Edit: adding this as some additional helpful information-

10/23/26

Started at about 0530. The plan was to do Moosilauke & south peak out and back, come to the junction and take the asquam trail out to waternomee. This is a bushwack i have never done before. Because i have been hiking almost every other day during this october vacation i have taken, i was unable to fulfill my goal. Unlike the west where i could hike every other day without my body badly breaking down, I cant maintain the same level of exertion in the whites without risk of injury it seems. By the time i hit south peak I was made aware of my need for recovery by significantly inflamed achilles tendons & calf spasms. I have ignored this in the past, but once it flares up it generally requires a decent 5 days. Total volume for this week is about 20 miles with ~9200 feet of vertical gain.

All in all it was almost a perfect October day. I carried traction. There were a few spots of ice high up that dont receive direct sunlight. These were easily avoidable. The Northern winds were not as cold as i would have expected and the local high temperatures were in the low 60's. This is a bit warmer than i care for october to be but still decent.

As my time away from work comes to a close, I will recover without a doubt & be preparing for the winter season & conditions November brings.

The Milky Way Panorama at the Sugar Hill Overlook.

Let's try and get the White Mountains on the cover of the 2028 Appalachian Trail data book!!!

https://appalachiantrail.org/news-events/share-your-experience/data-book-photo-contest/

Photo #2!

Does the parking lot at the Marlborough trailhead fill up on a crisp, fall Friday morning? Alternate parking if so? Thanks.

Does anyone know if parking at the Old Bridle/Falling Waters trailhead still fills up very early this time of year on the weekends, especially since it’s supposed to be a nice weekend? I’m four hours away, planning to be there on Saturday, and can’t get there until about noon. If so, any ideas on alternative parking?

Planning on starting up falling waters around 4 A.M. I assume that early parking won't be an issue? Any advice/reports from anyone who's recently done it? Thanks

I knocked off my first 4k, Osceola a few weeks ago. I’m going to be around the presidential range, south side near the cog, willing to drive about 20 minutes from there. Which mountain should I hike? I genuinely do ok hiking I just take a lot of breaks. Not a fan of heights either so if I could avoid cliffs and sketchy stuff for my first couple hikes I’d love it🤞😆😬 I need to get used to it and warmed up😂
im an experienced camper in all weather so I have the proper gear don’t worry

Started around 0600. It was fairly warm compared to other time i have been in the cog parking lot. The forcast for the summit was a high of low 40s. I dont remember the low but i recall it being nominal with skin covered. When i do washington, which i do frequently i just make sure i have enough layers regardless.

I was pretty exhausted when i started this hike. I recently took a trip to the eastern sierras and hiked every other day out there with big milage and vertical gain days. Unfortunately it is hard to replicate the same interval in the whites because of how rough the trails are. By the end of the outing my calves/achilles were pretty inflamed.

Anyway as soon as I broke treeline the snow started as dusting. Once you reach the ascent coming to a point past jacob's ladder where you can see the observatory the ice starts. I had traction as i do this time of year, but it was not needed. There are a few spots out of the sun that require rock hopping but nothing totally covered in ice yet.

It looks like the weather the rest of this week is warm/dry which is rare. I think the trail conditions will hold atleast until next week.

It was nice to be the only person on the trails other than two canadians (speaking french), & one other person i saw briefly down at lakes. All in all a flawless day but recovery still needed from massive milage and vert the last two weeks.

In my opinion, it is extremely rude to sit right in the middle of the trail to rest, right where the path of travel is. Twice today I had to ask different groups of people eating lunch to please move out of the way so I could continue descending, because there was no other room for me to go. There is almost always space on the side of a trail to rest. There’s no reason for you to be sitting in the middle of the trail unless you’re injured and cannot get up. Please have some self awareness.

