Hiking challenges are not for everyone and that’s ok. There’s no one way to hike. “Hike your own hike” as they say, but for those that love a structured goal or are seeking a new, fun challenge, one of NH’s many hiking accolades could be for you.
48 4000 footers
The list of 4000 footers originated in 1931 by the hand of a Dartmouth College Librarian, Nathaniel L. Goodrich. He was an avid hiker and AMC trailman and enumerated in an issue of Appalachia a list of 36 mountains over 4000 feet that he had climbed. The original list, just as the modern one today, also specified a few requirements of the mountains which appeared on the list such as the prominence rule which outlined that a qualifying peak must rise 300 feet above any ridge or connection to a neighboring peak.
Edwin Scotcher proposed the creation of the Four Thousand Footer Club (FTFC) in 1957 to celebrate anyone who completed the list of peaks. The modern list which is maintained by the Appalachian Mountain Club now specified a qualifying peak must have 200 feet of prominence over neighboring peaks and expanded the list to 48 mountains.
Hikers who wish to complete the 48 and gain recognition for their peakbagging efforts should firstly make sure they are working off of the correct, most up to date list by visiting the official AMC site for the group at amc4000footer.org. From there, you must keep track of the date on which you hiked each mountain and provide a brief note on who you hiked it with and / or some brief comments on the trail. The return address is listed on the bottom of the form. From there it’s a waiting game. It can take several months to get your official 4k footer patch back in the mail and with that comes an invitation to a banquet for the newly minted FTFC members.
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Winter 48 4k Footers
For hikers that want to kick it up a notch and are already members of the FTFC, you can apply for a special Winter award if you complete all 48 peaks in the official winter season, roughly December 21 to March 20 but more precisely defined by the exact times of the winter solstice and spring equinox. The first people to obtain recognition for completing and inventing this challenge were Miriam and Robert Underhill in 1960. They stipulate that the entire trip must begin and end in the official winter season.
The AMC does allow for peaks hiked during your initial submission for the FTFC during the winter season to count towards both lists and re-hiking a mountain that you already completed in the winter season is not necessary for submission for the winter award.
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52 with a view
The list of 52 NH mountains, all below 4000 feet is a relatively newer list to the NH hiking scene. It created in 1990 by the Over the Hills Hiker group in part to be a complement to the White Mountain 48 list to add up to a neat 100 NH mountains. The list of 52 mountains with a view all, as the name suggests, have great views along the way or at their summits. They stand taller than 2500 feet and less than 4000. These mountains can be found all around the state and are not limited to the official area of the White Mountain National Forest. The Over the Hills Hikers offers an official patch to anyone who completes and submits for recognition of this feat.
New England 67
There are 67 mountains in New England over 4000 feet and which meet the prominence requirements in relation to neighboring peaks. Hiking them all will earn you recognition by the AMC and a patch of course as well. NH has the most to hike at 48, followed by Maine with 14, and Vermont with 5.
Northeastern 111
The Northeastern 111 is another list recognized by the AMC. It expands upon the NE 67 by including the 46 4k footers in NY which are primarily located in the Adirondacks with a few as well in the Catskills.
Redlining
The term Redlining in the hiking community means completing every marked trail in a map area and not just bagging a list of peaks. That is if there are 4 routes up a mountain then all 4 must be hiked. Redlining in NH typically refers to completing all trails marked in the official AMC White Mountains Guide although it can technically be a term to refer to completing all trails in any bounded map area.
The Grid
The Grid is perhaps the most prestigious of all NH hiking challenges. It is a feat which entails hiking all listed 48 NH 4k footers, each month of the year, totalling up to 576 peaks. Only 168 people have done it with the first occurring in 1989 and the second years later in 2002. The group which keeps track and hands out the coveted patch is called 48×12 and more information can be found at 48×12.com
Direttissima
The White Mountains Direttissima entails hiking all 48 4k footers in one continuous route. It involves at the very least dropping a car, two or more overnights in a tent, and a whole lot of endurance.
The Wild East 