Great Hikes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire offers a unique, new user friendly format that makes hiking a more pleasurable experience. Rather than a book, which is cumbersome to use on the trail, this is a set of individual hiking cards. Each colorful and graphically pleasing card combines trail map, route description, elevation gains, level of difficulty, historical notes, best picnic spots, explanation of mountains seen from overlooks, directions to trailhead and much more. They come with a clear protective envelope that can be worn around your neck or carried in a pocket of your pack for quick reference. Carry just a single card with you for more information than most books have to offer. Hikes are selected for great views and interest. They are suitable for novice and serious hikers alike, and make great gifts or souvenirs.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Author
I never started hiking until I moved to New Hampshire's White Mountains recently. When I met some women who were hiking NH's peaks over 4000', not knowing anyone else, I joined in. It was a case of love at first hike. I loved the beauty, the camaraderie, the physical exertion, the exaltation of relaxing on top of a summit gazing down on the awe-inspiring landscape.
When my husband and I had to go to England for a wedding, we continued on to the Lake District for some hiking over there. While rambling, I noticed that many hikers wore clear plastic map cases around their necks to hold their trail maps. It seemed like a brilliant idea - so much easier than having to get a book out of a pack or unfolding a large map, then finding the right page or place. But why not include more information than just a map? So it was at a lovely inn on Lake Windemere that the idea for Great Guides was formulated.
The next year was spent on design and production - hiking the trails while dictating descriptions and trail notes, learning how to use graphics software and a scanner, working with a graphic designer to perfect the "look", deciding what information to include. Because I started hiking later in life, my priorities were different from most guide writers who had trekked the wilds most of their lives. I wanted to know where the best picnic spots were, where you could find wild blueberries, where the last good toilet was, something of the history and geology of the area, what other peaks you saw from the overlooks. I learned from the English trip that when you only had a few days to hike in an area, reading through a book with many dozens of hikes, some good and some boring, was a real chore. I felt that a smaller selection of dependably great hikes of different lengths and levels and geographically dispersed would be easier to deal with.
Great Hikes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire is just the first in a series of guides using a similar card format. Not only are there plans for more hiking guides in other geographic areas, but there are also plans in the works for similar guides for other outdoor activities. Stay tuned for future publications by Great Guides for Outdoor Fun!
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Some of the information from hike #1 to Middle and North Sugarloaf:
Description: Summit 2 peaks, each with bare open ledges giving spectacular 360 views for relatively little effort. En route follow a crystal clear river, pass huge boulders left behind by glaciers and go by an abandoned smoky quartz quarry.
Distance: 3.4 mi, round trip both summits
Elevation gain: 900' to Middle, 700' to North summit
Estimated time: 2 hrs 45 min
Level: Mostly easy; steeper sections have stone steps to assist; trail eroded - rocks and roots.
Amenities: Toilets & tables in picnic area at beginning of Zealand Road, also at nearby campgrounds.
Route description from B to C (points noted on trail map): .7 mi; 40 min; + 500' Take left fork at B, where the Trestle Trail continues straight. Quickly come to a clearing: continue straight, crossing Bethlehem's water line and a logging road. In approx 1/4 mi come to a series of huge boulders, crowned by gardens of mosses, rock ferns & lichens, that were swept south by a glacier and deposited here when it melted. The trail then ascends more steeply, with switchbacks & stone steps facilitating the climb.
Fun facts:
Wild blueberries can be found on both summits.
Smoky quartz samples can be found around the old quarry (North Sugarloaf)
Glacial erratics are boulders that have been transported (erratically) from their place of origin by the movement of glacial ice.
If Middle summit is crowded, try North summit for your picnic.
Both summits were burned down to the bedrock in a 1905 fire, thus illustrating a wonderful example of forest regeneration.
Historical note: The name Sugarloaf came from the form in which sugar was sold at the time the mountains were named. Hot liquid sugar was poured into cone shaped molds and allowed to solidify. The hard cones of sugar were called "loaves" and grocers would break off chunks to sell. The sugarloaf shape was easily recognizable and many mountains with symmetrical cone shapes were named for them. Indeed, in NH there are at least six. Today's dictionaries define the term both as a conical mass of refined sugar and as a hill or mountain shaped like a sugarloaf.
Views: At far right end of summit ledge, the town below is Twin Mountain. Working counter-clockwise (L), the small knobby mtn is Haystack, then the 2 peaks separated by a big ravine are North & South Twin. The next mtn with a clefted summit is Hale. South Sugarloaf (3025', no trails) is between you and Hale. The big rounded lumps left are Mts Tom & Field.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wish there were more like this,
By J. James (Concord, MA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Great Hikes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (Cards)
I'm a beginner when it comes to hiking in the White Mountains, so this package of cards and recommendations has come in very handy. We just sit around in the morning in our camp, I read through the cards, and we vote on where to go. I put the guide card in my pocket and we take off, with very detailed descriptions to keep us from getting lost (and as a beginner this is always a problem). The cards contain information and descriptions of various hikes--from easy to difficult--including miles, time, shorter routes, longer routes, and general warnings such as "don't go near ledge--slippery when wet." This book has provided some wonderful hikes for my family--I just wish there were more guides like this. You can easily do all the hikes in one or two seasons.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Everyone wants these...,
By Muggs (Maine) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Great Hikes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (Cards)
I started using these cards last year when my husband and I wanted inspiration for hikes in the nearby Whites. I'm often giving other hikers bits of information off of the cards about views of nearby mtns and lakes, climbing distances between different points etc. When they see how well the cards are designed, they always want a set of their own.These are the coolest. I hope she does some more sets.
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