Tag Archives: winter tent camping

Winter Camping on Mt Washington – Deep Snow, Below Zero

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Backpacking & Winter Camping on the side of Mount Washington.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

For this adventure, I headed back up to the White Mountains of New Hampshire to do some snow camping and make another attempt at doing a Mt Washington winter ascent for some frozen views of the Presidential Range.  I tried this about a year ago, but a stomach bug and 85 MPH winds kind of put a damper on things.  This time around, I also brought a hiking partner, Frank.  We’ve done several winter trips together so far, but this would be his first time in the White Mountains.

Similar to last year’s trip, the plan was to set up a base camp at higher elevation, followed by a lighter weight trek up to the top of Mount Washington if weather conditions and visibility were agreeable. If the conditions were questionable, we made a back-up plan to scurry up the side of the nearer Mt Monroe.  And of course, if the weather really got bad, we would just play it safe and stay below tree line.

Trailhead Used: Ammonoosuc Ravine Trailhead
44°16’01.2″N 71°21’40.7″W
Base Station Rd, Jefferson, NH 03538

This is a large parking lot with room for many vehicles.  A parking fee of $5 dollars per day or an annual National Park pass is required.

Trails Used

  • Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail
  • Appalachian Trail (Crawford Path)
  • Mt Monroe Loop Trail

Campsite

  • Camp along Ammonoosuc Trail 44.26398, -71.32182
    • This was a small unofficial campsite located in a hollowed out spot not too far before entering the Lakes of the Clouds Forest Protection Zone.

Notable Backpacking Gear

Camera and Nav Gear used for this episode

Snow Storm at Dawn – Winter Camping on North Fork Mountain

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Winter Camping in a Snow Storm on North Fork Mountain, West Virginia.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

For this winter backpacking trip, we set out to do some overnight camping in the Monongahela National Forest by an awesome vista known as Chimney Top during the last week of January.  The weather forecast showed the potential for a snow storm to land some time between the first night and the morning of the next day, so we decided to keep our mileage fairly low and laid back. Temperatures were projected to be fairly steady in the low to mid 20’s Fahrenheit.

Our initial climb up to the ridge would require a gross elevation gain of roughly 2,000 feet over the course of two miles.  Once we got to the ridge, we would be afforded with seemingly endless mountain views overlooking the Potomac River, New Creek Mountain, and Dolly Sods in the distance.  After following the ridge for a while we would start to look for campsite opportunities.

Besides the quick elevation gain, our main challenge on this trip would be water.  There is only one semi reliable water source on the entire 25 mile length of the North Fork Trail, and it’s located right around the half way point at 12.5 miles.  We wouldn’t be going that far, so we would have to pack in all of our water for drinking and cooking. If the snow storm had hit prior to our arrival, we would have had the advantage of melting snow. With the ground dry and free of snow upon our arrival, we decided to pack in 1 gallon (4 liters) of water per person.

For shelter, Frank and James went with tent camping in individual tents, while I chose to go with a hammock camping setup.  With this mix of shelters, we hoped to be able to find a decent spot to camp on the ridge with some nice mountain views.

Route Overview – North Fork Mountain Trail Chimney Top – Sintax77

No permit is required to backcountry camp in the Monongahela National Forest.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

Trailhead Used: North Fork Mountain Trailhead, Northern End
38°58’53.0″N 79°13’53.8″W
Smoke Hole Rd, Cabins, WV 26855

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