Galehead Mt. - NH 4,000'er Series #44 of 48

To travel as many trails as possible, all over the world. 

New Hampshire, USA has 48 mountains over 4,000' (1,200 m) high.  Since 1957, the Appalachian Mountain Club has awarded nearly 10,000 hikers admission to the AMC Four Thousand Footer Club for climbing all 48 peaks in a lifetime.

Galehead Mt. (4,024' or 1,226 m) is the western-most peak of the Twin Mountain range.  It is bordered by Garfield Ridge on the west.  The name comes from the nearby Gale River, a tributary of the Ammonoosuc River, which empties in the Connecticut River.  Apparently, the Gale family lived in the area in the mid-1800's.  Galehead is just a wooded bump dwarfed by nearby South Twin (4,902').  It counts as a 4,000'er because the col between them gives a 400' climb to the Galehead summit.  Nearby is the Appalachian Trail and the AMC-run Galehead Hut.  Hikers can spend the night at the hut, which features a wheelchair ramp to be compliant with the American with Disabilities Act.  This was required when the hut was rebuilt in 2000.  

The most common dayhiking route is to take the Gale River Trail to the Garfield Ridge Trail, to Galehead Hut.  The short Frost Trail then leads to the Galehead summit.  This ends up being a hike of 10.2 miles roundtrip with 2,450' of climb.  One stream crossing is difficult at high water, and the final section of the Gale River Trail is rough and rocky.  There are several other approaches.  You can hike up or down from Mt. Garfield on the Garfield Ridge Trail (a portion of the Appalachian Trail).  This is a roundtrip of 13.7 miles.  You can also add the summit of South Twin using the Twinway (a portion of the Applachian Trail), which includes an elevation change of 800' in 0.8 miles, and a total hike of 11.8 miles.  Makes you wonder about the logic of including the wheelchair ramp, doesn't it?