Whitewall Mountain From The East

[DayTrip]

Has anyone here ever bushwhacked Whitewall Mountain in NH from the East/Southeast? I've only done once and went up the slide and out to the North. From what I've read in other reports this seems to be the typical way to do it. Was thinking of trying by coming up off Ethan Pond Trail. The satellite imagery shows a lot of open patches in the woods that make it seem like a reasonable route to zig zag up the steeper slopes using these patches and then cut over to the flat summit area. Looks like a pond or marsh area too that could have cool views South and it looks fairly straight forward to follow that river to it.

Curious if anyone has tried it from this side and has any feedback on the way they did it.

 

[JustJoe]

A couple friends descended down the east side and said it was great woods. I thought Steve Smith had done it within the last couple years but couldn't find his blog report. Did find this older one from 1HappyHiker. https://1happyhiker.blogspot.com/search?q=whitewall+mountain

 

[DayTrip]

Thanks. He didn't discuss his descent much so I guess it wasn't too eventful (which I assume means not too bad).

 

[Salty]

A couple friends descended down the east side and said it was great woods.

I'm a guessin' one of those was me. Just to clarify, we went southeast off of the ledges and other than hitting a wall of spruce (from which we backtracked a bit), it was indeed a very short distance to open woods, though (as you noted) steep.

 

[DayTrip]

I'm a guessin' one of those was me. Just to clarify, we went southeast off of the ledges and other than hitting a wall of spruce (from which we backtracked a bit), it was indeed a very short distance to open woods, though (as you noted) steep.

Cool. There is definitely a band of thick trees that looks to be about 1/4 mile or so but with the open areas above and below this spot it seems like a pretty viable route. Thanks for the info.

 

[JustJoe]

I'm a guessin' one of those was me.

Yes, I was referring to you and Greg.

 

[NHClimber]

I've only gone up and down the west slide. Coming from the east/southeast would be something different to try.

 

[Steve-o]

I have done it from the south from Ethan Pond trail following the drainage.
I don't recall it being that bad. Lots of hobblebush which has a way of wrapping itself around you but, not too bad.

I have also done it from the east after whacking to SW Field.
It was a little more challenging that way and we ended up aborting to the north after reaching the pond due to dwindling sunlight.
I have yet to do the slide but, it's on my list.
Awesome peak !

 

[DayTrip]

up aborting to the north after reaching the pond due to dwindling sunlight.
I have yet to do the slide but, it's on my list.
Awesome peak !

It is a phenomenal peak. Wanted to do an overnight up there for awhile now, especially during peak foliage. The slide is a fun hike but it is quite "lively" and I don't want to use it to go up/down with a full overnight pack.

 

[TEO]

I, too, have done Whitewall from the South. My recollection is that it was relatively pleasant. From what I've heard, it sounded much easier than approaching it from the East. The North side is a massive birch glade with relatively thick hobblebush to grab your legs. I followed the moose paths as best I could.

 

[DayTrip]

I, too, have done Whitewall from the South. My recollection is that it was relatively pleasant. From what I've heard, it sounded much easier than approaching it from the East. The North side is a massive birch glade with relatively thick hobblebush to grab your legs. I followed the moose paths as best I could.

That birch glade to the North is awesome/horrible. I did it during foliage season so leaves were turning yellow on trees, the hobble bush was red and the white of the birch bark made for stunning scenery. But those moose paths didn't always go in the right direction and the head high hobble bush got pretty stale after awhile. That is a huge glade.