Galehead Mountain — Local services in Franconia

Trail in late November was more snowy than I thought it would be. It got more so as I got closer to the top. Beautiful views from the hut. The actual summit was in the woods. Then I headed down and over to Garfield. It dropped a lot before ascending along a frozen brook for a bit. I prepare very well, but did not expect it to be this cold and didn't have enough calories as I was pushing these two peaks in under 6 hours. It was a good lesson as I got a little chilled. The top of Garfield is quite spectacular with an icy wintery feel. I had changed 3 times and was a little chilled and tired so I was happy to hustle down the snowy trail and then to a fairly long flat portion to the road which was still a few miles from my car. Made it to my car just before dark. Stopped to get gas on Route 3 and the temp had dropped to 20. Got very chilled and warmed up with a nice steak at the Red parka Steakhouse where 302 and 16 meet. Plenty to drink with protein and electrolytes, but not enough calories for this rate of hiking and cold. Lesson learned as when I left the house my wife said "that doesn't look like...

Just a hop skip and a jump from the Galehead hut (0.4 miles each way, and a couple hundred feet of elevation), there's no real reason not to hit the peak. In the summer, it's a completely wooded summit, with no views to speak of, though there is a nice open viewpoint just off the trail to the left as you're climbing. There are a couple of short steep sections, but nothing that's remotely daunting, if you've already made it in to the hut site. In winter, however, the depth of snowpack raises you off the ground level enough that there are really nice open views up to the twins and in...

There's no view, but it was still an amazing hike to the top, very quiet and relaxing. There is a veiw point going up towards the top witch is very beautiful of the surrounding mountains. This was my sixth mountain I hiked on my 38...