Guidebooks

The Huntington Ravine Trail is one of the hardest hikes in the White Mountains. Located on Mt Washington, it climbs 1400 feet in 0.9 miles up the headwall of Huntington Ravine, a deep glacial valley on the east side of Mt Washington. The trail is quite strenuous and requires good …

I was in awe the first time I climbed it up the Howker Ridge Trail to Mt Madison. Howker runs along the top of a ridge that’s capped by these strange rocky peaklets, called Howks, which poke out above treeline at intervals along the route. Their tops are barely a …

Mt Parker is a 3004 ft mountain in the Presidential-Dry River Wilderness with expansive views of Mt Washington and the Southern Presidential Range. It’s also on the 52-With-a-View Peakbagging List, which many New Hampshire hikers gravitate to after they’ve completed a round of the White Mountain 4000 footers and want …

Oakes Gulf is a glacial cirque on the south side of Mt Washington, similar in size and scale to Tuckerman Ravine, but much harder to access because it’s so far from a paved road. Home to the avalanche-scarred Dry River, which isn’t dry at all, it’s located in the Presidential-Dry …

The Caps Ridge Trail is a popular above-treeline trail in the White Mountains because it’s the shortest route to climb Mt Jefferson (5712′), the third-highest 4000 footer on the AMC’s 4000 footer list. The trail starts in the forest and gradually climbs above treeline over a series of rocky outcrops …

Sugarloaf Mountain is a 52-with-a-view peak in the Nash Stream Forest, a conservation area in Northern New Hampshire, about 10 miles north of Mt Cabot and the northernmost border of the White Mountain National Forest. The Nash Stream Forest is considerably less developed than the White Mountains to the south, …

North Tripyramid is a 4000 footer located in Waterville Valley, NH, in the southern half of the White Mountain National Forest. While there are a number of different trails you can follow to climb it, the most challenging one is via the Mt Tripyramid Trail, which climbs an avalanche slide …

The Ice Gulch Trail is located in Randolph, NH across from the high peaks of the Northern Presidential Range. It’s a narrow ravine filled with giant boulders that is strenuous and challenging to hike and scramble through. The AMC White Mountain Guide (p 564, 30th edition) describes it as follows: …

Peaked Hill Pond is a lovely destination in the Southern White Mountains and an easy day hike for kids and harried parents. The trail to the pond is a short 1.6 miles in length and easy to follow. Fishing is also an attractive option, by float, or with waders. It’s …

The Carter Ledge Trail is considered one of the scariest trails in the White Mountains because it requires scrambling across an open ledge above a cliff. Carter Ledge is also on the Terrifying 25 List, which is a popular list of sketchy and yes, terrifying hiking trails in the White …

Sandwich Dome (3980′) is not quite a White Mountain 4000 footer but it’s still a popular mountain to climb because it commands such an impressive view. It’s also a huge mountain that can be climbed from a number of different directions along some impressive trails that boast their own jaw-dropping …

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 a steep and rocky trail, but I was …

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 climb up Mt Washington to test how much …

Tunnel Brook is a lush, steep-walled valley on the west side of Mount Moosilauke (4802′). Seldom visited by day hikers, it’s a quiet and secluded place to observe wildlife and witness the avalanche and flash flood damage that Moosilauke and neighboring Mount Clough (pronounced Cluff) experience during major rainstorms and …