Mt. Washington weekender

“Hello!

I'm new to the board, but have done a fare amount of hiking.

I would like to plan a trip to Mt. Washington with a bunch of friends for the first weekend in June. Could anyone recommend a trail with huts/shelters that summits Washington, and perhaps some others, of intermediate to advanced difficulty? Most of us go to school in Boston so we would probably leave early friday afternoon and try to get home late sunday night. We'll probably be taking our time as I'm sure we're all a little out of shape right now.
I haven't gotten around to buying a guide or map of the region yet, but I intend to this weekend.

Thanks in advance!”

“I've only hiked in New Hampshire twice, so I am by no means an expert and hopefully someone more familiar with the Whites will chime in soon.

Probably one of the easier routes would be to hike up to the base of Tuckerman's ravine and stay at the shelter at Hermit Lake. From there you could go up the Lion's Head Trail to get to the summit, then return back to Hermit Lake.”

“i suppose this is a good start then...

http://home.earthlink.net/~ellozy/washington.html#Washington”

“Ellozy's site is very helpful. Here is another grerat site:

http://hikethewhites.com//washington.html

The key is there are no shelters and no camp sites on Washington or on the Ridge. Randolph Mountain Club has a bunch of sites on the North side of the Presidentials. The AMC huts are on the ridge (Madison and Lake of the Clouds), but they are pricey and you need reservations.

Definitely get a map and check out a guide book - it can get pretty hairy up there any month of the year.

Another site for info, and to reserve space at an AMC hut is:

http://www.outdoors.org/recreation/tripplanner/index.cfm”