The NH 48

In the summer of 1985, at the end of my first week-long vacation from Meditech, I hiked what's known as The Pemi Loop. For me, it was just an interesting-looking loop to spend a few days walking. Sometime on the first day, I summited one of New Hampshire's 48 4K peaks, Bondcliff, and I went on to top seven more 4Ks on that hike. Like the Loop itself, I wasn't aware at the time that those peaks were regarded as anything special. 

In the years that followed, I climbed more of the 4K mountains, but not as part of any effort to get all 48. I found a mention in these reports from 1991 of specifically "bagging" a 4K peak (West Bond) and another in 1999 (Galehead), but it wasn't until 2018 that I really began focusing on the list, following a group hike up Mt. Eisenhower. That hike brought my peak total to 20. I'd recently retired and I got inspired. 

My first priority was three "orphan" peaks, usually climbed in pairs with a second nearby peak, but I'd only climbed one of the two. After that the ball began rolling faster. Single peaks here and there, clumps of multiples, the northern outliers (Waumbek & Cabot), the last of the Presidentials, and the eastern peaks (Moriah, the Carters, the Wildcats). 

Finally there was just one left. Owlshead. My plan for some time had been to finish with a multi-day hike, climbing Owlshead, then continuing up to the Franconia Ridge and heading out along the route I'd hiked back in 1985. For a number of reasons, that plan changed and I decided to claim Owlshead with a day trip, and my list was completed.

The chart below shows my journey. The current record (as of August 2025) for climbing all 48 is four days, 22 hours and 43 minutes. I went a bit slower. For the first 18 years, I made a gradual, and frankly unintentional accumulation of summits. There was then a 15 year hiatus, from when Andy started school until a resumption after I retired. My climb of Owlshead came 40 years after my first 4K peak.

I have photos from many of the summits, though not all. I often didn't carry a camera in the early days, and smart phones with cameras didn't exist. My first photo is from 1987, when I climbed my 11th peak, Mt. Carrigan. I have pictures from subsequent climbs to some summits I missed the first time, but others (Franconia Ridge, West Bond, Zealand, Passaconaway) remain unrecorded.

So what now? Admittedly it feels a bit odd to have crossed the finish line, and to not have another hike to plan & do. On the other hand, it's a relief. The list did what it was intended to do, getting me to explore mountains I might not have climbed otherwise. In most cases, those hikes were worth the effort, but not always. Mt. Waumbek required a long drive, then offered a relatively short, unremarkable climb to a viewless summit. It seems doubtful most folks would climb it if not for the list (I certainly wouldn't).

Will I start work on another list? No. Well, not really. I've begun looking at the 52 With A View list, but I have no intention of trying to climb all of them. Instead, I'll use the list as a guide to peaks that might be interesting to visit. Most importantly, I'll do some hikes that aren't on any list. From now on, I hike for fun!

A final note on the NH 48: Most (40) of the peaks were climbed just once, but eight (so far) have had multiple ascents. Garfield, North Hancock, South Twin, Washington, and Adams have been climbed twice. Bond & Bondcliff have had four visits, and I've been atop North Kinsman five times.

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