In July 2023, I produced a silent hiking video of a hut-to-hut trip through the northern White Mountains. The video was a visual telling of the story showcasing the beauty of New Hampshire’s iconic Presidential and Wildcat Mountain Ranges. However, essential information could not be conveyed in the video without detracting from the impact of the visual journey. First, what are these huts all about and why would you stay there? Second, just how hard is the hiking?
As Appalachian Trail (AT) section hikers, our mindset was somewhere between the typical “hut” travelers and the AT thru-hikers who blended into the background during this journey. Our path was the AT but the huts cater to families and groups exploring the White Mountain trails. The referenced trail was always the local name, Crawford Path, Gulf Side, not the AT that was our inspiration. I expected to meet more novice hikers, but for the most part, the hut dwellers were well-prepared for their journey and understood the challenge. There were some very young hikers, a four-year-old was the youngest, requiring assistance during her journey, and seniors rivaling the age of my eldest hiking companion at 74. I did buy some Boy Scouts candy bars at one hut as I overheard them talking about how starved they were. They just stopped to refill their water supply. I think the leader did not understand the difference between his own appetite and the calories burned by growing young men on a trip like this.
The huts and lodges are not cheap by any means. Supplies need to be hiked in and amenities are managed to be environmentally friendly. There are no showers at the huts and the toilets are pit toilets with good engineering to direct the airflow and odor away from the building. There is running potable water for brushing teeth, washing hands and face, and drinking. The breakfast and dinners are filling and vary only slightly from hut to hut and day to day. There is only one seating, so you don’t have flexibility on when you want to eat The soup lunch for purchase is just enough. The snacks for sale are priced high but are there to satisfy a craving. Lights out and quiet hours are observed so everyone has a fair shot at a good night's sleep. The staff is attentive and tipping is welcome.
The lodges we stayed at were very nice but not inexpensive. The culture of the huts carries over to the lodges. The buffet-style breakfast and dinner are at a set time. There is a wider variety of snacks and resupply items given that the lodges are situated next to roadways and can easily be supplied. But the key feature for many is the opportunity to take a shower and charge your phone. I also heard after the fact, that there may be washers and dryers available! I could not verify this online.
Also, AMC operates shuttles making it easy to get back to where you left your car!
The physical challenge of hiking The White Mountains is hard to overstate, especially if you have joint pain. There are specific sections where going down in elevation can be particularly painful and hard on the knees. I hobbled off the trail on the last day of hiking. Don’t expect to hike at a 2 or 2.5-mile pace. Back off your normal pace and leave time at the end of the day to recover. If you are younger and trail-ready, you can probably forge ahead and skip a hut, but if you have time and money, don’t push it.
If you are heading north you will encounter the steepest mile on the AT. The fear of death or severe injury was real for me. I’m not tall, and with 15 pounds and several days of hiking behind me, these were daunting climbs. Some climbs looked to me to be 75-80 degree inclines 15 - 20 or so feet high with very few choices for footing. That said, there were no piles of bones at the bottom from failed attempts or backup of hikers trying their hand at these points in the trail. Clearly, it was possible, and somehow I made it to the top of each climb.
0:00 Introduction
0:50 Trail map and mileage
1:25 Lodges and Huts
3:40 Physical challenges
7:52 Thank you
8:24 Photos
Featuring: Ed, trail name Old, and Pradip, trail name Oldest. My gratitude to Ed for planning the trip and making reservations. I would never have taken a step in The Whites without your effort. Thank you Pradip for your "never say can't, never give up" words of inspiration.
Camera: Samsung ZFlip 3
Music: Sam Marshall, The End; AirLands, Angels Wild; Global Genious, Lost In The Moment
Editing software: PowerDirector
#adventure #sectionhike #appalachiantrail #newhampshire #whitemountains #mountwashington #backpacking #thruhiking