A funny thing happened to me when I was section hiking the Appalachian Trail through New Hampshire's White Mountain National Forest in 2008. I fell in love with the place. That's an easy thing to do since the New Hampshire AT climbs over or near 25 of the 48 White Mountain 4000 footers, which are some of the highest, most rugged, and glorious mountains on the east coast of the United States. There are hundreds of other mountains to climb New Hampshire, but most people get hooked on the White Mountain 4000 footers first.
I finished the 4000 footer list in 2010 and then went on to climb them again in calendar winter, which is much more difficult. Then I branched out and hiked (redlined) all of the trails in the White Mountain Guide (608 trails / 1440 miles) which is the hiking bible of the region. I hiked a lot of those mountains, trails, and miles on 1-3 day backpacking trips, although I've done my fair share of day hiking too. I know the most scenic routes to follow in the White Mountains and look forward to sharing them with you.
- Washington – 6288′
- Adams – 5799′
- Jefferson – 5716′
- Monroe – 5732′
- Madison – 5366′
- Lafayette – 5260′
- Lincoln – 5089′
- S. Twin – 4902′
- Carter Dome – 4832′
- Moosilauke – 4802′
- North Twin – 4761′
- Eisenhower – 4760′
- Carrigain – 4700′
- Bond -4698′
- Middle Carter – 4610′
- West Bond – 4540′
- Garfield – 4500′
- Liberty – 4450′
- South Carter – 4430′
- Wildcat – 4422′
- Hancock – 4420′
- South Kinsman – 4358′
- Field – 4340′
- Osceola – 4340′
- Flume – 4328′
- South Hancock – 4319′
- Pierce – 4312′
- North Kinsman – 4293′
- Willey – 4285′
- Bondcliff – 4265′
- Zealand -4260′
- North Tripyramid – 4180′
- Cabot – 4170′
- East Osceola – 4156′
- Middle Tripyramid – 4140′
- Cannon – 4100′
- Wildcat D – 4062′
- Hale – 4054′
- Jackson – 4052′
- Tom – 4051′
- Moriah – 4049′
- Passaconaway – 4043′
- Owls Head – 4025′
- Galehead – 4024′
- Whiteface – 4020′
- Waumbek – 4006′
- Isolation – 4003′
- Tecumseh – 4003′
Backpacking the White Mountain 4000 footers is a different experience than day hiking them and one that I particularly relish. There's nothing quite like camping in the Great Gulf and watching the moon rise over the jagged spires of the Northern Presidential range or listening to a cacophony of hooting owls at night deep in the Wild River Wilderness. While parts of the White Mountains are quite popular with day hikers, you can still backpack the 4000 footers and experience solitude. In fact, backpacking the peaks gives you the opportunity to follow routes that can't be done-in-a-day and experience many wonders of the Whites that most people overlook.
Free Online Guidebook
In the coming months, I plan on publishing a free online guidebook containing a complete series of 1-3 night trip plans for backpacking the White Mountains 4000 footers, along with bonus trips to other White Mountain destinations. Each trip will climb one or more peaks, with routes that include additional scenic vistas, waterfalls, swimming holes, and historic sites. The trips plan will be graded in terms of effort and experience for beginners, experienced, and advanced backpackers and will include maps, GPX tracks, campsites information, and suggested diversions.
I'll also set up the guidebook in its own area on SectionHiker.com so it's easy to find and the trip plans are easy to download.
Why free? Call it a labor of love. I'd like to help preserve the White Mountain trail system and its hiking culture by helping visitors appreciate and enjoy the area's resources in a sustainable and low-impact way. I think the best way to do that is to use my website to distribute a set of backpacking trip plans that anyone can use. People don't buy paperback guidebooks anymore and a lot of the backpacking clubs that used to exist have been killed off by social media. If your trip plans aren't free, updated regularly, instantly accessible online, and GPS-enabled, no one's going to use them.
Some of the first trip plans that will be published include:
- A North Twin, South Twin, Zealand, and Hale Loop
- A Madison, Adams, and Jefferson Loop
- A Moriah, Middle Carter, South Carter, Carter Dome Loop
Backpacking the White Mountains is a great way to climb the 4000 footers and enjoy the fantastic scenery and history of this unique region.
If you'd like to be notified when new trip plans are published, please subscribe below:
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Written 2018.
The post Backpacking the White Mountain 4000 Footers: Free Guidebook Announcement appeared first on Section Hikers Backpacking Blog.
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