Lisa Ballard - Hiking the White Mountains: A Guide to New Hampshires Best Hiking Adventures

LISA DENSMORE BALLARD has hiked in New Hampshires White Mountains since 1976, when she first climbed Mount Washington on a high school backpacking trip. As a member of the Dartmouth ski team, she used the White Mountains as a training ground, running to the top of a different mountain every Sunday during the fall. She resided in Hanover for over twenty years, during which time she frequently trekked in the White Mountains. She remains a longtime member of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) and a life member of the Dartmouth Outing Club.

Lisa is best known in the region as the Emmy-winning cohost and field producer of Wildlife Journal and Windows to the Wild (PBS), often taking viewers on hikes in the White Mountains. During her 20-year career in outdoor and sports television, she also produced and hosted programming on variety of outdoor activities, including hiking and backpacking, for Outside Television and other networks.

Today, Lisa holds a camera more often than standing in front of one. A passionate nature photographer, her award-winning images have appeared in such regional publications as Around Concord, Image, New Hampshire Wildlife Journal, Here In Hanover, the AMCs publications, AMC Outdoors and Appalachia, as well as numerous national magazines and websites. If you can see it from a hiking trail, Ive probably taken a picture of it, says Lisa of her extensive stock photo file (www.LisaBallardOutdoors.com). Her photographs can also be found in a number of private collections and on annual calendars, including those published by the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department. Lisa complements her visual skills with writing. She has been a freelance writer since 1991 and, similar to her photography, has contributed hundreds of articles to as many magazines and websites.

Lisa is the author of 12 books, including Ski Faster! Guide to Ski Racing and High Performance Skiing, Best Hikes with Dogs: New Hampshire & Vermont, Hiking the Green Mountains, Hiking the Adirondacks, Backpacker Magazines Predicting Weather: Forecasting, Planning & Preparing, and the childrens book Gasparilla, A Pirates Tale.

The author ascending toward the summit of Mount Washington above the AMC Lakes of the Clouds hut JACK BALLARD

Though I hike often, and Ive hiked most of the routes in the Green Mountains of Vermont, in the Adirondacks in New York, and in many other regions around the world, the White Mountains in New Hampshire are closest to my heart. Theres something liberating, a sense of freedom and joy that I feel as I break out of the trees on top of a high alpine ridge or a bald summit. And theres nothing finer than sharing that feeling with my good friends who have accompanied me on the trail. Writing the first edition of this book was different than my previous guidebooks as I was able to draw on many years in the White Mountains, rather than explore each route specifically for this book. Many fond memories from these mountains were rekindled. I will always be grateful for the companionship of my fellow hikers. May this second edition be another motivator for many future treks together.

I also owe my sincerest gratitude to James Buchanan, who was literally the boots on the ground for most of this second edition. Thank you, James, for checking on the accuracy of these hikes and our shared enthusiasm for standing on top of mountains.

One of many beautiful cascades along the Falling Waters Trail on the Franconia Ridge loop

In case of emergency, call 911, then call the closest White Mountain National Forest ranger station.

Androscoggin Ranger DistrictGorham: (603) 466-2713

Pemigewasset Ranger DistrictBethlehem: (603) 869-2626

Pemigewasset Ranger DistrictHolderness: (603) 536-1315

Saco Ranger DistrictConway: (603) 447-5448

Supervisors OfficeLaconia: (603) 528-8721

www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain/

Appalachian Mountain Club: (603) 466-2721, www.outdoors.org

Dartmouth Outing Club: (603) 646-2834, www.dartmouth.edu

Randolph Mountain Club: www.randolphmountainclub.org

Squam Lakes Association: (603) 968-7336, www.squamlakes.org

Wonalancet Out Door Club: www.wodc.org

New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation: (603) 271-3556, www.nhstateparks.org

Burakian, Eli. Climbing New Hampshires 48 4,000 Footers. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides, 2018.

Densmore, Lisa. Best Hikes with Dogs: New Hampshire & Vermont. Seattle, WA: The Mountaineers Books, 2004, 2008.

Pletcher, Larry, and Greg Westrich. Hiking New Hampshire. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides, 3rd ed., 2019.

Smith, Steven D., White Mountain Guide: AMCs Comprehensive Guide to Hiking Trails in the White Mountain National Forest. 30th ed. Boston: Appalachian Mountain Club, 2017.

AMC White Mountains Maps Kit (Appalachian Mountain Club)

DeLorme: New Hampshire Atlas & Gazetteer

White Mountains Map Pack (National Geographic)

White Mountains Trail Map (Map Adventures)

www.hikethewhites.com

www.hikesafe.com

www.mountwashington.org

www.outdoors.org

Grand Monadnock (hike 3)

Patterned after the Adirondack 46er club, membership in the AMC Four Thousand Footer Club in New Hampshire requires that a hiker bag all 48 peaks in the White Mountains over 4,000 feet. Heres the list, tallest to shortest:

1. Washington: 6,288 feet
2. Adams: 5,799 feet
3. Jefferson: 5,716 feet
4. Monroe: 5,372 feet
5. Madison: 5,366 feet
6. Lafayette: 5,260 feet
7. Lincoln: 5,089 feet
8. South Twin: 4,902 feet
9. Carter Dome: 4,832 feet
10. Moosilauke: 4,802 feet
11. North Twin: 4,761 feet
12. Eisenhower: 4,760 feet
13. Carrigain: 4,700 feet
14. Bond: 4,698 feet
15. Middle Carter: 4,610 feet
16. West Bond: 4,540 feet
17. Garfield: 4,500 feet
18. Liberty: 4,459 feet
19. South Carter: 4,430 feet
20. Wildcat A: 4,422 feet
21. Hancock: 4,420 feet
22. South Kinsman: 4,358 feet
23. Field: 4,340 feet
24. Osceola: 4,340 feet
25. Flume: 4,328 feet
26. South Hancock: 4,319 feet
27. Pierce: 4,312 feet
28. North Kinsman: 4,293 feet
29. Willey: 4,285 feet
30. Bondcliff: 4,265 feet
31. Zealand: 4,260 feet
32. North Tripyramid: 4,180 feet
33. Cabot: 4,170 feet
34. East Osceola: 4,156 feet
35. Middle Tripyramid: 4,140 feet
36. Cannon: 4,100 feet
37. Wildcat D: 4,062 feet
38. Hale: 4,054 feet
39. Jackson: 4,052 feet
40. Tom: 4,051 feet
41. Moriah: 4,049 feet
42. Passaconaway: 4,043 feet
43. Owls Head: 4,025 feet
44. Galehead: 4,024 feet
45. Whiteface: 4,020 feet
46. Waumbek: 4,006 feet
47. Isolation: 4,004 feet
48. Tecumseh: 4,003 feet