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After visiting the Dungeon, we began to ascend the Crawford Path, quickly reaching the junction with the Mt Monroe Loop. A short distance up the loop, I stopped to take a couple of pictures back toward the hut. Although there was a little haze, views out to Mt Jefferson and Caps Ridge were excellent.

Like many peaks in the Presidential range, Mt Monroe is very rocky, and in many places the trail is little more than cairns on the scree. I was a little worried about Muffin's paws, but she didn't seem to be having any trouble. It isn't a long way to the top, however, and almost before I knew it, we reached the summit. We stopped there for a short rest, mostly to enjoy the great views since we had just rested at the hut. The views down to the Crawford Path and Oakes Gulf were particularly good, as was the sight of Mt Washington and the two Lakes of the Clouds. The hut itself was hidden by a shoulder of Mt Monroe.

On the way down the other side, I figured that we'd have to follow the trail over Monroe's south summit before returning to the Crawford Path, which I wasn't interested in visiting today. But near the low point in the trail, I discovered a pretty-well beaten shortcut back to the Crawford Path, which is fairly close to the Mt Monroe Loop at this point. I'm sure this shortcut wasn't here the last time I was on this trail, back in 1999. 

Around this spot, I met a professional photographer who was taking more than a few pictures of the mountain scenery. He liked Muffin's backpack and took a photo of us coming down the trail. I wonder what happened that picture?

When we were back at the hut, one of the Croo had informed me that we'd missed the height of the alpine blooming season by about a week. Never-the-less, there still were quite a few flowers in bloom along the trail, including some starflowers and mountain avens. 

Lakes of the Clouds Hut from the Mt Monroe Loop. Both pictures were taken from the same spot, a short distance up the loop from its junction with the Crawford Path. In the top, wide-angle picture, the most distance peak is Mt Jefferson with the Caps Ridge descending to the left.

Oakes Gulf and the Crawford Path from Mt Monroe. The white patches near the lip of the gulf are snow.

Muffin on Mt Monroe. We took a short rest at the top, mostly to enjoy the great views, since we had just rested at the hut.

Me on the summit of Mt Monroe. The two Lakes of the Clouds and Mt Washington are in the background. You can also see the Crawford Path winding its way toward the top.

The Crawford Path and Mt Eisenhower from Mt Monroe. Mt Eisenhower is the higher rounded dome near the upper left center of the picture.

White starflowers and yellow mountain avens along the Crawford Path. We had missed the height of the alpine blooms by about a week, but there were still some flowers to see.

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