Today we hiked our first section of ‘The Whites’. The White Mountains of New Hampshire are known as one of the tougher (or toughest) sections (at least when referring to many-mile sections) of the trail because of the elevation gain/loss when travelling through, as well as the rocks that one contends with when climbing and descending. Since we live in the Whites, and hike here a lot, this doesn’t come as a surprise.
For today’s hike, we got a lift from the hostel to a point further down the try to the south and then hiked north and came out right next to the hostel (which happens to be practically right on the trail).
Since we are staying at the hostel again, we didn’t need to have our full gear with. When one hikes this way, it is called ‘slackpacking.’
The miles we walked, 20.8, were quite a bit more than we would have done with a full pack, considering the terrain. We climbed 4 or more 4000′ footers and many of the ascents were aggressively steep. The weather was beautiful, albeit hot, and we had some great views of Mount Washington and the surrounding Presidential mountains.
We finished the day just as dinner was being served at the hostel and were thrilled to get in before dark to get our plate of chicken with pasta.
In future days through the Whites, we will be walking less mileage.
Daily Distance: 20.8
Trip Distance: 319.4
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