Our 13th Annual Mount Washington Hike for Mental Health is right around the corner! Thank you all so much for taking part and doing such a wonderful job fundraising. You’re really incredible people, and we’re so excited to make this trek with all of you!

We want to go over a few important details as well…

Getting Started on the Hike

The hike on Saturday, August 24 will start with registration at a lower parking lot of the Cog Railway, off Base Road. Look for the HFMH Parking sign as you enter the area. Click here for directions.

If you plan to park a car, bring $10 for the parking fee and validate your parking tag at hike check-in. If you do not get the HFMH parking validation, the facility will charge their normal parking rate of $10 PER PERSON and will tow your car while you are hiking if it wasn’t paid in full.

The hike will start at 7:00 AM. Registration will start at 6:15 AM and will take approximately 10 minutes so please arrive no later than 6:30 AM. Everyone will receive a free HIKE for Mental Health bandana. If you purchased a Paint the Cog Orange Cog ticket from us for your ride down, you will receive that as well. If you have raised $250 or more on your hike page, you will also receive a free HIKE for Mental Health hiking shirt. Other HFMH merch will be available for purchase.

After registration, we will offer quick individual and group photo opportunities prior to your departure for Jewell Trail. You will be released to begin your hike once you are checked in. Here are links to a printable trail map and a trail guide. We will also have some hike leaders available so if you want to ascend with a leader, we will direct to where to wait.

Arriving at the Summit

Due to different hiking speeds, hikers will reach the summit at different times. Please check-in with our volunteer on Summit when you arrive, and check-out with them when you start your descent. It helps to know when/where everyone is.

And remember, this is not a race. Proceed at a hiking pace and hike with others that maintain a pace comfortable for you. We have excellent hike leaders and experienced sweep hikers to make sure everyone arrives at the summit safely. We will also have a volunteer stationed near tree-line to monitor hiking pace; if she advises you that based on your pace it would be unsafe to attempt to proceed to the summit, please heed her advice.

Important: if you purchased a Cog ticket in order to ride down with our group, you MUST turn around if our volunteer so advises you. Your pace will not allow you to reach the summit before the Cog descends and you will have no option but to hike back down.

It is important to stay on the trail. Please do not follow the railway tracks down the mountain. Keep your children with you – you are responsible to maintain direct supervision of them at all times during the hike.

Concerned about hiking back down?

If you want to hike up but are concerned about the return hike down the mountain, there is an option. We have reserved an entire car on the Cog Railroad. You must purchase your round-trip ticket in advance online from this link: https://www.hikeformentalhealth.org/paint-the-cog-orange/. Seats are limited so don’t wait if you want to avail yourself of this option. UPDATE: these tickets are sold out.

Take and Share Photos

Share your photos with us after the hike. There are several ways to do so. You can upload them to our Hike for Mental Health Summit Mt Washington Team Facebook group, or you can tag us on Facebook or Instagram @Summit Mt Washington or use the hashtag #summitmtwashington in any of your public posts. We would love to see all of your pictures of the day!!!

Click here to join the Hike for Mental Health Summit Mt Washington Team, if you have not already done so.

Making Your Descent Back to Base Station

There are many ways to return to the parking lot at Base Station, including hiking, via the cog, or the hiker shuttle.

Hiking Down

If you are hiking down, you should begin to make your way down the mountain no later than 1 PM. Most of the group should be back to the starting point by around 4:30-5:30 PM. If you arrive at the summit after 1:00 PM, we recommend one of the other two options for returning to the parking lot. This is due to the likelihood you would not complete the descent before dark. Getting caught on the mountain after dark is not recommended! Please be aware – the Cog does NOT guarantee there will be one-way seat available to get your down (hence our note above about purchasing a roundtrip in advance with us in advance), and the last steamer train will depart around 4:30 PM. There is a fee (approximately $50 but bring extra – price subject to change).

Mt Washington Cog Railway

Hike for Mental Health has reserved an entire car on the Cog Railroad. You must purchase your round-trip ticket in advance online from this link. Seats are limited so don’t wait if you want to avail yourself of this option. Our summit departure time is 2pm. UPDATE: These seats are sold out.

