Region
Highlights
- A short trail up from the Galehead Hut leads you to this viewless, somewhat joyless summit
- Worth stopping by the Galehead Hut, the most remote hut in the AMC's hut system. BYO lunch, although baked goods and soup are available during the day
- Combine with a steep climb up to South Twin for exceptional views into the Pemigewasset Wilderness
Routes
/-71.5733995926,44.1849999355,11,0.00,0.00/320x240@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGVha2VyeSIsImEiOiJjampra3Z0bnAxeTVnM3FteHlybHY3b2p1In0.7a5dEa5-995VUv8ceHHNmw)
27 summits • 12.0 mi • 2,455 ft gain • 7 hr 36 min
/-71.5733995926,44.1849999355,11,0.00,0.00/320x240@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGVha2VyeSIsImEiOiJjampra3Z0bnAxeTVnM3FteHlybHY3b2p1In0.7a5dEa5-995VUv8ceHHNmw)
16 summits • 9.9 mi • 2,344 ft gain • 5 hr 32 min
/-71.5733995926,44.1849999355,11,0.00,0.00/320x240@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGVha2VyeSIsImEiOiJjampra3Z0bnAxeTVnM3FteHlybHY3b2p1In0.7a5dEa5-995VUv8ceHHNmw)
1 summit • 14.1 mi • 3,917 ft gain • 8 hr 15 min
/-71.5733995926,44.1849999355,11,0.00,0.00/320x240@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGVha2VyeSIsImEiOiJjampra3Z0bnAxeTVnM3FteHlybHY3b2p1In0.7a5dEa5-995VUv8ceHHNmw)
1 summit • 19.2 mi • 5,488 ft gain • 8 hr 59 min
Latest summits

"Solo. 18/48. 39 at the trailhead, high of 70 today with lots of sunshine but it’s hazy.
There were some other cars in the Gale River Trail lot this morning, including another solo hiker man that started out shortly before I did. I lost count of all of the people I saw today- maybe 20? Only 5 I saw on the trail, the rest were around the hut, summit, or junctions to go elsewhere. The majority of them had heavy backpacking packs, so I imagine they were doing multi day treks.
The first 2 miles of the hike were nice and flat, sometimes dirt, sometimes stream bed type hiking, which was near to the stream- nice to listen to. The third mile was kinda lazy side-hilling with a little bit of elevation, some roots and rocks. Following that the uphill in earnest began, but it really wasn’t bad- a rocky push followed by an easy uphill or even almost flat, rinse repeat a few times and before I knew it I was already at the hut. The trail has been well-loved with a lot of natural stone steps, always nice to see!
I’ve never seen a hut here in NH before so I was pretty surprised at how large they are. The hut is closed up due to covid but there were a couple of people milling around or s..." — kellieirene • Sep 16, 2020
"Started out frosty, -11 at the trailhead, but quickly warmed up in the brilliant sun. The season doesn't matter, just hanging out at the hut, soaking up the sunshine, it is a very special place. Galehead completed our second round of NH 4ks. Great day." — Alohabuffy • Feb 9, 2020
"Did an out and back with Snickers on Galehead. We bumped into Rich Gambele and Arlette Laan just below the summit of Galehead. They were working on a winter Diretissma. They had 10 more peaks to go after this one and were planning on also grabbing Owls Head today. Socked in at the view point but a good day for this hike. Only 2 more peaks left for my 7th loop of the NH48. " — newenglandwarrior • Jan 15, 2020

"3 days in WMNF. First two days included a nice overnight backpack of the eastern Pemigewasset Wilderness. On day one I hiked up Lincoln Woods and over to the Bonds, then continued on to summit the rest of the high peaks on the Eastern side- Zealand, the Twins, Galehead and Garfield, before setting up camp along the ridgeline above the Franconia Brook Trail. " — wacbravo • Sep 7, 2019

"2 semaines solo de pure plaisir à faire du hiking à différentes places dont les Whites Moutains. Grosse journée qui commence à la noirceur. J'ai essuyé une tempête de l'enfer ici. Par chance la Galehead Hut était encore ouverte au sommet. J'ai pu m'y réfugier le temps que cela se calme un peu. Sur Garfield, les vents étaient horribles! Ils me trainaient par terre." — fsoucy76 • Sep 21, 2018

"We were happy to take advantage of the great whether after a month of rain and conflicting appointments. As usual, our packs were larger than necessary, especially in comparison to the group we saw who were trail running the whole Pemigewasset Loop that day. But better safe than sorry, and it's good practice for the few overnight hikes we have planned for next year. Not too hot or buggy. Portions of the trail were exceedingly muddy. Though we've had a fair amount of rain lately, I suspect Gale River Trail is like that much of each summer. The mosses and other undergrowth was so exquisitely green, they were almost unreal, and a large crop of goldenrod added a nice touch to views from the Galehead Hut. A long but pretty trail, and no rock scrambles." — gooner • Aug 25, 2018
"Another Grid peak for me and helped out Marielle for her NH48W. Doug also went up to grab Galehead and the Twins. Denise and Briana also joined us. The trail was broken out. We used spikes the whole way up. Low cloud cover today. " — newenglandwarrior • Mar 11, 2018
"After Garfield, our Meetup group we went over to Galehead Mtn. We took the steep part off of Garfield slowly and had no issues. After Galehead, we went down Galehead River Tr. This was a Grid peak gain." — newenglandwarrior • Dec 2, 2017
"After Garfield, I followed Garfield Ridge Tr and hiked up Galehead. I then went down the trail to 13 Falls Tentsite, grabbed my gear, and made the long flat hike back to the Lincoln Woods parking lot. Did it in under 3.5 hours. An awesome couple of days." — newenglandwarrior • Sep 22, 2017

"Enjoying a weekend exploring the Whites. Started on trail Friday morning via shuttle (left a car at Zealand parking area). Hiked up to Garfield and the made our way back over the ridge where we spent the night at Galehead Hut before moving on the next day through the Twins and the Bonds. Beautiful trail!" — deb-and-rob • Aug 11, 2017