4000 Footers

Mt Moriah isn’t the highest White Mountain 4000-footer, but it requires 3200′ of elevation gain to climb which makes it one of the more strenuous peaks to ascend. There are a number of different trails you can use to climb it, but …

There’s an expression in the gridding community called “gridding out” a mountain when you finish hiking it at least once in every calendar month. You need to do that for each of the forty-eight 4000-footers on the White Mountain 4000-footer list to …

Mt Isolation is one of the most remote White Mountains 4000-footers and can make for a long day in any conditions. Being April, you might think that spring has arrived in New Hampshire, but it’s nowhere close. We’re still contending with full-on …

February is the height of winter in New Hampshire’s Presidential Range and it can be difficult to find a weather window where the temperatures and wind speed are safe to climb the higher peaks. I’d passed up a few opportunities the week …

The Bonds is a group of three adjacent 4000+ foot mountains – Bondcliff, Mt Bond, and West Bond in the middle of the Pemigewasset Wilderness. They’re usually hiked along with Zealand Mountain as a 23-mile traverse when the forest service road leading …

Mt Isolation is a White Mountain 4000-footer located in the Presidential Range-Dry River Wilderness south of Mt Washington, with outstanding views of Washington, the Southern Presidential Range, the Oakes Gulf Headwall, and the Dry River Valley. It’s a potentially difficult hike in …

The Wildcat Mountain Range has two White Mountain 4000 footers, called the ‘A’ peak or Wildcat A, and the ‘D’ peak, or Wildcat D. There are actually about 10 peaklets in total along the Wildcat Ridge Trail but those two are the …

Every day I get a little bit stronger and my breathing gets a little bit easier. But getting Covid in December really kicked my ass. Even worse was the Covid cough that followed, setting me back a month or two in terms …

The Franconia Ridge Loop consists of two five thousand footers, Mt Lincoln (5080′) and Mt Lafayette (5242′). In addition to their summits, the highlight of the loop is the above treeline Franconia Ridge Trail connecting Lincoln and Lafayette, with magnificent views of …

A Z-Bonds Traverse is one of the more difficult hikes you can do in winter in the White Mountains. It’s even longer than a Presidential Traverse and much more remote. It requires hiking across the breadth of the Pemigewasset Wilderness for 23.3 …

The Bonds are a group of three peaks – Bondcliff, Mt Bond, and West Bond – 11 miles from the nearest road in the middle of the White Mountains Pemigewasset Wilderness. They are spectacular mountains to climb with breathtaking views. With daylight in …

My friend Guthook (Ryan Lynn) and I try to get together every few years for a backpacking trip to reconnect and catch up. We’re in touch online, but there’s nothing like getting out into the woods, climbing a few mountains, and camping …

Owls Head Mountain is a 4000-footer located deep in the Pemigewasset Wilderness. While you can hike out and back to it in a long 16-18 mile day, I had a hankering to turn it into a casual backpacking trip for a chance …

Winter isn’t so much of a season in the White Mountains as an altitude. The onset of winter always starts at the higher elevations first with freezing rain and snow before the snow line drops into the mountain passes and valleys below. …