or a canopy of color all so we all can climb those stairs to the heavens.