"The weather on the drive up was perfect, but the Whites have their own climate. We originally planned to hike the Willey Range but decided to hike Mt. Hale to not miss out on any views. The day consisted of cycles of light rain/drizzle, pouring rain, and sunshine. On the other hand, the only bugs we had to deal with were at the trailhead. We left the trailhead just before 10:30am and headed up Zealand Rd to Zealand Trailhead. The first mile of the trail had us walking along the Zealand River and dealing with a light rain. Eventually the river opens up into an expansive wetland with multiple ponds and even a long boardwalk over some water. The rain had ceased and we took in the serene silence of Zealand Notch, occasionally interrupted by a bird or frog. The sun came out as we approached Zealand Pond and the turnoff towards Zealand Falls Hut. Twinway has a couple of lookout points to view Zealand Falls and the Hut is nestled into the mountainside next to the best lookout point for the Falls. We stopped briefly on the porch of the Hut to eat some snacks and wait out some rain. Continuing upwards on Lend-a-Hand Trail and across a brook that feeds the Falls, the trail levels out and too..." — JCalautti • Jun 8, 2024

"A hike for a Calendar Day and a Grid gain for Denise. We parked near the end of the Zealand Rd and hiked up the road, then up the trail to the summit of Hale. The road had been plowed, so that made the road walk incredibly easy. Denise attempted Hale last Sunday after a snowstorm had dumped 2 feet of snow on the Saturday. Today, maybe ankle deep snow at low elevations. The difference from what she was describing and today was amazing. Windy day in the mountains. " — newenglandwarrior • Mar 30, 2024

"A warm May day hike with Nancy and Chris before heading home. Leafy dirt trail for .9 miles. Rocky steps and a pretty waterfall crossing, but nothing too sketchy. Got photos with gray jay at rock pile top. Lots of dogs and people on the trail. Bugs were picking up, but not annoying YET! " — lfrancois • May 22, 2022

"Due to an incoming late storm and the wind, we decided to hike Hale for Molly's Grid needs. We road walked up Zealand Rd, then the Hale Brook Tr to the summit. Not much to see today. We hiked out. 9.8 mi." — newenglandwarrior • Feb 27, 2022

"The most clear blue skies, absolutely beautiful day, just perfect. Went up the Fire Warden's Trail. Its a really nice trail, always moderate climb. Many birch glades, tons of bird activity. A decent lookout at the Presis about a 1/3 of a mile from the summit, which is nice considering the actual summit is viewless. FWT is so much nicer than the Hale Brook trail." — Alohabuffy • Sep 19, 2021

"A Twins, Zealand, Hale loop hike to help out Molly and Denise with their grids. We went up North Twin first to get the more exposed stuff over in case of bad weather. Partially socked in on the Twins. Same with Guyot. We had some views on Zeacliff. Then there was scattered light rain from Hale down the Fire Wardens Tr. I picked up 19 4000 footers in the month of June, which might be a record for me. " — newenglandwarrior • Jun 26, 2021

"A Hale, Zealand, Twins loop today for my Grid. Parked at Haystack Rd and went up the Fire Wardens Tr to Hale. Continued on to Zealand from there. Socked in, so I didn't bother with Zeacliff. Crossed over Guyot in the clouds. Met up with Molly, Denise, and Sarah off of South Twin on their backpack trip. We had lunch together before continuing on. At that point, I had views on both of the Twins. On North Twin, I saw a pine marten. That probably made the hike. Came off of North Twin, crossed the river, then bypassed 2nd and 1st crossing because of the high river. 16.8 miles." — newenglandwarrior • May 29, 2021

"Took advantage of the Zealand Rd gate being open before a Nor'easter. Doug and I did a car spot hike, a Hale, Zealand, Twins hike. We both picked up SW Twin as well on this hike and Doug grabbed Galehead. " — newenglandwarrior • Dec 4, 2020

"The three of us did a quick hike up Hale before our 6+ hour drive home. Upon leaving our condo we thought we have do another wet hike without views as the sky was overcast and a misty rain was falling. Once through Crawford Notch the sky cleared to blue with some clouds and sun shining....woo Hoo! Now we were back to Indian summer like weather for our short hike and we could enjoy a lengthy summit lunch break. Got Tom up to peak #22 of the 48. Back down in the parking lot we had a nice chat with a 70+ year old local gentleman who has done the 48 after 70 and is looking forward to doing them again after 75.....inspiring!" — Nimblefoot • Oct 23, 2020

"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