"A great experience. This was my first time hiking in New Hampshire, first time hiking before the sun, first time sleeping over night in my car and my first time doing a big solo hike. A lot of first times haha. I started off at the Ammonoosuc ravine trail. The hike in the forest was pretty good, tho I got lost since it was dark and there’d be times I’d miss the markers. But I found my way with the help of other hikers. It was a breeze till the incline, to be honest I had a grand time rock climbing the tall inclines. But at some points there was hidden ice so you had to be careful. Unfortunately tho by the time I got to the lake of clouds cabin, I started to get cramps in my inner thighs so I had to stop a lot along the way. I was still able to reach the summit of Mount monroe and Washington. I wasn’t going to do Monroe but a couple hikers convinced me especially since I was right there. It was an adventure. Also I really got lucky with such beautiful weather. I just want to say shoutout to all the hikers that helped along the way, I couldn’t have done it you all. I’m still a newbie who recently got addicted to hiking 3 months ago but I feel blessed to be in the hiking community tha..." — CTprest • Oct 11, 2025

"I arrived at the AMC Highland Center around 8:30am, and it was cold enough that I began my day with long pants, long sleeves, a fleece, and even considered donning my windbreaker. I took the shuttle from the Highland Center to the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trailhead, but walked along Base Station Road so I could stop briefly at the Cog Railway Base Station. During this walk, the temperature had already heated up to the point where I had to remove the fleece and zip off the pant legs. I set off along the Ammonoosuc Link around 9:45am and, even though the first 2 miles of the trail are shaded, I rolled up my sleeves and began regretting bringing thicker layers. Starting from the Base Station, the first 1.5 miles of the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail is mildly sloped, although very rocky from the start. Despite the dryer weather, the Ammonoosuc River was roaring along just fine, creating a wonderful forest ambience with occasional glimpses of the sun as it crested over Mt. Washington. The dry and cool weather also accelerated the leaves turning color; I was treated to a small percentage of yellow leaves lining the trees and dotting the forest floor. The first section of the trail culminates in the G..." — JCalautti • Sep 12, 2025

"Day two of the Presidentials in NH. It was too socked in too see anything from the peaks, but it would've been beautiful. The southern peaks are much less prominent so are easier. Monroe and Little Monroe were just a quick jog from the hut, and Franklin was just a bump. Eisenhower made for an interesting ascent, because there is some krummholz close to the top. Pierce felt pretty short compared to the others, but it was challenging on the way down. The descent felt eternal and it was definitely a slog at times. Overall, and incredible trip and it was truly a once in a lifetime experience." — elimihuta • Jun 28, 2025

"Started early from the AMC Highland Lodge, then climbed up to Mizpah Hut, summited Pierce, Eisenhower, Franklin, Little Monroe and Monroe. Then dropped the pack and Turkey and I ran the ridge 5 more miles out to Boot Spur and took a peak down in Tuckerman’s Ravine." — wiweasel • Jul 4, 2024

"A Monroe, Washington, Jefferson hike for my Grid and calendar day. Hiked up Ammonoosuc Ravine Tr. From Gem Pond, I used my microspikes on the ascent. I ascended into a cloud and had no views on Monroe and on Washington. On the way over to Jefferson, the cloud cover was breaking up. I dropped my snowshoes just past Jewell Tr. On Jefferson, I had views, but Washington was still in the clouds. I headed back to Jewell Tr and down that, making good time coming down. I was beat after today's hike. Saw a short tailed weasel below the summit of Jeff. " — newenglandwarrior • May 3, 2024

"The weather ended up turning out very nicely. Up from Pinkham notch via Lions Head. Across the Alpine Garden but still not many flowers. Up over Ball Crag to summit of Washington. The Cog had just dumped a 100 people off so the place was swarming. Mostly cloudy with light winds, no rain or fog at the top. Down to the Lake of the Clouds and Monroe summit. Finished walking out Ammooosuc Ravine." — Alohabuffy • Jun 20, 2023

"We did a loop to include Monroe and Washington. Up Ammo to the Lake in the Clouds Hut. Dropped our backpacks and went up Monroe. Came back and picked up our packs and ascended Washington. Took Jewell Trail down for the loop. Windy but nice conditions and views. Bluebird day for this hike. Ammo is steep especially towards the hut. The temps were favorable at 55 when we started and 77 upon completion. Poor planning led me to run out of water with about 3 miles left to hike. That will never happen again. Overall nice hike. Washington is a little easier than expected with the exception of the rock hoping from the hut to the summit. Lots of places to slip. Fortunately it was dry. I did twist my ankle on a rock but managed to finish the hike with a minor limp. " — GreggC • Aug 21, 2022

"Up the Ammonousuc Ravine Trail with Maryellen, Nancy, Chris, and Tina. A gentle start and then it went UP to the Lake of the Clouds Hut. There were stone steps and waterfalls. Bright sun on open ridge. 20 minutes from the hut. No disc at the top. " — lfrancois • Jun 26, 2022

"Molly needed Washington and Jefferson for winter. We reached the Ammo trailhead and were informed by other hikers that the Jewell Tr was barely broken out. So we headed up Ammo to at least get Monroe and Washington in January. We used snowshoes to go up Ammo. We dropped our packs at the Hut and darted up to tag Monroe. We then switched into spikes back at the Hut and made our way up Washington. We were feeling pretty decent, so we decided to make a go for Jefferson. The wind picked up on the northern side of Washington. We slowly made our way up Jefferson and tagged the summit. We then came back and used a shortcut to get further down the Jewell Tr. The trail was broken out at this point. We made our way down and eventually reached the car. Molly now has 1 peak remaining for her NH48w." — newenglandwarrior • Jan 22, 2022

"A hike for Sarah's birthday. Molly and I joined. The 3 of us went up and back out Ammo. Icy day on the trail. It was calm at the Lake of the Clouds Hut, but quite windy on the summit of Monroe. There was cloud cover all over Washington, so we opted not to head up there. I gained a Grid peak today. " — newenglandwarrior • Dec 24, 2021