Newbie Question

[UncleFester]

Hi there,

a few simple questions:

Is it possible to hike up and down mt. Washington in a day?

I've hiked some decent sized day hikes here in CT and so far the largest/highest day hike has been Mt. Monadnock in N.H.

I'm pretty fit and active if that helps any.

If so, about how long approx does something like that take?

I'm assuming i could get a motel nearby and leave early in the morning to be back before sunset. (come summertime of course)

Thanks

[Bill O]

Yes, the vast majority of people who climb Mount Washington do the round trip in one day.

Four hours up and about the same coming down is what most people should expect on the main routes.

I suspect many people who are far less fit than you make the climb every year. But being in the best shape possible makes the trip quicker, safer and far more enjoyable.

[UncleFester]

ahh, that helps out. Thanks

I've also heard there's some sort of place to stay at the top?

Sounds like that may take the spirit out of "roughing it" but I'm not ready to invest in backpacking supplies such as a tent and sleeping bag and I'm just trying to weigh all my options if i do get to tired to come down.

Thanks again

[Bill O]

You can stay at Lakes of the Clouds hut, that is near the top. No camping gear needed. All you need is a light sleeping bag and some snacks for the day. Breakfast and dinner are served by the hut crew. Its a little pricey for sleeping in bunk rooms, but you can't beat the location.

Visit www.outdoors.org for more information on the White Mountain hut system.

[climbabout]

You can stay at Lakes of the Clouds hut, that is near the top. No camping gear needed. All you need is a light sleeping bag and some snacks for the day. Breakfast and dinner are served by the hut crew. Its a little pricey for sleeping in bunk rooms, but you can't beat the location.

Visit www.outdoors.org for more information on the White Mountain hut system.

Outdoors.org is the perfect place to start to learn about the huts as Bill says. Make note that Lakes of the Clouds is not open this time of year.
For a first time hiker, the best place to stop in person for info before your hike is the AMC visitor center on Rt 16 in Pinkham notch. Several trails begin and end here and there is a wealth of info to be had there concerning trail conditions, what to wear, what to bring, etc. You can get a hot meal there and most importantly get up to date weather info for down low and(most importantly) above treeline. It's usually a quite different world above 4000' on Mount Washington.
regarding nearby motels - plenty to choose from within about a 30-40min drive both on RT2 to the north and all along Route 16 to the south as you get near Bartlett and the North Conway assuming you are hiking the eastern side.
Good Luck
Tim

[mtruman]

As others here know I'm a big fan of the huts. If you are considering planning a multi-day trip in the summer they are an awesome way to see more of the best of the Whites without having to backpack. Here are the trip reports from our 4 day hut-to-hut trips the last 2 years.

Greenleaf-Galehead-Zealand 2008 - http://www.mountwashington.org/forum...ead.php?t=4033

Presidential Traverse 2007 - http://www.wmgonline.org/community/t...tail&report=40

and the one from this year's Seek The Peak which will give you one view of a single day up and down Mt Washington (there are many others here too if you do a search).

http://www.mountwashington.org/forum...ead.php?t=4020

[Knapper]

One other option is using a guide service. We have a good relationship with EMS Climbing school and EMS Adventures. The climbing school offers single day (http://www.emsclimb.com/mountaineering_washington.html) and overnight summit trips (http://www.emsclimb.com/mountaineering_obs.html). The adventure school did the same type of trips this past summer. Not sure if they will next summer but you an check their site as it gets closer at: http://www.emstrek.com/northeast.html. There are other guiding services out there that can take you up and down in a day. IME (http://www.ime-usa.com/imcs/index.html) is the other big one I know of. There are a few private guides as well. But, if doing it in the summer, you can do it in a day pending on what trails you choose. I did it four days in a row this past summer (partly for work and partly for fun). But at least you are starting off right and using the forums for advice. If you use the search function, you can probably find a lot of other threads with answers to your questions as well.

[UncleFester]

Thanks for all the replies everyone, this is certainly getting me going in the right direction.

[UncleFester]

Mr. Truman, I've been looking through your photo gallery and I'm really inspired now. Great job on documenting your journeys!

Question, I never used Picasa before, how does it know the geo location of your images, is it going by the name of the image or do you have to enter that when you upload each new image?

Thanks

As others here know I'm a big fan of the huts. If you are considering planning a multi-day trip in the summer they are an awesome way to see more of the best of the Whites without having to backpack. Here are the trip reports from our 4 day hut-to-hut trips the last 2 years.

Greenleaf-Galehead-Zealand 2008 - http://www.mountwashington.org/forum...ead.php?t=4033

Presidential Traverse 2007 - http://www.wmgonline.org/community/t...tail&report=40

and the one from this year's Seek The Peak which will give you one view of a single day up and down Mt Washington (there are many others here too if you do a search).

http://www.mountwashington.org/forum...ead.php?t=4020

[Patrad Fischroy]

There is another option that I am surprised not to have seen before this. Simply join the observatory and sign up for an EduTrip

http://www.mountwashington.org/educa...mmer_edutrips/

With this option you can even forgo the hike up and down, enjoy a night on the summit and even go in much more marginal weather than by hiking.

Something to think about.