Along the NET-Cohos: Cohos Trail: Crawford Notch to Stairs Mountain

Cohos Trailhead at Crawford Notch

I'm back in New Hampshire to finish off the Cohos Trail and explore the so-called "Ghost Trail" alternative to the Appalachian Trail! If you hike the NET-Cohos using the Appalachian Trail to Zealand Trail option and pick up the Cohos Trail near Bretton Woods (as I did), you will have missed the southern twenty-five miles of the Cohos. Which is a little sad. This part of the trail crosses the Presidential Range by way of Mt. Isolation and Mt Eisenhower using paths that that see fewer hikers than some of the more popular trails in the area. I wanted to check it out.

So I hit the road and after a five-hour drive from Connecticut, found the big parking lot in Crawford Notch nearly empty. It was the day after Labor Day, and the crowds seemed to have gone home. Nice. This is a good spot to leave a car overnight (there is no overnight parking on the opposite end of this hike). There's a big sign for the Cohos Trail at the start, and that is the last reference to the Cohos Trail I saw for the remainder of the hike. There were no Cohos blazes or Cohos markers between Crawford Notch and Cherry Mountain Road. Hikers need to do their homework and have the right maps and pay attention in order to follow the Cohos. A phone app makes this much easier. Avenza is often recommended for the Cohos. You can see the official map right on your phone, with your current location marked on the map. The Cohos guidebook is also highly recommended.

Bemis Bridge

The hike starts out with the supercool Bemis Bridge over the Saco River. It's quite grand for a rustic hiking trail, but obviously necessary. The Bemis is an asymmetrical cable stayed bridge, meaning the supporting tower and cables are on only one side of the bridge, rising high about hikers like a gateway to the Davis Path.

The Davis Path (and Cohos Trail)

The Cohos Trail often follows older local trails that have their own names and history, just like the Appalachian Trail does. The Davis Path was constructed in 1845 (1845!) and was one of the original routes up Mt. Washington. The Cohos follows it for over ten miles before turning onto the Isolation Trail.

A very civilized beginning

The trail seems to get heavy day hiking use up to Mt. Crawford. Even with the nearly empty parking lot, there was a steady trickle of day hikers. Some of the hikers must have walked in from the nearby Notchland Inn. People were talking about a dog. Apparently a woman further up the trail was being followed by this large, friendly dog, leading various sets of hikers to ask if the dog was mine. Nope. Everyone wanted to know: Was the dog lost? How on earth did it get here? What if if followed a backpacker farther up the trail? This dog was becoming famous. Finally I met this woman and her fabled new friend. She said she was able to read the dog's tag. It's name was Mya and it lived at the Inn. I bet Mya did this every day. In fact, we did see the dog again a few days later while retrieving the car and taking another look at the Bemis Bridge.

Heading up Mt Crawford

It's a pretty good rise up the Montalban Ridge to the Mt. Crawford spur, but there was nothing very steep or tricky. After the endless 2020 Covid year without travel, it was exhilarating to get to the first overlook and sit down for lunch. Finally! After two years, it was great to be back in the north woods. Balsam and spruce. Hobblebush. Granite under foot. I just hung out and soaked it all in for a spell.

View from Mt Crawford towards Stairs Mountain

I stashed my water-laden pack near the junction of the spur up Mt. Crawford and digressed up the bald rock slopes. There were views in every direction. The most interesting was the unique profile of Stairs Mountain, which looks exactly like some giant stairs. That was my first possible tenting location. The profile also turned out to be the most recognizable landmark on later trips, easily seen from the top of Mt. Carrigain. The spur up Mt. Crawford was worthwhile, but might have been challenging on the way down if the rock was wet.

After Mt Crawford, the Davis Path becomes more rustic

The Davis Path after Mt. Crawford immediately became more of a goat path. Clearly the vast majority of people head up to Mt. Crawford and then go right back down. After the junction, I saw only one other set of hikers the entire day.

Spur to Stairs Mountain

Before too long I came to the spur leading to some designated tent sites at the top of Stairs Mountain. I'd read somewhere that these were nice sites with a view. So I took the detour and immediately fell in love with the tenting area and nearby cliff. It was still quite early, and I could probably make it to the next known tenting location three miles down the, but this site was just amazing. There were a couple tent sites, but the one I took was just 30 feet from the cliff.

Stairs Mountain tent site, just a few feet from the overlook

So then I just hung out for a few hours and watched the mountains change color as the sank and then set. Mt. Carrigain was off to the southwest, the first of the "Ghost Trail" peaks, but that would be another hike.

Front row seat for a Stairs Mountain sunset

I couldn't see a single man-made structure. Not a road, building, or clearing...nothing. And no man-made sounds. No other hikers, no cars, not even a plane. Amazing. After it got dark, I came back out to the cliff and the Milky Way was stretching across the sky. Stairs Mountain was worth stopping for.