At least I think it is. Let’s just say I’ve always had great luck on Pierce. And I’m not just saying that because it’s named after the only U.S. President to come from New Hampshire. Nope. I’m saying it because the trail up always runs well for me, and I’ve always had incredible views from its summit. The best, really.
It also helps that the AMC’s Mizpah Hut is within a reasonable hike from the summit. If you’re staying the night at the hut, this is extremely advantageous because you can ditch your heavy stuff there and make your way for a sunset ascent. You can do that even if you’re not staying at the hut. And as long as you have a headlamp to navigate your way back down, you can enjoy one of the most beautiful scenes New Hampshire has to offer without worrying about finding your way back. Let me steer you to Exhibit A:
Sunset Hike
I’ve been putting together some peak lists lately and realized that a lot of my pictures are sitting in Google Photos, rotting away. Because I put Pierce at the top of my favorite 4000-footers list, I thought I should dig up some of them so that I could show Pierce off. If I don’t share them, what else am I going to do with them?
The photos in this post came from a hike a few years back, in what might be my favorite hike I’ve ever done in New Hampshire. It was a father-daughter trip, and after checking in at Mizpah we headed up to Mount Pierce to take in the sunset view. The weather was beautiful and we had the peak all to ourselves for a good hour. Towards the end of our time there, a few of the AMC Hut Crew joined us as the sun went all the way down. It felt like the five of us were sharing a secret the world didn’t know about.
Waiting for Moonrise
It was hard to leave. Getting to share a special hike with one of your kids is definitely in the top ten experiences you can have with them. Probably in the top five. It creates a special bond because you shared the struggle up together before sharing in the beautiful reward. It’s magical stuff.
After letting the AMC Crew leave before us, we lingered, trying to capture some good shots of the moon before heading down. My daughter is into photography as well, which is yet another wonderful thing to get to share. After goofing around with the settings on our phones and cameras for a bit, we headed back down the trail half a mile to the hut. It was so easy. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the best night of sleep because one of the guests in the neighboring room was sawing logs loud enough to make the walls vibrate, but we got to share a laugh over that as well.
She should have probably taken this photo though—she could certainly teach me a few things.
New Hampshire’s 4000-Footers
I’ve climbed all over the country, but New Hampshire’s mountains hold a special place in my heart. (I guess that’s probably obvious since I wrote a book about them.) Now that I’m making a daily habit of adding posts to this site, I’ll try and dig up some more photos of New Hampshire’s mountains to share. I’m hoping to get a full repository going so that hikers making plans can see what to expect before they go. And if they’re not going, the pictures are still dang pretty to look at, aren’t they? For more stories and photos, head over to In the Mountains.
Mount Pierce: Definitely on the “return-to” list.