For my 27th/28th NH48, I decided to bring the pup for his 1st/2nd 4000 footer. Trail was great that day. Parking was full by 8a. Lots of friendly peeps. Weather was great. Barely any wind. Felt like mid 40s all day. Leaves looked to be around or just past peak. The pup handled his first real NH hike with gusto. He’s been on plenty of others - all of the NET sans Monadnock. I watched a WF/PCWY YT vid beforehand with pups in mind and thought he/we could do the ledges without much issue. The only part that we needed some assistance was at the zig zag crux. Thx to Ryan (I think) and his wife from Concord area for the assistance. Hike took a while for me that day. I was feeling off and fatigued. I unfortunately skipped the Passaconaway view spur due day light contraints. Made it back to the car by 6:30. Overall, this one was one of my favorites thus far. I have yet to do Presis / Wildcats, so I’m sure that will change.

Don’t think I’ve ever been on a hike with a turnstile and a cable car before. Definitely one of the more unique hikes I’ve been on. Pretty good view on top of Crag and a fairly easy/moderate hike to get there. Way past peak, but yellows still holding strong and still looked nice in the bright sunshine.

It appears open via Mt Clinton Road NH Status

Edit: I meant to say 10/19/26!

First time doing one of the big mountains in NH, pretty fun, pretty tough and everything in between. Took me about 8 hours, stopped for breaks and also chatted with an older gentleman that was currently in his 1081 or 1083 4k ft elevation hike. The start was good, dry ground, then mud, encounter ice build up around 2.2k ft elevation gain. Then back to mud and then dry at the top. Some sections were a little muddy but not too bad. Shoutout to green leaf hut, I spilled my water but found they have water there, life saver. Took my camera but I was too tired to even take pics.

Beautiful snowliage day!

Falling Waters was hard and icy but nothing compared to the muddy mess on the Old Bridle Path! Did the whole loop in 6:08h

The trail was so packed, but I had an amazing first time on the ridge!

Mt Washington - Huntington Ravine Trail

October 17, 2026

Summited! Don’t try it at home kids.

It was an amazing morning to hike moosilauke. I didn’t use microspikes but there was alot of ice.

Hey everyone,

I'm somewhat experienced in the Whites having hiked and backpacked there for about 12-13 years now. However, I only get out a handful times each year in all 4 seasons as I live 4 hours away. I have accumulated all the gear but I still tend to overthink what I should pack for simple overnight or weekend trips especially when I'm going solo. I always get analysis paralysis, haha. As a result, I like to defer to those more experienced and or locals at times and would appreciate tips or advice.

With that said, please add any fixes or suggestions to my packing list for a 2 day one night trip, this mid week, in the Ethan Pond/Zealand/Zeacliff area.

10 Degree 900 Fill Down El Coyote Quilt/ Good R Value 4 season pad/ soft-shell REI Activator pants/moisture wicking tops both short sleeve and 1/4 zip long sleeve/ Cold weather Grid type fleece such as Patagonia R1/ winter fleece hat/mid weight fleece gloves/ socks/warmer spare pair socks for sleep and at camp/mid weight Capilene or Merino base layers for sleep, both top and bottoms/ down puffy for camp/ micro-spikes/ Nalgene cold weather water bottles with insulator sleeves/ portable charger/ first aid kit/ navigation on phone and compass/map/ ultralight down camp shoes/heavier spare gloves just in case needed at camp/stove/food/headlamp/spare headlamp or battery/ Hard shell Rain type jacket( Patagonia Torrent shell). Overkill?? Anything you'd add or remove??

Thanks everyone!

Conditions were... less than ideal, as expected. Wet leaves on trail below 3k. Light snow and thin ice above 3k, though not enough for traction other than a short segment of thick ice coming down from Hight. Lots of water and mud/bogs on trail (second half of Imp, Carter-Moriah pretty much throughout) made it slower going and difficult to keep dry feet.

Winds were whipping and temps were real chilly, especially in the few exposed areas. I was glad to be in the trees for the majority of the day - don't know how you Presi and Franconia folks fared yesterday without a Himalayan kit lol

In any case, had some stunning clear views between Lethe/Middle and on Hight! Wasn't planning to finish on Carter Dome but no complaints either.

#105 for the nh 500.