By Bryn Clark
Last month, I trekked across New Hampshire’s Presidential Range with a long-time hiking partner and, in doing so, reached my final summit of New Hampshire’s 4,000-foot peaks. It’s been several years since I learned that there were 48 peaks in New Hampshire that have a prominence of 4,000 feet or higher. At the time, hiking four dozen mountains seemed like a far-stretch; I never thought I’d get there. But, one hike led to another, and what began as a “well, maybe” ended up being a series of unforgettable experiences.
It’s hard to get a good hiking picture, but selfie sticks, observation platforms and visiting siblings sure help!
Climbing these mountains was a journey in friendship. Early on, I decided that I would only chase these summits if it meant chasing deep relationships as well. As such, I didn’t reach any of these summits without a friend. Although I have memories of each mountain, the greatest gifts of these hikes are the memories of early morning conversations, together admiring sunrises and stars, laughing with our mouths full of celebratory burgers, countless inside jokes and “do you remember that one time?”s.
We live on a beautiful planet surrounded by beautiful others; I rarely do justice to either. The mountains of New Hampshire have changed my life. Scaling their slopes with so many co-adventurers has been a journey in appreciating both this earth and those who hike it with me. And I’ll forever be grateful.
Here’s a brief review of each of the peaks. Many of these are less than a three hours’ drive in Boston. Whether you’re looking for a good option for a day-hike, or hankering after a long-term challenge, New Hampshire is a good place to set your sights.
This list will began in alphabetical order, though I’ll deter from that in favor of grouping certain peaks that naturally fit together:
Adams and Madison: Sitting at the northern tip of the Presidential range, these are two of the most prominent peaks and the views are spectacular, well worth the steep climb. My two hiking partners encountered a moose five minutes before I pulled into the parking lot and I’ve not forgiven them since.
Bond, Bondcliff and Bond West Peak: I long heard that the Bonds were some of the most spectacular in the Whites and they lived up to this reputation. They’re rather isolated but well worth the long hike. My friend made salmon artichoke dip to celebrate our summit.
The Bonds (West Bond, Bondcliff, Bond) boast some of the best and most remote views on the list of peaks.
Cannon: This is a go-to favorite. The climb is steep and short with magnificent views from atop a tower on the summit. The only downside is that one can also take the Cannon Mountain Ski Resort’s tram up the mountain, which makes you wonder why you spent so much sweat to get there after all.
Carrigain is purported to have magnificent views, particularly from the fire tower on its summit. I wouldn’t know. My summit experience was socked in with clouds and 35 mph winds. But the company was excellent.
Carter Dome offers great views of the Presidential range and sits atop a steep climb from the Carter Hut. I did Carter Middle and Carter South on a separate hike in late spring. The trail was still under several feet of snow which offered a great lesson in post-holing and monorail hiking. At the end of a 9-mile loop, we returned to our car to discover a completely flat tire.
Eisenhower, Jackson and Pierce: These three are the southernmost peaks on the Presidential Range and all are relatively easy with great views (on a nice day) of the northern peaks. That said, they’re all above tree line so in wind and cold they can be brutal. On our descent, we encountered a hiker who eagerly tapped us on each shoulder with a garlic clove. “You have now been blessed by the garlic fairy,” he said. “No vampires for you tonight!” To his credit, there weren’t.
Willey, Tom and Field: Located in Crawford Notch, these three subsequent peaks offer little in way of reward and are only worth the hike if you’re looking to knock them off your list.
Galehead: Galehead Hut is in a gorgeous location. The one mile trek from there to the summit lends a couple decent views but, on the whole, I prefer drinking cider at the hut.
Garfield: My friend and I did Garfield as part of an extremely long loop and reached it about halfway through. In packing food for that day, we outdid ourselves and had a veritable feast of calorie-packed junkfood spread out on Garfield’s summit. We were feeling pretty mighty about ourselves until another hiker emerged who (claimed to have) knocked out our same route in less than half the time. He told us as much while chewing an organic fruit wrap and not even trying to disguise his judgement of our Swedish Fish and PB&J buffet. We wasted no time in telling him to get on with his life and stop ruining our view.
Hale: Probably the easiest of the 4,000-foot peaks, it’s a long drive from Boston and only worth it if you tack on a visit to the nearby Zealand falls.
Hancock and Hancock South Peak: Until the Kancamagus highway was opened in 1959, these two were the most isolated of the peaks. They don’t offer great views but being pestered by white mountain grey jays, who are notoriously bold when it comes to stealing hiker’s food, was worth the trip.
Isolation: The name speaks for itself. The hike is easy but long and my lasting memory of it is that I got a migraine on the way down. My buddy felt bad for me and treated me to a scrumptious burger as a result. I learned my lesson and somehow wound up with a migraine on each of our subsequent journeys.
