It had taken me an hour and a half to go less than half a mile. A large raptor, perhaps an eagle, rose from the Gulf on an updraft, circled twice overhead, then lifted far away. The view of the upper Great Gulf was very nice from that spot, which was roughly level with Edmand's Col. As I looked around it occurred to me that in good weather there are many, many possibilities for bushwhacking in the Presidentials. The terrain is distinctive, so it's hard to get lost.
Most slopes are steep rather than sheer.
Having caught my breath I continued up, taking it very easy. The trail was marked with cairns topped with white stones, but at that point a trail is not really necessary. The footing was good. The slope moderated. Halfway to the summit I lost the trail, but picked up blue blazes shortly below the summit.