You also can reach out to the Mt Washington Cog Railway directly to purchase tickets (or request further information) from them. Do not mention you are purchasing tickets for our event, as the Cog has stated this will confuse their ticket specialists. You would purchase these as an individual customer at their full (round trip, or one-way) prices.

Please be aware – the Cog does NOT guarantee there will be one-way seat available to get your down (hence our note above about purchasing a roundtrip in advance with us in advance) , and the last steamer train will depart around 4:30 PM. There is a fee (approximately $50 but bring extra – price subject to change).

Hiker Shuttle

If the Cog is fully booked (all the folks who ride up have to be able to get down so if the train are sold out going up, there will no available one-way seats going down) , a Hiker Shuttle Service is also available. The Hiker Shuttle runs from approximately 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM daily, weather permitting. On busy days – which are most summer weekends – they stay open until 6PM. One-way tickets are $55 and can be purchased at the Summit Stage Office. After 5:00 PM ticket prices increase to $75. Dogs are permitted on descent for $20. Shuttle price includes transportation to the Base of the Auto Road, AMC Pinkham Notch Camp, or Great Gulf Trailhead; but not back to the COG Railroad Parking lot. Fortunately, our absolutely awesome volunteer Joanne has generously offered to pick up hikers at one of these locations and drive them back to their automobiles at Cog Railway, but you MUST check-in with our volunteer on the summit if you want to avail yourself of this option. This is about a one-hour drive so we will implement this option only if necessary. If you have any questions about the Hiker Shuttle, visit their website.

What to bring

Clothing

The weather on Mt. Washington can be VERY unpredictable. While the temperature for the start of the hike at the bottom of the mountain will be similar to our normal daily temp’s, the average temperature at the top of Mt. Washington in August is only in the 40’s with 24 mph winds. The temp has varied from a low of 20° F to a high of 72° F – in August. It can rain and snow – yes, snow – as well.

We are hoping for a totally gorgeous day, but BE PREPARED. Dress in layers. At a minimum, bring:

• a warm under-layer (not cotton)
• comfortable, loose outer clothing, and
• a waterproof shell or windbreaker
• a wool or synthetic sweater, a warm hat (think winter), and light gloves
• good walking/hiking shoes or boots (unless you are one of the brave barefoot hikers!)

Depending on weather, you may not need everything listed, but as I said, you can’t depend on the weather. The day can start out beautiful and turn challenging very fast.

Food & water

• Bring at least 1 quart of water for the hike. If it is a hot day, you may want a second quart. You can refill water bottles at the top.
• Bring a couple easy-to-digest energy snacks for the hike up and down. Tom prefers items wrapped in bacon and dipped in chocolate but we cannot recommend that approach.
• For lunch at the top, you can either bring a lunch with you, or bring money to buy food at the cafeteria which is part of the weather observatory there. There is not a lot of variety but they usually have hearty soups, hot dogs, chili, sandwiches, and the like.

Other items you may want to consider

Try not to bring too much other weight unless you are accustomed to hiking with a pack. After all, it is all uphill, so no sense in lugging extra weight. Having said that, a few items you may want to consider are:

• cell phone / camera
• personal first aid supplies – aspirin, band-aids (we will have a group first aid kit on the hike)
• sun screen
• trekking poles or hiking sticks

After the Hike

Please feel free to join us for free refreshments and a post hike celebration in the Cog parking lot when you’ve finished the hike. We want to hear all about your adventure!

Hikers staying at the Twin Mountain KOA Campground

Suzanne and Dana are staying in Rustic Cabin #3. Mark Langdon  and John Henry will be in Rustic Cabin #4.

Be sure not to miss the pancake breakfast at the main lodge Sunday morning from 8:30-9:30am. It costs $5 a person and it’s worth it! KOA checkout is at 11:00 AM.

Again, Mark, Dana and Suzanne will be staying at the KOA, arriving by the evening before the hike. Please feel free to call or text with questions or concerns. Thanks so much everyone! Thank you for being part of the hike and for helping raise $$$ and awareness to help eliminate the suffering from mental illness and the stigma that surrounds it. Let’s make this a super fun weekend & a hike to remember!!