Seeking information regarding Mt Wash hikes early Sept

[rko001]

My wife and I will be at Dolly Copp Sept 1-5, planning to do some hikes, especially wanting to do Mt. Wash. We are from Va and have done a bit of hiking in the SNP. Old Rag mt is the most strenuous we have done. I am 60 and she is, well, let's just say younger. I have climbed Mt W before but last time was 40 years ago.
Would someone please give me other suggestions for day hikes hikes in the area?
Thanks.
Russ

[BlueDog]

Awesome.. Another VA'er on the forum! I hike SNP quite a bit, and ashamed to admit I've never done Old Rag. Though I'll be out there in September, since I'm told that the hiker tradition in this area is to hike it on ones birthday.

For MW suggestions, you'll get a ton on here. If you are looking for the most gentle trail up to the top, you should look at the Jewel Trail that climbs the west side. If you want the most difficult route, then that would be Huntington Ravine Trail on the east side. If you want something in between, I might suggest Boot Spur or Lions Head.

For hikes other than MW, if the weather cooperates, the Franconia Loop up over Lincoln and Lafayette is one of my absolute favorites!

[rko001]

Blue Dog,
Thanks for the response. Apparently I did something wrong and blew away my first response to you. It sounds like Jewell Trail would work best for us, the Franconia loop sounds great too. I'll check that one out. Boot Spur and Lions Head start the same as Tuckerman's, right? Where is that, Pinkham Notch? I can't remember, long time ago! Is there a good descriptive source for the trails in the area that gives you trailhead locations, length, degree of difficulty and actually map? Stay in touch, maybe we can get together sometime in SNP when hiking. We usually camp in Big Meadow. Old Rag was a real challenge for us, thought we had it made, then was made to understand the significance of the term "rock scramble", not what we had thought! Also, do you know what the facilities are like at Dolly Copp? Are they like Big Meadow or more primitive? We tent, don't need much in the way of amenities but would like flush toilets and showers! Firewood available somewhere there? Can't call it camping without S'Mores over a campfire at night. Ok, thanks fellow Virginian for the info. Take care.

[BlueDog]

On the east side, pretty much all trails start at PNVC (Pinkham Notch Visitors Center). Look through the White Mountain Hikes section here for trail reports on pretty much any trail you want to do. Most of us will take tons of pics along the way too. Look for a post of mine about Flags on the 48 from 2008 and you'll see lots of info on the Franconia Loop (or browser my Flickr albums from the links in my sig.)

For camping, I would suggest Moose Brook State Park just 8 miles up the road from Pinkham. It has coin operated showers and facilities that Dolly Copp doesn't. Plus, if you need to run out for last minute supplies, town is right there.

[Snow Miser]

Welcome to the forums rko001. You've come to the right place for friendly advice and information about hiking and camping.

[BAXTERCA2]

Welcome to the forum
I stayed at Dolly Copp for the first time this past weekend. I liked it probable because it was very close to where I needed to be but, I will stay there again in the fall. From Dolly Copp, if you drive appx 6-8 miles South on Rte 16 to the Pinkham Notch visitor Ctr, they have coin operated showers there and apparently alot of the trails start there too. Dolly Copp had flush toilets and fire wood was available for a fee but, there aren't any stores for about 20 miles either way (south or north) of Dolly Copp.

Hope that helps a bit

[BAXTERCA2]

BlueDog -
Stop talking about Moose Brook

[rko001]

Thanks for the info Karen. I have already made a reservation at Dolly Copp. Maybe I should have waited longer until I got some info but was afraid campsites would be gone...as is the case here in Va. Sounds like Dolly Copp will work for us.

[BAXTERCA2]

You'll be just fine. I'm not the kind of camper that stays in a campground all day. Camp is a place to eat, sleep and have a fire, that's pretty much it. The rest of the time I'm out exploring all the places the Whites have to offer.

Have a great time

[BlueDog]

BlueDog -
Stop talking about Moose Brook

The moose is loose!