The Great Brook Trail runs up the south side of Red Rock Ridge, climbing besides Great Brook up to the col between Durgin Mountain and Butters Mountain in the Caribou-Speckled Wilderness. If you’ve never heard of any of these places, they are in …
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Climbing Mount Magalloway
Climbing Mount Magalloway is a serious pilgrimage. A five-hour drive from Boston, Magalloway is located deep in the heart of New Hampshire’s North Country, just a few miles from the US-Canadian Border. It’s a wild place, where 4 x 4 trucks outnumber …
Read More »Hiking the Gordon Pond Trail
I put off hiking the Gordon Pond Trail as long as I could, dreading getting lost in the maze of old logging roads between North Woodstock and the Appalachian Trail. The Gordon Pond Trail has a reputation as being poorly marked, hard …
Read More »Hiking the Mt Clinton Trail Loop
Mt Pierce is the second four thousand footer you encounter when hiking north in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. My buddy Ken and I climbed to the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Mizpah Hut located just below the summit, hiking up the …
Read More »Lenticular Clouds on Shelburne Moriah Mountain
Lenticular clouds are saucer shaped clouds that often precede rain. It’s not uncommon to see them over Mt Washington, known for its wild weather and high wind speeds, although you can never predict when they’ll form. I’d woken early and climbed Shelburne …
Read More »Rocky Branch Ramble
I’ve always been fascinated by the damage that heavy rain, landslides, avalanches, and flooding can inflict on the mountain landscape. Hurricane Irene wrought havoc in the White Mountains in August of 2011, wiping out roads, bridges, and countless hiking trails. One of these, …
Read More »Backpacking Goose Eye Mountain and the Wright Trail
Goose Eye Mountain is located about five miles south of famed Mahoosuc Notch, the hardest mile on the Appalachian Trail. The only way to get there is to hike along the Appalachian Trail or one of the blue-blazed side trails that provide access …
Read More »Backpacking Old Speck Mtn and the West Grafton Loop
Grafton Notch is a magnificent mountain pass in Southwestern Maine, a short drive from Gorham, NH, the last major trail town that Appalachian Trail thru-hikers visit before leaving New Hampshire. Crowned by towering Old Speck Mountain, which has a viewing tower at …
Read More »The White Mountain Guide and Why It is a MUST-HAVE Planning Reference for Hiking in the White Mountains
The AMC’s White Mountain Guide, considered “The Bible” of White Mountains hiking and backpacking, is an indispensable tool in understanding the difficulty, length, elevation gain, and hazards all of the 600+ hiking trails in the Whites, including detailed directions for finding trail …
Read More »Easy Hikes near Mt Washington in the White Mountains
If you’re visiting the Mt Washington area in the White Mountains and looking for easier hikes or you’re recovering from climbing Washington on the previous day, here are four easy hikes that are near to the Pinkham Notch Visitors Center and feature great …
Read More »Hiking Mt Washington Gear List
Mt Washington is a serious mountain with unpredictable weather despite that fact that there’s a weather forecasting station on top. You can set out to hike it on a day which is supposed to be clear and sunny, but experience unexpected fog, …
Read More »Hiking to the Province Pond Lean-to
Province Pond is an easy hike, close to North Conway, NH and Evans Notch on the east side of the White Mountains. It’s a good family hike for young children and an easy stroll with very little elevation gain, along and easy …
Read More »Bread and Butter Hike to Mt Madison
There’s a phrase used by White Mountain hikers, “a Presi Day”, to describe the clear sunny days that are ideal for hiking a Presidential Traverse or climbing one of the Northern Presidential Peaks: Mounts Madison, Adams, or Jefferson. It’s hard to describe the …
Read More »Hiking the Speckled Mountain and Haystack Notch Loop
This hike started out as a one night backpacking trip climbing up Speckled Mountain and into the heart of the eastern White Mountains in Maine, down the Red Rock Trail, and looping back through Miles Notch and Haystack Notch, a distance of over …
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