New Hampshire has 48 mountains with elevations over 4000 feet with Mt. Washington coming in at 6,288 feet. Hiking up to 4000 feet is nothing compared to hiking at over 8,000 feet or higher in the Rockies, it’s no stroll in the park either. Some of the hikes are very grueling and require serious preparations. It’s quite an accomplishment to climb all 48. You get to join the Appalachian Mountain Club Four Thousand Footer Club as a high school classmate did recently.
As much time as my wife and I have spent hiking in New Hampshire, we had not climbed any of the 4000 footers until this past September. And that was almost by accident. We hadn’t woken up planning to hike a 4000 footer that day. We were in the White Mountains for a week of hiking and biking. Over breakfast our first morning, we were looking at trail guides. We found some fairly easy hikes near Twin Mountain but I wanted a bit more of a challenge. We saw Mt. Hale (4054′) on the map in that area. After reading up on it, we determined it was within our capabilities and the weather would be appropriate.
Mt. Hale is the 37th highest peak in New Hampshire and one of the easier hikes among the 4000 footers. We started at the upper parking lot on Zealand Road off Rt. 302. The trail progressed steadily uphill with few distant views even at the summit. The best views are a couple hundred yards below the summit.
When we arrived at the top around 11:30 AM, a hiker and his friends were celebrating his 48th 4000 footer. It didn’t take us long to feel the comradery. Everyone we met at the top or passed along the way asked what number you were up to and were very encouraging when we said it was our first.
If you are not used to long strenuous hikes and the potential for changing weather conditions, hiking New Hampshire’s 4000 footers is not for you. But if you like a big adventure, get out there this weekend and start collecting 4000 footers.
Learn more about the AMC 4000 footer club at http://www.amc4000footer.org/.
