NH - The Whites - Part II

“If all goes well I should be heading back up in the middle of August to hike more in The Whites.

Although, given the nature of my knee, I think I will opt for a base camp with several day hikes from there.

Pepsi - where are you? Are you still in GA?

Anyone interested?

Please note - this will not be an a$$ kicker with 30+ pounds on the back while trying to do tons of miles and elevation. Base camp and dayhiking! Whohoooo!!”

“The best I can offer you TT is my land as a home base. BTW, I'm doing a quick overnight August 13th & 14th. I'm hiking in the Gale River Trail to Galehead Hut (easy hike) and then hiking over to Guyot for the night. The hike from Galehead Hut to Guyot is a tad harder, but nothing over the top. I then hike out over the Bonds on the 14th. My friend who is going with me does not hike at warp speed like Sirpete or pepsi, so we are taking our time.”

“Have fun!

Again, if all goes well, I hope to be able to make it up there for the weekend of August 22.

Thank you for the generous offer.”

“I will not be up there that weekend, but I will email you directions to the land if you decide to stay there. It's not far from the house, so you shouldn't have a problem finding it.”

“bump.”

“mmmmm to many trips not enough time....damn work!!

good for you. im glad you are going to go back and kick its butt!!”

“bump bump”

“TT, if you really want an adventure, you should hook up with pedxing who is doing a hike from Grafton Notch to VT.”

“No thanks. I'm going back to enjoy it this time around.”

“Here is a suggestion you might like. Hike into 13 falls. Stay a few days and hike all the surrounding peaks. Each night you get to go back to 13 falls and cool off in the falls. It is a very beautiful area and it's a cake walk to get to.”

“That could be a good plan - will look at my map”

“Keep in mind as you look at the map, you will be leaving most of your gear back at the campsite so you will be carrying less weight to all the peaks. You can easily do, Garfield, Galehead, South & North Twin, Guyot, Bond, West Bond, and Bondcliff. Obviously you cannot do all theses peaks in one day, but you can do Garfield the first day after you set up camp and do the rest the next day.”

“I think it's going to be in the presidentials - not sure yet”

“There are several places in the Great Gulf that you can use as a base camp. Osgood tensite is a good spot to hit the Northern Presidentials. There are also a few spots along the Great Gulf Trail near the junction of the Sphinx Trail as well as the Six Husband Trail.

I would also recommend that you go to the AMC board and ask for some suggestions. The people who frequent that board know the Whites extremely well and can give you good advice.

”

“I think (it would bear looking at a map) that the Dolly Copp Campground is on a dirt road right in the Mt. Washington/Northern Presidentials area.

YOu would need to figure out who the relevant officials were and see if reservations are necessary.”

“No car camping!

Planning on hiking in and making base camp there.”

“Who knows anymthing about The Perch area - Madison, Jefferson, and Adams?

I'm looking for info on platform areas that might make a good base camp to hit these peaks as dayhikes.

PS - my map does not have the presi's on it... :(”

“Also, when does the weather start to get really, really, really nasty (snow and freezing temps) in this area?”

“Twink -

I was at Zealand on July 10, a beautiful, sunny day , we played in the waterfall all afternoon. When we woke up on the 11th, at only 2700 feet of elevation it was 44 degrees and raining sideways with gusts to 35 mph.

The weather report from the summit of washington was 36 degrees, raining, with a windchill of 22 degrees.

IMHO these are the worst conditions. If it is snowing, you can stay dry. but wet, chilly and windy is deadly.



So . . .a long winded way of saying . . .in the middle of July can be deadly.”

“As I suspected. When we went two weekend ago - on the Pemi - it was hot at the bottom, rainy and windy at the top, sunny again before nightfall, and then 40-ish that night.

Will definately take my tent instead of the hammock. Dang it.”

“The perch is run by the RMC: Randolph Mountain Club. I will supply several links that will be helpful. As you experienced on our little trip, the weather can change anytime. Always plan accordingly. The perch would be a good spot as a base camp to hit most of the Northern Presidentials. Madison, Adams, and Jefferson are all within striking distance.

first link

second link”

“You're welcome.”

“Oh dear, don't get cranky.

Thank you!

PS - I looked at those sites yesturday - fantastic views of the Presi's!”

“And this coming from a drama queen. Lol

Besides, cranky is my normal state. It's when I'm pissy that you have to worry.”

“How from the nearest parking area/trailhead is the Perch?

It's not on my map and the one I found online cuts is incomplete.

Drama Queen? No. Princess Pissy Pants.”

“Ok Princess, the distant from route 2 to the Perch is roughly 3.6 miles. You can take either the Lowes Path-Randolph-to the Perch, or take Lowes Path-Grey Knob-to the Perch. Either way, it is not a bad hike.”

“Here is an online map. The Perch is located at the red cross.

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=19&n=4910308&e=315651&size=m">link”

“** drooling **

very nice map...”

“Here is another page that is very helpful.

link

I'm leaving work in a few minutes and heading to NH. You have a good weekend.”

“Thank you.

Gawd, I'm in love with the whites. It's so beautiful up there that I can not wait to return.

mmmmmmm....and then skiing in the winter....

I need to win the lottery.”