Refuge on the trail

Comfortable "huts'' in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire give hikers a place to come in from the cold after a day outdoors.

By ARTHUR S. HARRIS JR.

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 22, 2000

[Photo: Paul Mozell] Hikers relax and exchange news of the trail, outside the Greenleaf Hut.

The foot trail begins at the highway in Randolph, N.H., crosses a meadow, enters woods and then climbs uphill for miles, now and then crossing a mountain brook. On this sunny summer day, only thin shafts of sun penetrate these hardwoods on the northern edge of the Presidential Range, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

After several hours of steady uphill plodding carrying only a light knapsack, I leave the forest, pass through an acre of dwarfed, scrubby pines, and finally emerge at timberline.

Above me there are no trees -- only the boulder-strewn summits of Mount Adams and Mount Madison. I pull on a wool sweater and make my way to the rocky col, or pass, between the two peaks.

Here, at almost 5,000 feet above sea level, I will spend the night.

Not in a tent, nor huddled in a sleeping bag under a poncho, but in comfortable Madison Spring Hut, a stone and wood building with enough bunks and blankets for about 70 people.

Besides separate bunkrooms for men and women, there's a simple all-purpose "dining room" with long tables and benches where hot meals are served. There are indoor toilets and washbasins -- nothing fancy, but what can one expect almost 4 miles up from the highway?

Once inside the hut, I seek out one of the half-dozen college-age members of the crew so I can register. Then I claim a bunk by dropping my 18-pound pack on it. In a few hours guests will help set the oil-clothed tables for dinner, eaten family style. The food is hearty and plentiful, and the crew has even made a meatless quiche for me and three other vegetarians.

We are hikers, not backpackers, for we travel light without toting all the paraphernalia of backpackers -- portable stoves, dehydrated food, down sleeping bags, tents.

And this is the way many Europeans hike -- staying in mountain huts that provide shelter and meals, so the hiker has to carry only personal items.

Apparently only one chain of mountain huts exists the United States -- the eight overnight mountain facilities operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club in the White Mountains.

"Huts" is a misnomer: These are not primitive refuge cabins. Generally there is a large hall in which the tables serve for dining, perhaps for backgammon games, for studying trail maps, for making acquaintances.

Cell phones are frowned upon, and smoking is not permitted within the huts. Lighting, refrigeration and cooking are done with propane gas.

The larger huts have two- and three-tier bunkrooms, although a few rooms for couples or families are available in the smaller ones. Blankets and a pillow are provided. Perhaps 90 percent of the guests head out each morning to trek to the next hut.

This chain of overnight accommodations stretching across New Hampshire from Lonesome Lake on the west to Carter Notch, a few miles from the Maine border, has been planned (as in Europe) so each hut is a day's hike from the other.

After breakfast, hikers set out -- sometimes through dense woods, sometimes entirely on exposed ridges above timberline -- for the next facility, hoping to arrive in time for late afternoon tea or cocoa.

Occasionally guests who are attracted to a location will stay around a few days to study alpine flowers or geology, or simply to rest and take photographs. Light lunches -- soup and sandwiches -- can be bought at the huts.

The hut at Zealand Falls, located next to a cascading mountain stream, is a particular favorite of long-termers. Although located in remote Zealand Notch, its wooded approach trail is mostly level except for the last half-mile ascent from the floor of a ravine.

Three mountain huts are entirely above timberline. Thus exposed, they can be subject to high winds and driving rains. At more than 5,000 feet above sea level, Lakes-of-the-Clouds, in a stony col between Mount Monroe and the summit of Mount Washington, is the highest of all. Madison Spring and Greenleaf are also above timberline, at 4,000-plus feet.

The others -- Galehead, Mizpah Springs, Carter Notch, Zealand Falls and Lonesome Lake -- are all deep in New Hampshire woods, with Galehead (accommodating 36 persons) 4.5 miles from the highway, the most isolated.

In the spring before June openings (although parts of most huts are now kept open solely for refuge during winter months), helicopters transport supplies, but once the huts are open for the summer season, fresh food is carried up by the crew in backpacks. It's sweaty uphill work, but it frees the recreational hiker from carrying any food beyond a trail lunch.

There's one exception to the uphill packing. Supplies for Lakes-of-the-Clouds hut are trucked to the summit of Mount Washington, 6,288 feet above sea level, then packed downhill over a rocky path.

Hut crews are largely composed of college men and women. Most of them love hiking and the mountains, a prerequisite (besides good health) for these strenuous summer jobs. Often crew members are knowledgeable enough about birds or alpine flora to give after-supper talks. Informality exists between crew and guest.

Because these huts are run by the non-profit, Boston-based, Appalachian Mountain Club, many people assume that the public is not welcome. Untrue. Club members don't even have a priority.

Only a medium-sized knapsack is necessary to traverse the huts. Huge packframes suitable for backpacking are not needed. However, severe weather with gale winds and low temperatures can be encountered even in the summer, so a sweater and rainwear are appropriate. Every year unprepared hikers run into trouble.

Personally, I like to carry a change of clothing, wool socks, a ski cap, a lightweight Gore-Tex poncho with a drawstring waist, and a pair of espadrilles for the hut. I always carry a compass and the latest AMC White Mountain Guide, with maps and detailed descriptions of the mountain trails and suggested times it takes to cover distances.

I depend on the huts for my evening reading material, although sometimes this runs toward copies of old mountaineering journals.

For hiking between these huts carrying only a light pack, so-called "waffle-stomper" shoes are perfectly adequate, if not waterproof.

The most dramatic part of the Appalachian Trail coincides for about 40 miles with White Mountain trails linking these huts, especially in the Presidential Range.

Many patrons of the AMC hut system are families, for hiking is growing as a family sport. In August a hiker may encounter summer camp troops of 30 or so, headed for Lakes-of-the-Clouds.

For first-timers unsure of their hiking ability or hesitant about staying in a bunkhouse environment, an overnight "sampler" to Lonesome Lake, Mizpah Spring Hut or Zealand Falls Hut -- all wooded hikes in from the highway -- might be a good introduction to the chain of huts.

-- Arthur S. Harris Jr. is a freelance writer who lives in Arlington, Vt.

If you go

The full-service (lodging, breakfast, supper) rates for the mountain huts for 2000 were: adults, $64; children, $42. These were rates for peak periods: Saturdays, holidays and the month of August.

The rates at Pinkham Notch Lodge on Highway 16 at the base of Mount Washington are slightly less. Many facilities are open well into the fall; some close earlier. Most special diets (especially vegetarian) can be accommodated.

The AMC Hiker Shuttle Van Service was available to and from trailheads this summer. (Pinkham Notch Visitor Center is at a trailhead.) Thus, hikers may park a car at one location, hike the mountains and take the van service days later back to the parked car.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: A brochure describing the Appalachian Mountain Club system is available from AMC, Box 298, Gorham, N.H. 03581. Reservations are also made there, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at (603) 466-2727; fax (603) 466-3871, Monday-Saturday. AMC's Web site is http://www.outdoors.org; hut reservations and availability are online.

The club publishes the AMC White Mountain Guide ($21.95 plus $4.50 postage) and other area hiking guides. To order, call (800) 262-4455, or write AMC Mail Order, Box 298, Gorham, N.H. 03581; fax (603) 466-3871.

Inquiries concerning membership in the club can be directed to the office at 5 Joy St., Boston, MA 02108. Members receive a small discount on lodgings, meals and various publications.

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