Guidebooks

Boott Spur is a 5492′ sub-peak of Mt Washington and forms the southern headwall of Tuckerman Ravine. While it lacks the glamour and popularity of its massive neighbor it’s also a formidable rock pile and major alpine zone crossroads. Boott Spur is …

Mount Guyot is a 4000 footer (4580′) located near the center of the Pemigewasset Wilderness, almost exactly halfway between Franconia Notch and Crawford Notch, as the crow flies. Pronounced “Gee-oh”, with a hard “G”, it’s named after the Arnold Guyot, a geography …

Mt Lafayette is the highest peak on Franconia Ridge and the most popular because day hikers and backpackers can stop at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s nearby Greenleaf Hut to refill their water bottles and buy lunch. It can also get very busy …

Blueberry Mountain is a small mountain in Evans Notch that has an easily accessible alpine zone and great views without a lot of climbing. It’s located near Brickett Place off Rt 113 and overlooks a private estate, pond, and well-maintained trail system …

West Royce Mountain is the site of an old fire tower that overlooks Evans Notch near the New Hampshire/Maine border. It’s a rugged area of the White Mountain National Forest to hike in with lots of steep climbs that rival the 4,000 …

The Imp and North Carter Mountain are in Pinkham Notch across from Mt Washington and the Great Gulf. The Imp, or Imp Face as it’s also called, is a picturesque cliff and viewpoint overlooking the Presidential Range. North Carter is a 4000 …

Gentian Pond is in the Mahoosuc Range, one of the hardest sections of the Appalachian Trail. I hiked a one-night loop up to the AT shelter there, visiting two big waterfalls called Giant Falls and Dryad Falls on the way. My friend …

Most of my backpacking trips this year have turned into guidebook chapters for Backpacking the White Mountain 4000 footers, instead of personal trip reports. But my latest backpacking trip through the Caribou-Speckled Wilderness doesn’t have what it takes to be a guidebook …

“These aren’t 20 mile per hour winds,” I told Eliot, as we started climbing the Crawford Path up to the Southern Presidential Range, just south of Mt Washington in New Hampshire. Our destination was Mount Pierce and Mt Jackson, two 4000 footers, …

Late autumn/early winter conditions are notoriously tricky to forecast in New Hampshire’s White Mountains and you need to be willing to modify or abort your trip plans when conditions on the ground don’t meet your expectations. I found myself in that situation …

Mt Flume and Mt Liberty are the two southernmost 4000 footers on the southern end of Franconia Ridge. Sometimes called “Fliberty”, they’re frequently hiked together in a loop since they’re only separated by a 1.2-mile walk along the top of the ridge. …

When people visit the White Mountains, the two geographic features they remember the most are the mountains and the notches, which are giant mountains passes that link different regions of the area together. When you drive down the narrow two-lane roads that …

Owl’s Head Mountain is one of the most remote 4000 footers in the White Mountains, deep in the heart of the Pemigewasset Wilderness. Feeling in need of a long hike, I decided to climb it but to take a roundabout route to …

The Passaconaway Slide Trail is an old “lost” trail that climbs an avalanche path to Mt Passaconaway, a 4000 footer in the Sandwich Range. While it’s no longer signed or listed in the White Mountain Guide, it is possible to find the …