Jefferson: Sitting between Mount Adams and Mount Washington, the views from Jefferson are unmatched and arguably more spectacular than Washington given that they’re not obstructed by a weather observatory and tourists en route to the gift shop where they hope to purchase a bumper sticker. Coming down, we ran into a guy who looked a lot like Ed Sheeran but wasn’t in the mood to sing for us.
Kinsman North and South Peak: The Kinsman’s offer marginal views from the top, but taking the time to sit beside Lonesome Lake and ponder life’s mysteries (like, why did I waste space by packing carrots) is the best thing this hike has to offer.
Lafayette and Lincoln: These two peaks are the most prominent in Franconia Ridge, another favorite. Despite never being on these summits on a clear day, they’ve never disappointed. Perhaps that’s because you pass a cider donut stand on the way to the trail head. Who’s to say?
A winter traverse of Franconia ridge is well worth the views.
Liberty and Flume: Both of these peaks have gorgeous, drastic views. They look down an incline which is so steep I highly advise you only ascend it and descend using a different route. For those not looking for such a harrowing experience, there’s a longer, more gradual (but equally rewarding) route you can take from the Lincoln Woods parking lot.
Monroe: Located just south of Mount Washington, Monroe juts out of the Presidential Range like a crooked thumb and looks like it belongs in a scene from Lord of the Rings. My final summit, it will always hold a special place in my heart. We celebrated with ciders on a beautifully clear day.
Moosilauke: This peak stands on its own and is the western-most of all the mountains. Its summit is bald and offers amazing views despite not being too arduous of a climb. We took a bunch of celebratory selfies.
Moriah: This is a pleasant hike but a long drive. There were more gray jays at this summer, though they weren’t as aggressive as on Hancock.
Osceola and Osceola East Peak: I hiked these with my wife on a splendid fall day and will never forget the view from East Peak. I ‘miscalculated’ our return route (I really wanted to see the second peak), which resulted in an extra ten miles of hiking and minor marital dispute. We also saw a couple whose cat was riding in a specially designed backpack, so the extra ten miles were absolutely worth it.
Owls Head: I dreaded this peak because I heard it was boring and the longest out-and-back. To the contrary, the slide up to its summit boasts beautiful views of the Franconia Ridge’s eastern slopes. I hiked it in early fall and our return route along Seven Falls trail took place during an autumnal golden hour that I swear lasted for three. We discussed Taylor Swift for most of the hike and it’s one of my fondest White Mountain memories.
Passaconaway: I don’t remember much about this hike other than that it was cold, there was next to no view and that my friend brought a PB&J sandwich which, compared to my apple and low-fat cheese wheels, was a much better choice.
Tecumseh: A short hike up the shortest 4,000-footer leads you close to a neighboring ski slope but, on the whole, makes you wonder why you bothered.
Tripyramid Middle and North Peak: I first knocked out the Middle Peak and lazily passed up on tacking on the North Peak at the same time. The peaks are prominent and bold to look at from the Kancamangus highway, but more grueling than rewarding.
Twin North and South-North Twin has surprising good views and a tavern by the name of Rek’lis in the nearby town of Bethlehem offers some great post-hike burger options. Regarding South Twin, I don’t remember a ton other than being tired and thinking how badly I wanted that post-hike burger.
Washington: The tallest of the 4000-footers, and notorious for its bad weather, I’ve summited Washington the most of any, including a couple winter summits and a handful of other attempts. Each time I’m disappointed to arrive at the top and find a weather observatory, gift shop and auto road. That said, on my first trip up we bought rock candy at the summit restaurant, so that was cool and definitely not a surrender to commercialism.
Cabot and Waumbek: These two peaks are the most northern and, though easy, make for a long day with little to see from the summits. We woke up at 3:30 to drive north and knock them both out on a cold and wet autumn day, all of which made me incredibly happy because I like the darkness and cold.
Whiteface: I used the hike up Whiteface to train for some bigger climbs out west. To this end, I decided to cram several gallons of water in my pack. The hike offers some great views on the way up but the summit is nothing special and by the time I reached it I hated life on all levels.
Wildcat and Wildcat “D” Peak: Whoever named these peaks (and their neighbors) really got lazy. Our first attempt took place in early winter and we hit several feet of snow that we weren’t expecting. I returned a couple years later with a friend and we talked about spiritual gifts for most of the hike which, although it didn’t include Taylor Swift (but, let’s be honest, it could have), still made for a wonderful day.
Zealand: This peak falls at the end of the alphabet and should wind up at the same place on your list of priorities. It was so boring that it could have been my backyard, except my backyard is prettier and doesn’t involve trudging several miles up a rocky trail to reach it.