Wanted to share my route from mid September. It’s a bit of memorial now due to the reroute on Falling Waters (RIP), but I don’t know if there’s quite as much bang for your buck in the Whites at less than 14 miles.

Stats:

13.81 miles
6,480 ft elevation gain

Clear blue skies, perfect views, no wind at the summit. Some ice on the big granite slabs in the switchback section, but generally dry and easy. Great day.

24/48 Bailed Thursday after going over Whiteface, came back today to get Passaconaway. Few distance views but a pretty trail.

Has anyone ever used the $5 permit to cut a Christmas tree in WMNF? Are there trees that are relatively close to the road?

It sounds like it would be a fun
Memory just looking to see if it is something people actually do.

Nice moderate hike to the summit and down to the ledges for some really scenic views. Also went to the mines, but really not worth it unless you want the extra exercise (i did). As other reviews say definitely have a higher clearance vehicle for the road to the trailhead though I did see a Nissan Sentra up there 😬.

TLDR
So basically my goal is to summit Washington this winter with no winter hiking experience, can I do it?

I’ve only hiked in the summer so I have nearly always hiked in perfect weather. I like the presidentials and Franconia ridge.

I think it would be cool to summit Washington in the winter via Ammo Ravine.
Or traverse Franconia.

I’m worried I’ll invest in a bunch of gear and I won’t like it or I love it but the weather doesn’t cooperate ya know. I’d hate to spend a grand plus on gear and just have the gear sit in the closet because the weather never lines up.

1) with the super el nino what will the mountains be like this year? Probably lots of snow, no?

2) has anyone bought the gear for winter hiking and then hated it or did you love it?

3) Do I have to be really “fit” to hike Washington in the winter? My legs get tired on an eight mile hike on Washington or adams!

4) how dangerous is navigating above treeline on Washington or Adams in bad weather?

5) Are the parking lots throughout wmnf well maintained? I drive a small sedan front wheel drive with snow tires.

6) is the learning curve for winter hiking pretty easy? Can I get mostly dialed in with a few sub 4k hikes?

Let me know what you think.

the weather could not have been more perfect today, clear skies with minimal to no wind. took the new falling waters route and it feels like a switchback (no photos included from that trail in this post)

My group left six cars in the parking lot at the Arethusa Falls trailhead on Friday, October 23, while we were out hiking. When we returned on the morning of Saturday, October 24, three of our six cars had been absolutely trashed.
Multiple tires were slashed, side mirrors and taillights were smashed, and doors had been kicked in hard enough to leave literal shoe prints and significant dents. It looked like someone went out of their way to cause as much damage as possible. They heavily vandalized the first two cars, then broke into a third and found some beer inside and seemingly left. Nothing of significance seemed to have been stolen but it was just deliberate, extensive vandalism.
The police came and filed reports, but we're now left dealing with the damage and repairs.
I'm posting to see if anyone else has experienced something similar at Arethusa Falls or other nearby trailheads, or if anyone knows whether this has been an ongoing issue in the area.

- Has anyone had their car vandalized at this trailhead or a nearby parking lot recently?
- Does anyone know if there are security cameras in the area, either at the trailhead or along the roads leading to it?
- Did anyone happen to be in the area Friday evening or Saturday morning and see anything suspicious?
- If you've experienced something similar, did police ever identify who was responsible?

If nothing else, really just wanted to raise awareness for other hikers. If you're planning to hike in the area, please be cautious about leaving your car there.
It's incredibly frustrating to have something like this happen when you're just out enjoying the outdoors. Any information or similar experiences would be appreciated.

Couple days late, but what a morning. A little icy up top but practically zero wind. Gorgeous.

Franconia ridge sunrise October 24th

Attempted the Whiteface/Passaconaway loop. Got over Whiteface, hit Mt turnaround time, and skipped the Passaconaway mini loop. Only saved two miles/700 feet, but I can't drive after dark. Will grab Passaconaway Monday. The steep Whiteface ledge was steep.

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.

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!

The Milky Way Panorama at the Sugar Hill Overlook.

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?

Update: in case this info is useful to someone in the future. We arrived at Old Bridle/Falling Waters trailhead on Saturday, Oct 24th at 12:15pm. This was a beautiful weekend, especially for this late in October—50s and not a cloud in the sky. The lot was very crowded on Saturday but there were several parking spots available, and more at Lafayette campsite across the street. We parked, walked down the bike path to Liberty Springs trailhead and took the trail to Liberty Springs tent site and camped overnight. We got there around 3pm and got the second-to-last platform. Someone showed up 20 minutes later and got the last one. So it was a full site. We broke camp around 5am on Sunday morning and did the ridge, descending on Old Bridle. When we got back to the trailhead around noon on Sunday, the parking lot was full and one guy was trolling the lot looking for a spot. Lafayette was full too, as far as I could tell.

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.