With so much to explore, where do you start? I started hiking these summits with a few goals in mind. I would try to hike each mountain independently if possible, and avoid “peak bagging”. Peak bagging is trying to get as many peaks in as possible on a single hike. There is nothing wrong with the strategy. I just set out not to rush. I didn’t want to make it about completing the 48 mountains in any particular time. In fact, it took me three and a half years to complete the New Hampshire 48. Most of the summits you can complete in a day. There are a few overnighters. The beauty of the White Mountains is that they are so accessible. You don’t have to be an athlete to hike these trails. I’ve seen little kids and grandparents on the summits. However, I will note that sometimes the weather is too wild for anyone to be out, even the Wild Boyz. In fact, the highest recorded wind speed ever directly observed by a human was on Mt. Washington in 1932. It was 231 miles an hour! But to me, part of the beauty of the White Mountains is the weather.

Learning to forecast and follow the weather in the White Mountains is critical to having a good time. Fortunately, there is the Mount Washington Observatory, a nonprofit that provides forecasts and weather reports for the summits in the White Mountains