New Hampshire backpacking info needed!

[howlinmadman]

That was going to be one of my next questions. What are the low temps like at that time? I only have one set of 20° quilts top and bottom, and then a 40° underquilt with a 30° sleeping bag. I know everyone's level of comfort is different, just want to know what the low temps are like around that time to see if I should get another 20° set for my son.

[brambor]

The nights could be crisp, especially above the tree line and on the presidential range it's always got weather that is more reminiscent of Labrador ... but You won't be above the tree line at night because you're a hammocker. The days can still be like early spring and in early June you will still encounter snow at the tops of the 4000 footers.

[tmgnewport]

That was going to be one of my next questions. What are the low temps like at that time? I only have one set of 20° quilts top and bottom, and then a 40° underquilt with a 30° sleeping bag. I know everyone's level of comfort is different, just want to know what the low temps are like around that time to see if I should get another 20° set for my son.

We did the Pemi loop last year on July 4th weekend with 40° TQs and 40° 3/4 UQs. The coldest temps we saw were in the upper 30s. My wife (who is a cold sleeper) was a little chilly the second night, but nothing unbearable. Weather can certainly change, but I would think unless you're both cold sleepers you'd be fine with 30/40 stuff.

[Al Icks]

I backpack in the Whites (usually overnights) once or twice a month. If you're looking to hammock camp, the Presidential Traverse mentioned early on in this post will be difficult since you're above treeline most of the time. You'll have to dip down a lot to get below the krumholtz and dense spruce to get to "hammockable" trees. Not impossible, just difficult.

A good 2 or 3 night trip would be a Pemi Loop as mentioned already. Camping and water options are much easier to come by. The terrain is great. You would dip above and below treeline a half dozen or so times during the 30ish mile trip. You won't be off the beaten path, especially near the summits since 4000 footers are very popular, especially in the summer.

The Whites are really awesome because you can camp in a lot of places. Get a map, open it up and be amazed by the massive spiderweb of trails. You can park your car at one trailhead and travel all over the Whites by foot for months probably. LNT aside, the White Mountain National Forest rules (google it for current concise rules of backcountry camping) are pretty lax. Strict areas like the Great Gulf Wilderness are a little more difficult to camp but in a lot of other places are pretty easy. You'll find a lot of herd paths leading to established campsites. So much of the Whites are great for backcountry camping. While I do occasionaly camp at designated backcountry campsites (13 Falls, Garfield Ridge, Guyot, Liberty Springs, etc.), finding your own campsite a couple hundred feet from the trail is such a better experience IMO.

EDIT: For quilt temps in June, I would think a 20 UQ and either 20 or 40 TQ would be perfect.

A couple helpful references below. Feel free to check out my instagram (LXMRTN) for ideas. Good luck and enjoy my state!

- TrailsNH.com (interactive map, recent trip reports, etc.)
- Google: White Mountain National Forest backcountry camping rules

[howlinmadman]

Excellent resources: White Mountain guide put out by AMC (Appalachian mountain club). It contains maps of all the hikes. I have a great waterproof map of most of the main Whites it does not have the Pliny and Pilot ranges though which is one of the areas I would recommend you check out if you want to avoid people. No above tree line hikes, but a few mountains that make the 4000' list with views and a couple that are on the 100 highest list. You can do a long backpack there and not see too many folks. The Kilkenny ridge trail is long and you can do loops with other trails there. More moose than anything in that area. If you want more views and be above tree line with still slightly more people but not as many as the rest of the Whites, try the Wild River Valley and the Baldface Royce area just West of the Carter Moriah range. Great views.

Farther south you can try the Sandwich Range Wilderness. The Kate Sleeper trail is lovely and there is Mt Whiteface and Passaconaway too that have great views. Hared to do a loop hike there. The Pemi Wilderness area is lovely and mostly down in a valley but you can go up to the ridge in a few places and hike up there but it is usually full of people that is a very popular area more up on the ridge. Get a good guide book with good maps with the mileage on them and have fun!

Thanks tollermama! I just purchased the White Mountain Guide and the set of waterproof maps. Now I just have to figure out where I want to go and for how long!

