Backpacking in the Great Gulf Wilderness and the Northern Presedintials

GREAT GULF WILDERNESS

You looked down
from the alpine ridge
years ago
into all this wildness
fit snug into a curved arm
of our tallest peaks

silent words organized
themselves across the landscape
full of energy and as invisible
as a pulse
widening and narrowing until

hidden in the thick valley
of spruce-firs and birch
we looked back up
to the tree-less tundra
where you once stood.

 

Summit of Mount Jefferson (sign credits: Ami Garcia Kuper)

 
 

 

 

 

 

Summit of Mount Adams (sign credits: Ami Garcia Kuper)

Summit of Mount Madison (sign credits: Ami Garcia Kuper)

 

Hike level: Difficult

Location: Gorham, NH

Driving distance from Boston: About 3 hours

Cost: FREE to hike; You can  backpack within the 5,552 acres of the Great Gulf Wilderness, New Hampshire's oldest and smallest wilderness area. There are several tent sites along the trails which are described in the book, AMC's Best Backpacking in New England. All are first-come-first-serve.

Description:  We set up a base camp near the intersection of Six Husbands trail and Wamsutta trail (this was the only site not mentioned in the book above--it's about 5.0 miles from the trailhead and 3,300' ft) The next day we hiked up Sphinx Trail to the Gulfside trail to summit Mount Jefferson (5,716'). We continued along the ridge to summit Mount Adams (5,799') and Mount Madison (5,366'), returning on the Buttress trail back to our camp. Total mileage for the 3-day trip was about 20 with approximately 6,000' elevation gain.