USA: The White Mountains, New Hampshire

Mt. Washington

The White Mountains:
I spent 3 days in the White Mountains. My destination was Mt. Washington, the tallest mountain on the East Coast.

Camping:

I was frustrated at first because it seemed there was an extreme lack of free camping. Campgrounds with facilities didn't shy away from charging $25 dollars. But, I found a website called Freecampsites.net which has been a life saver. I stayed in the National Forest on the West side of Mt. Washington, about a 20 minute drive from the trail head (SEE, 20 min. to everything). There are no facilities but the campgrounds are spacious and some are quite secluded, some even look perfect for large groups. I stayed at the turnout before the one registered on the websites map and I found them to be better.

Mt. Washington:
In the morning I drove to the West trail heads of Mt. Washington. It is $3 a day to park unless you have a National Parks Pass, then it is free. There are two trailheads from this parking lot, the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail and the Jewell trail. I chose to go up the Ammonoosuc and down the Jewell, which I believe was a good choice. I can imagine the trail, when wet, could be hell but it was no problem for me. It's a decent hike, about 5 miles to the top. The trail is gradual for the first couple miles and then becomes stairmaster like to the hut.

Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail

There was a lot of foot traffic but that is to be expected in such a highly populated area. The top gives some fantastic views but is anything but isolated. I shared my summit experience with 300 bikers and found my self enjoying the process of getting there and back better then the top.

Bikers waiting for a photo at the summit

The hike down was a nice change. You hike the ridgeline on the the Jewell trail. The top is a scramble and if you have bad knees I would recommend trekking poles. It seemed like it took me almost as long to get down as it took to get up.

The Cog Railway seen from Jewell Trail