14 days backpacking in NH, with 6, 16 year old boys, where would you go?

[canoehead]

Mid July,Aug. We'll be with 6, 16 year old boys backpacking for 14 days, where would you go in the White Mts. Kids are in good shape.

[peakbagger]

If this is an organized group, you will want to check out if you need an outfitter guide permit. If you do you may be restricted from certain areas. Every ranger district used to seem to have a lot of discretion on these permits.

That said its actually pretty difficult to string together a continuous 14 day hike unless you do the AT. Obviously you can take the AT but finding legit camping spots will be tough unless you dont mind dropping off the ridge (I assume you arent planning to stay in AMC huts due to the high cost)

The BSA high adventure groups usually would stick to the backpack from Chocorua over to whiteface and passaconaway then over to the tripyramids. From there you could add in Tecumseh and the Osceolsa and the possibly do the road walk up the kanc to the Hancocks and into the pemi area. From there the Bonds are a nice destination and then you could head out via Zealand hut and Ethan Pond to RT 302. The kilkenny ridge trail and the Coos trail north of the whites might be another good option except that there is a long road walk from the base of Starr King to get back on the trail network for the presidentials. Another less used areas to consider is the Wild river area, you can hike down one side of RT 113 then up the other into the wild river basin and then climb up over to the carters and then onto the presidentials. The dry river area is closed due to hurricane damage so the Davis path which used to be popular with groups is now a "dead end" although with some road walking you can hook up with Sawyer river road and head into the Pemi from Mt Crawford.

Both the wild river and the Pemi area are great for groups as there are plenty of swimming spots.

The easiest way to plan is to pick up the AMC map that shows all the trails in the whites on one map and start laying out routes as the map has the distances right on it. No matter what their condition a 12 mile day in the whites usually involves a couple thousand feet in elevation so stick to an average of 12 miles a day as it will be easy to run out of steam after a couple of hot days.

[Slo-go'en]

With a group that large and with the restrictions on camping in the whites (plus the expense, most legal campsites will cost you $8 a head), you should consider some place else to go. I hope you have at least 3 adults, making a group of 9 or maybe 10. A group that size and a trip that long has serious logistic and management problems which you will need to carefully adress in planning a trip. You don't want to show up at a campsite late in the day, only to be turned away if it is full and be forced to hike out to a road since there are no other camping options available.

Maybe start at Greylock and head south into NY.

[coach lou]

Mid July,Aug. We'll be with 6, 16 year old boys backpacking for 14 days, where would you go in the White Mts. Kids are in good shape.
Loops in the Pemigewasset Wilderness... large area, lots of water, Nice section of the AT

[peakbagger]

By the way, the MATC and AMC built the Grafton Loop Trail over on the ME NH border primarilly for a remote backpack for groups. Its a three day loop that connects up with the AT. A nice but rugged trip would be to start at RT 17 in Maine on the AT (or maybe the Bemis Stream trail) then do the grafton Loop and keep heading south through the mahoosucs. This area has less use than the whites and the campsites have pretty good sized tenting areas or alternatives. Normally only Speck Pond has a caretaker and site fee and with some planning you can leapfrog it and use the big tenting spot on the north end of Mahoosuc Notch. There is a lot of ridgeline hiking and views most days plus a very extended stretch of the open ridge in the Mahoosucs. In general this area is a lot wilder and has far less dayhiker traffic.

[canoehead]

Thanks for all the info folks. looks like some great suggestions now they'll need to put it together.

[attroll]

Moved this thread/topic the "General" forum.

[Blissful]

Loops in the Pemigewasset Wilderness... large area, lots of water, Nice section of the AT

Take them to Franconia Falls, has a natural rock water slide area. We spent two days in the area.