4000 Footers

Mt Cabot is the northernmost White Mountain 4000 footer and a 9.6 mile out and back hike with 3,000 feet of elevation gain. With spring on the horizon, I’ve started to wean myself off cross-country skiing and have begun hitting the trail …

Pungent. That’s the best way to describe the smell on the Zealand Trail as you approach the Beaver Ponds. They’re an essential part of the Zealand Valley ecosystem providing open space for migrating flocks of birds to land and rest while accelerating …

A Pemigewasset Loop is a 31-mile loop hike in New Hampshire’s White Mountains that follows the ridgeline encircling the Pemigewasset Wilderness. The route climbs 8 four thousand footers with 9000 feet of elevation gain and has long stretches of above-treeline travel. You …

While I enjoy hiking solo in the White Mountains in summer, there are a few trails that I won’t hike alone, in any season for that matter. The Huntington Ravine Trail is one of them. This trail, which climbs a cliff face …

When I want inspiration, I head above treeline in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. There’s something about the big views and the physical exertion of climbing a mountain that lifts my spirits and lets them soar. For this trip, I hiked up to the …

Mt Liberty and Mt Flume are two 4000 footers in the Franconia Notch region of the White Mountains that are usually climbed together because they’re 1.2 miles apart along the same connecting ridge. Hiking them together is so common that people often refer …

If something bad happens to you on a hike and you’re alone or with a friend, would you be able to self-rescue, or would you need to contact search and rescue and request help? That is a question I ask myself whenever …

March is the best month to climb the higher peaks in New Hampshire’s Presidential Range when temperatures warm up and the days are longer, but it’s still full-on winter conditions above treeline. This is home of Mt Washington, the White Mountains highest …

Mount Moosilauke (4802′) was windy. It’s often like that. It was really cold too, registering -1*F at the trailhead at the start of our hike, with a -30*F windchill forecast at the mountain’s bald summit. That meant we’d probably need full-face protection …

Eliot needed Mt Eisenhower for his Winter 4000 footer list, so we decided to climb it on the second day of Winter (12/23). Eisenhower (4780′) is a bald dome in the Southern Presidentials, located about halfway up the ridge between Mt Monroe …

The Great Gulf is a glacial valley that lies between Mt Washington and the Northern Presidential Range in New Hampshire. It’s ground zero for many of the toughest and steepest trails in the White Mountains, including the Great Gulf Trail which climbs …

The Great Gully Trail is one of the steepest trails in the Whites climbing 1700 feet in one mile. It begins at the bottom of the King Ravine headwall (3700′) on the north side of Mt Adams (5774′),  the second tallest peak …

Mt Adams is the second-highest peak on the White Mountain 4000 footers list, with an elevation of 5774 feet. The most direct route to the summit follows the Airline Trail, which climbs 4,500 feet in 4.3 miles. It’s a tough climb up …

I spent most of this month off-trail down in Boston, helping a family member recuperate from major surgery. It was important that I be there, even though it meant leaving my beloved White Mountains for close to four weeks. I decided to …