"Our first winter-ish hike of the season - a fresh blanket of 4 to 5 inches of snow greeted us with temps hovering around 6 at the start. We had thought about doing the Zealand loop so we left our car there and walked the quiet snow covered flat mile to the Hale trailhead. We were on trail around 7:30 and were taking our time with the climb enjoying the beautiful snow covered woods. The trail starts out as a moderate climb and maintains a climb for the duration with intermittent steep sections. Although we were a bit concerned the crossings might be high due to recent reports we were glad to see that they were easy rock hoppings. There are some great views of the Presidential's as you climb so be sure to take the time to stop and enjoy them. Even with a fairly leisurely pace, after 2.3 miles and 2300' of gain we were at the summit just after 9 and enjoyed the warm sun and the bright blue skies - what a great spot. We hung out on the "super-cairn" for 20 minutes or so for a quick snack and then started our way back down enjoying some great conversation with many hikers on the way. Another great day in the woods." — deb-and-rob • Nov 9, 2019

"I started my day at 3:30am and was on the trail by 6:40am. I was back at the parking lot at 4:40pm , 10 LONG hours of hiking in the beautiful white mountains. Started up north twin and then over to South. I skipped Galehead as the effort did not equal the reward, I’ll get it another time. I made my way over to Mt. Guyot which is not an official NH48 but probably will be after the next AMC Guidebook comes out. Long walk over to Zealand and to the amazing views from Zeacliff lookout. Mt Washington was glorious from afar and exposed in clear blue skies. Down to Zealand hut for coffee and Lemon poopy seed cake. An exhausting hike over to Hale capped the summits for the day. The last trail I took was fire wardens trail and it is abandoned and overgrown. It was the only way to complete this as a loop hike so I opted to take the risk, and it payed off. At the end of the day 10 hours, 19+ miles, and five 4000 footers." — JoshuaRyan • Aug 20, 2019

"Taking advantage of it being broken out, I hiked Hale today. I made the long road walk up Zealand Rd, using some tire tracks to move more quickly. I then barebooted up a ways towards Hale. I put on snowshoes just below a drainage area that made crossing it tough. The summit of Hale almost had views from all of the snow. I think I saw a Twin peak peaking through the trees. Only saw 2 people today." — newenglandwarrior • Jan 28, 2019

"Nice short hike up Hale Brook trail. Trail was muddy and leave cover down low. Icy spots and frozen mud near summit. Frost covered trees nest top and snow falling most of way." — blackwolf_03278 • Oct 21, 2018

"Solo. 2/48. With a nasty weather day in the forecast, I opted to go hike something that wouldn’t have afforded me a view anyhow. I started out around 10am after speaking to a woman in the parking lot who was waiting for her daughter to arrive at the trailhead so they could hike together. The trail was mostly dirt, wide, and well-loved and maintained with many water redirects to keep the trail less flooded, and no blow down. Toward the middle & top, there were some rocky areas I watched my footing on as it was wet, wet, wet. It rained the entire time I was out. I had pulled my $18 basic rain jacket out of the back of my car before starting out, and just know- it afforded me exactly $18’s worth of protection, which in terms of mileage is about.. three quarters of a mile. I. Was. Soaked. I scooted up the trail quickly but carefully, and the couple of stream crossings were absolute cake. When I topped out, all I could see were clouds, a big ol cairn, and rain. So much rain. Oh and the remnants of an old fire tower base. I chugged my summit beer, and quickly ducked back into the woods. I did see the mother and college-aged daughter about a half mile into my descent & chatted with them ..." — kellieirene • Aug 22, 2018

"A beautiful day for a hike and I felt good. I had heard the views were not great from Hale, and they were not. However, the loop I did over to Zealand Falls provided many good views! Couldn't have been happier." — GSDTheFlea • Jul 19, 2017

"A spur of the moment hike during a rainy weekend. We knew we might get wet, but holy cow... But it was my hiking partner's first rain hike. A right of passage, I think. Also probably the only time we will ever say, "Wait... we're at the top already?"" — gooner • Jun 24, 2017

"This was an attempt for Hale and Zealand for my April Grid. That challenge would be Zealand and the river crossing. I made my way up the Fire Warden's Tr. I didn't encounter snow until I got out of the birch forest. I kept the spikes off and kept going up the snowy/icy trail. The summit had no snow." — newenglandwarrior • Apr 28, 2017

"Finally got a chance to winter hike the fire warden's trail. Great day for it, lots of sun, warm and bright blue skies when we summited. Lots of snow so snowshoes all the way. Lots of people skiing and riding down the trail. Looked like fun!" — Alohabuffy • Feb 18, 2017

"Amazing day climbing mount hale! It was a cloudy day and windy day so we choose hale over moosilauke....great choice! We took the abandoned trail that definitely wasn't abandoned! There were tons of hikers out today! It's a viewless summit but the sun was an amazing view all on its own. " — shay-shay • Jan 15, 2017