I find New Hampshire a strange state from the county highpointing perspective. It has 48 4,000 footers, yet they only net the county highpointer two counties! I got another three counties through normal hiking.
Belknap Mountain (Belknap County) was interesting, Jeanne and I were going to spend a weekend in Waterville Valley, and we were told our room would be available early PM. So we decided to do a hike on the drive up north, and chose Belknap.
I normally avoid Mount Monadnock (Cheshire County), as I find it too crowded and too long a drive for what the mountain is worth. But one year I was talked into helping lead a hike for the AMC Spring Hiking program. I believe it is the only time I climbed that very popular mountain.
Finally, I did Mount Kearsarge (Merrimack County) in the spring of 2002 when looking for a decent hike at low elevation and far enough south to avoid snow. The common approaches are too short to be worth while, but the Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide describes a much longer route (4.6 miles each way with 2,100 feet of elevation gain) using the Lincoln Trail.
| Highpoint | County | Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belknap Mtn. | Belknap | Around 1990 | With Jeanne |
| N slopes of Sandwich Dome | Carroll | May 27, 2003 | Up Sandwich, down Drake's, short bushwhack |
| Mt. Monadnock | Cheshire | Around 1999 | Once, AMC trip |
| Mt. Washington | Coos | October 1997 | Many times |
| Mt. Lafayette | Grafton | September 1997 | Many times |
| Pack Monadnock | Hillsborough | May 3, 2003 | Wapack Trail from north end |
| Mt. Kearsarge | Merrimack | Spring 2002 | Spring training hike |
| Nottingham Mtn. | Rockingham | June 18 | With Gene |
| Copple Crown Mtn | Strafford | June 16, 2004 | With Gene |
| Croydon Pk | Sullivan | June 12, 2004 | With other highpointers |
Pack Monadnock (Hillsborough County) was the very first hike I did as an intentional county highpoint, it also was a great hike south of the snowy regions. It is a rather short hike if done from the south (or a drive up for those who do things that way!), I made a much longer hike out of it by starting at the northern end of the Wapack Trail and heading south (4 miles each way rather than 1.4 by the standard route).
On May 27th 2003 I hiked up Sandwich Dome (Carroll County), going up the Sandwich Mountain Trail and down Drake's Brook Trail. On the summit I followed the Bennett Street Trail as long as it went south, then bushwhacked south until I was satisfied I had gone 100 feet from the summit. I revisited Sandwich Dome by Drake's Brook Trail in February 2004, but did not revisit the COHP. Check my peakbagging site for a description of all the trails that lead to the summit of Sandwich Mountain.
After Sandwich Dome I had three counties left: Strafford, Sullivan and Rockingham. Croydon Peak (Sullivan County) requires special permission to hike, and the other two seemed rather uninteresting unless I could complete the state, so I decided to wait on them. In early June of 2004 I learned that there was a trip up Croydon Mountain on June 12th, which I joined. Having done it I decided to do the other two, and I planned to do Strafford County first, finishing the state on Rockingham County, a county on which nobody had yet finished.
On June 16th Gene Daniell and I planned to do both counties. After having finished Copple Crown Mountain (Strafford County) we decided that was enough for one day. I was delighted to discover that it is a very satisfying hike; about 6 miles round trip (including a trip to the eastern ledges) with 1,500 feet of elevation gain. Both the eastern outlook and the main summit have very interesting views.
On June 18th we finally did Nottingham Mountain (Rockingham County), first walking up an old road to the summit of point 1191, which has good views (unfortunately the day was very hazy and we did not see much), then bushwhacking through very open woods with lots of blueberries to the three peaks.