Experience White Mountains

Sailors approaching East Coast harbors frequently mistake the pale peaks of the White Mountains -- the highest range in the northeastern United States -- for clouds. It was 1642 when explorer Darby Field could no longer contain his curiosity about one mountain in particular. He set off from his Exeter homestead and became the first man to climb what would eventually be called Mt. Washington. The 6,288-ft peak must have presented Field with formidable obstacles -- its peak claims the highest wind velocity ever recorded and it can see snow every month of the year.

More than 350 years after Field's climb, curiosity about the mountains has not abated. Today, an auto road and a railway lead to the top of Mt. Washington, and people come here by the tens of thousands to hike and climb, to photograph the vistas, and to ski. The White Mountain National Forest consists of roughly 770,000 acres and includes the Presidential Range, whose peaks -- like Mt. Washington -- are all named after early presidents. Among the forest's scenic notches (deep mountain passes) are Pinkham, Franconia, and Crawford.