Galehead Mountain via Gale River Trail
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Galehead Mountain Hike Overview
Galehead Mountain (4,024’) is one of the shortest 4,000 footers in New Hampshire, sitting just north of Franconia Notch. The summit of Galehead Mountain is wooded, but there are a few viewpoints that offer views of the surrounding mountains.
Trail Details
Trail: Gale River Trail > Frost Trail
Length: 10.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,500 feet
My Trail Time: 4:45 hours hiking; 5 hours total
Hike Overview
The most popular way to hike to Galehead Mountain is via Gale River Trail. Although it is a longer hike, the elevation gain is gradual along most of the trail. The steepest section is just before the summit.
Although the summit does not have views, the trail has a few viewpoints. The best, in my opinion, are at Galehead Hut.
Galehead Mountain Hike via Gale River Trail Guide
June 27, 2020
**Always remember to leave no trace. It is crucial to pack out what you pack in and throw away your trash properly.
Galehead Mountain is usually hiked using the Gale River Trail because it is the most direct route. Galehead Mountain can also be hiked with Mount Garfield or South and North Twin Mountains, but since I had already hiked all of those mountains, we were only hiking to Galehead Mountain
Alex and I began the hike to Galehead Mountain at 8:00 AM on a hot and humid Saturday morning. This was Meadow’s first 4,000 footers hike, and she was ready to go! The first section of Gale River Trail is very easy with minimal elevation gain. It was a great warmup for the hike! Most of the trail ran along Gale River, which offered peaceful sounds for our hike. The trail used to cross Gale River several times, but due to a washout and hiker safety, Gale River Trail was relocated to avoid all but one river crossing. The river crossing was pretty easy to rock hop, but we hiked during a drought. I have heard that the river crossing can be very difficult to cross in springtime after snowmelt or a long period of rain.
After crossing Gale River, we began to start our elevation gain up Gale River Trail. There were several other small stream crossings, but most were easy to jump over or had a wooden bridge to use. Gale River Trail soon started to increase the elevation gain, and we began to swear A LOT. The humidity was not letting up, so we were really hot during the elevation gain. Most of Gale River Trail had rocks to help with the elevation gain, but it was still difficult in the heat.
After four miles, Gale River Trail reaches a junction with Garfield Ridge Trail and the Appalachian Trail. We continued on Gale River Trail towards Galehead Hut. This stretch of Gale River Trail was steep and rocky but ended quickly as we arrived at Galehead Hut. We took a short break to take in the views from Galehead Hut looking over the Pemigewasset Wilderness before continuing on Frost Trail for the last 0.5 miles to the summit of Galehead Mountain.
Frost Trail descended before the ascent to Galehead Mountain began. The final push to Galehead Mountain’s summit was tough and steep. There was one lookout which offered views of Galehead Hut. We knew we made it to the summit when we saw a rock cairn waiting for us. We arrived at Galehead Mountain’s summit at 10:30 AM and took a quick break before heading back down Frost Trail towards Galehead Hut.
The descent down Frost Trail went by quick, and before we knew it we were back at Galehead Hut! We needed to feed Meadow, but there were many dogs at the hut, so we continued on Gale River Trail and took a small break at the Garfield junction to let her eat. After she was done eating, we began the final descent down Gale River Trail.
The last four miles of Gale River Trail went by quickly and were very uneventful. We arrived back in the parking lot at 1:00 PM and saw a million beautiful butterflies! They were simply hanging out in the parking lot. It was beautiful!
The hike on Gale River Trail to Galehead Mountain was overall moderately difficult and uneventful. If it wasn’t so humid on the day we hiked, we probably would have enjoyed ourselves more since it was a very peaceful hike.
Have you hiked Galehead Mountain? Did you hike it with any other mountains?
Hey, I’m Nichole!
I am the creator behind Nichole the Nomad, the home of my explorations around the world, mountain hikes, and beautiful pictures taken along the way. I have a deep passion for capturing the world in a beautiful light and sharing my experiences.
I created this blog to share my travels, show how beautiful the world is, provide tips and tricks for traveling, and encourage you to explore. Whether you want to travel across the world or explore what’s in your backyard, I hope this blog inspires you to get outside and find your adventure!