White Mountains

Millen Hill and Mt Dartmouth are two trailless peaks adjacent to Mt Jefferson in the White Mountains Presidential Range. Millen Hill is on the New Hampshire 200 highest list, while Mt Dartmouth is on the 100 highest list and the more difficult …

The Kilkenny Ridge Traverse is a moderate 2-3 day, 27 mile scenic traverse of some of wildest and remote scenery in the White Mountains. It’s a particularly attractive route for backpackers interested in avoiding the crowds of day hikers who frequent the …

Carrigain Notch is a wild mountain pass between Mt Carrigain and Mt Lowell in the Pemigewasset Wilderness. It’s a deep chasm that’s seldom hiked end-to-end unless you want to penetrate deep into the White Mountain National Forest on a backpacking trip far …

East and West Russell are two adjacent peaks on the New Hampshire 500 highest list that tower above Russell Pond and the Russell Pond Campground in the Waterville Valley Region of the White Mountains. They’re almost due south of the Loon Ski …

Unknown Pond Peak is the 100th highest mountain on the New Hampshire Hundred Highest peakbagging list, a list that I’ve been slowly working on since 2012. I haven’t done an off-trail trail hike for a while since I’ve been pursuing The White …

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 …

Spring trail conditions in New Hampshire’s White Mountains can be quite unpredictable depending on your location and elevation. Despite the change in season and longer days, snow usually lingers on the high peaks well into May, and daytime temperatures remain quite chilly, …

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 …

A Presidential Traverse is one of the most famous and strenuous hikes in the White Mountains. This 2-3 day route is 25 miles in length with a cumulative elevation gain of 9,000 feet. It climbs eight 4000-footers with 14 miles of above-treeline …

A Pemi Loop, as it’s known locally, is a 33 mile loop hike that follows the ridgeline encircling the Pemigewasset Wilderness. This 2-3 day route climbs TEN 4000 footers with 9000 feet of elevation gain and has long stretches of above-treeline travel, …

Carter Dome is the ninth tallest White Mountain 4000 footer with an elevation of 4832 feet. It’s located almost due east of Mount Washington and has the distinction of being the highest mountain in the Carter Moriah Range. Most of the peakbaggers …

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 …

A Willey Range Loop is a moderate 2-3 day, 22 mile loop that climbs four 4000-footers: Mts Tom, Field, and Willey in the Willey Range, before looping past the magnificent Thoreau Falls, Zealand Falls and climbing Mt Hale on the opposite side …