[Bike-N-Hike]

Baldface Circle Trail, I hiked it last March pretty challenging then, but I was really impressed with the views. There is alot of possibilities to extend the hike from there and I believe that you may find it slightly less crowded then some other places in the whites. The mountains I believe are 3 to 4k range but like someone else said you start at pretty low elevation. I really enjoyed my over nite hike there.
http://sectionhiker.com/great-hikes-...l-evans-notch/

[somniferous]

We did the Pemi loop last year on July 4th weekend with 40° TQs and 40° 3/4 UQs. The coldest temps we saw were in the upper 30s. My wife (who is a cold sleeper) was a little chilly the second night, but nothing unbearable. Weather can certainly change, but I would think unless you're both cold sleepers you'd be fine with 30/40 stuff.

I was also doing a Pemi during the 4th last year, where we camped the first night near garfield dropped into the low 30s. I was a bit cold with my 40° quilts. The last few days of the trip were fine though. A few years ago during the same time the nightly temps were much higher and I was fine with the same quilts. The weather can shift quiet fast in the Whites, it's usually better to error on the side of being too warm.

[tmgnewport]

I was also doing a Pemi during the 4th last year, where we camped the first night near garfield dropped into the low 30s. I was a bit cold with my 40° quilts. The last few days of the trip were fine though. A few years ago during the same time the nightly temps were much higher and I was fine with the same quilts. The weather can shift quiet fast in the Whites, it's usually better to error on the side of being too warm.

That's cool, were you out the night of the thunderstorm? We were at Garfield Pond that night and it was wicked cool with all the lightning.

Sorry not to threadjack - I guess this goes to show you that everyone sleeps differently, with 30/40° stuff for the Whites, you are in the neighborhood, could be just right, might need to bring a pair of fleece sleeping pants. Also depends on whether you're camping in the wilderness or up higher.

[somniferous]

That's cool, were you out the night of the thunderstorm? We were at Garfield Pond that night and it was wicked cool with all the lightning.

Sorry not to threadjack - I guess this goes to show you that everyone sleeps differently, with 30/40° stuff for the Whites, you are in the neighborhood, could be just right, might need to bring a pair of fleece sleeping pants. Also depends on whether you're camping in the wilderness or up higher.

We were over near Guyot when the thunderstorm went through. Saw some clouds on the other side of the ridge, but we stayed bone dry with no rain. Def don't forget to bring a set of long base layers. I only got cold because I was going stupid light and nixed the long base, and was trusting too much in the weather reports that called for mid 40s. Won't do that again.

[Grumpy Squatch]

That was going to be one of my next questions. What are the low temps like at that time?

June is a tough month. Early June may see lows dip into the high 20s (rare but happens). Late june that's much less likely. I typically use my 0° UQ and 20° TQ until about June 15th or so. Then I switch to my 20° UQ. I don't use the 40° set in the Whites until August, and even then I usually use my 20° UQ unless the forecast is certain to be warm. I am aslo a VERY warm sleeper. The kind of person who uses a light summer blanket at home and keeps the bedroom at 65° with no pajamas. The kind of New Englander who wears a t-shirt when it's 50° outside. A lot depends on where you are too - there is a difference north of the notches where lows in the 40s are common all summer when high pressure blows through. The average low changes about 10° between 6/1 and 6/30. You can use Conway climate data as a proxy, but assume you'll be at least 10° lower up in the woods.

I help run an event in September every year that brings hundreds of people of all abilities hiking all 48 4000' peaks. To help you plan your daily distances, our general guidance is that most people make about 1 - 1.5 mph uphill and 2-3 mph going downhill. Most people are generally about 10% faster than the times in the White Mountain Guide.

Also - the cost for an online subscription to White Mountain Guide maps to make route planning much easier is only $15 a year or thereabout and there is a free 5-day trial. Totally worth it in my opinion.

Here's some pics of the loop I described earlier. The pic with the snow was taken at a campsite near the junction of the Shoal Pond Trail and the Ethan Pond Trail just inside the Pemigewasset Wilderness Boundary. In late May. Lows predicted to be in the 40s. They were in the 20s and it snowed. I'll say that again - it snowed in late May which is almost June . My 20° UQ was not up to the task given the exposure to the wind. The next night I was able to nestle into some pine trees and was much warmer. The scenic shot is Thoreau Falls, but the picture does it no justice. It's amazing and we only passed 6 people in 3 days when we did this hike.