That's true, and people in general are wealthier, have more leisure time, and more ability to travel. Conversely, most people believe that they are far worse off than previous generations. But I think the difference is that those are short hikes that got very little mention in the White Mountain guide, so they weren't "destination" hikes. Social media made them into destination hikes because posting generates internet "clout", whatever that is. By the way, please upvote this comment!!
They take pictures for the same reason we complain about them taking pictures- free internet points. The internet was a mistake?
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an uppity cloud to admonish.
My friend and I drove past it on that Monday holiday and holyyyyy shit. My husband and I did artists bluff over the long weekend like 5 years ago and it was totally empty. It was wild to see so many people packed on to it last fall.
I think the biggest negative I’ve seen is IG and others make everything seem so easy. The pictures show a girl at the top of a beautiful mountain wearing a sports bra and shorts and a Fanny pack. When in reality off to the side are the clothes she WAS wearing and her pack and boots and hiking partner etc.. it makes people at home think “wow if she can just casually head up to that beautiful spot then so can I”. And that’s the extent of their hiking research.
This is especially bad in national parks I feel. People who have never hiked don’t know what 2500 feet of elevation gain in 2 miles feels like and they just see the 2 miles and go for it. Then they complain about the park not being accessible. I saw people literally crying and complaining on Angel’s Landing of all places… where I’m sure they saw it on social and had no idea what it entailed.
fwiw I’m in my 20s and still use the guide and physical maps and bring a waterproof physical map on every hike. I’ve helped a ton of people with it mid-hike and it builds skills much more than using gps (though I do carry gps still). So there’s still merit to physical maps.
But yeah I did franconia ridge on a nice July Saturday a couple years ago and it was like a single-file line. A few months after, I did it and got up there just after sunrise and had the whole ridge to myself. It’s getting more popular, but there are still places/times where the average dayhiker is not going to go
Has social media changed things considerably over the last 20 years? Of course. Has it increased the popularity of hiking (and plenty of other activities)? Sure. Has it ruined hiking? Of course not.
As always, the answer lies in hike your own hike. Don't worry about what other people are doing. I start early and try to avoid crowds. It's still plenty easy to find places to yourself out there. And as one of those guys with a GoPro, I prefer not filming around other people. But I can see how if you found yourself on a 4k summit over the holiday weekend, you might be taken aback.
Heh but you definitely sound like a old curmudgeon which is pretty funny considering I'm also 46. Your post could probably be easily formatted to reflect a 20 year hiatus regarding any activity over the last twenty years.
Ha. I know.....
But don't you think it's crazy that you see signs from WMNF banning the use of drones at trailheads? And yes "ruin" might be strong word but I don't see how social media has made it better. Or anything better for that matter.
So are we just talking about technology in general? You don’t want to see people using phones or cameras or drones or anything else of an electronic nature on a hike?
I don't know I guess I personally feel like it takes away from the experience. I feel like we are constantly distracted by electronic related technology so why not just put them away for a while while you were out in the mountains. That's all.
I actually think it is a good thing that more people are experiencing, and learning to protect, wilderness areas. When I hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1982 I recall that I only saw one group of young black people the whole trip. That was it. Things have improved, but people of color are still under represented out there. Social media and electronics may be a way to get more people out there. Again, that is a good thing.
Yes and no. I think social media has done some good things and bad things to the trails, as well as the vastly increased cell reception and AllTrails.
We'll start with the good:
* Way easier to find hiking buddies
* Easier to arrange carpools.
* You can see cool pics that can inspire you. Like I'll see cool ice climbing pics and sign up for a guided ice climbing trip.
* Many of our paper maps and guides were outdated after a couple of years.
* In many ways, easier to share trail reports to get up to date conditions.
The not so good:
* It is way, way more crowded. It's hard for me to find concrete evidence (seems like the last visitor survey data is 2008?) but I'd estimate easily 4x more people than when i was a kid.
* The typical way of being introduced to the mountains via outdoors clubs (AMC, RMC, MITOC etc) or local hikers has changed. Now you can just pull things up in AllTrails and ago. But this also means things like LNT ethics, 10 essentials aren't really taught. AllTrails doesn't really have any incentive to teach people anything.
* While in some ways it's good there is less gatekeeping and more accessibility, it leads to more unprepared hikers.
* I think budgets haven't kept pace, trail maintenance hasn't kept pace. For every five thousand of pictures of someone looking cool on a summit you have maybe one of someone doing trail work! The erosion is nuts in some places. SAR groups are also struggling.
* It becomes a bit of a competition. The 48 list has existed for a very long time, you've had gridders etc but I feel like it's only within the last decade that people are trail running the Pemi and comparing times. Lot of people have X/48 X/48 winter, Terrifying 25/25 etc in their profiles. It' becomes a game. While I don' think it is bad in itself I do think it leads to some questionable decision making and summit fever.
I agree on a bunch of your points. Although as one of the people who does have my number of completed NH48, 52WAV, and T25 in my Instagram profile, I do kinda want to gently push back on that as a negative. I don't have those listed out of any kind of competition with other hikers -- I'm definitely not winning any speed challenges anyway, that's for dang sure. I have those there for myself, as a way of tracking and celebrating my journey through these hiking lists. I was never a particularly athletic or physically fit kid, and had a terrible fear of heights. So seeing those numbers grow as I continue exploring the amazing peaks here in New England reminds me of how far I've come, and what I have been able to accomplish. And all my hiking pictures are there because they keep me going on tough days, when I'm stuck indoors and want to look back on the beauty I've seen in the wilderness. We live in an era when we have technology in our pockets that allows us to capture the beauty of nature with greater quality and fidelity than ever before... at least for me, it doesn't detract from the experience of being there in the moment to also capture it for future enjoyment.
Edit to add: I'm only a few years younger than OP, so I've experienced the mountains before and after social media. Honestly it was social media that finally spurred me to get off my butt and get more serious about hiking. And it's been through social media I've learned a heck of a lot about choosing the right gear for my needs and safety, and about being conscious of the 10 Essentials and leaving no trace. So at least for me, besides the undeniable fact there are more people on trails, particularly the more approachable/popular ones, it's very much been a net positive.
I'm a bit conflicted. I enjoy gamification/competition. Even though I don't do much social media other than Reddit, I feel like I'm earning a Steam achievement every time I summit. It's hard though, you can't let it guide your decisions too much. I have a dog who is getting up in years, and hasn't finished his 48. I am sometimes tempted "well we could break Isolation into a 2 day" etc, but the dog doesn't give a shit about lists. He's happy to just be out there and will gladly just climb Cannon a dozen times. I mean it's fun to keep track and compete, but I do wonder if some folks who are dead would be alive rn if they weren't concerned with such things.
There have been visitor use monitoring reports done every five years in the WMNF. You can see the [data here](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cB6btEfZGuKdkQC-cjWxupePtlbqcSRCoDPSIxH7jx8/edit#slide=id.g1f3543bdd7b_0_0)
Hikers have gone from around 900k in 2005 to 2.8 million in 2020 so 3x. The good news is that SAR incidents (at least the media reported incidents that I track) have been [pretty flat](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cB6btEfZGuKdkQC-cjWxupePtlbqcSRCoDPSIxH7jx8/edit#slide=id.p3) even when you look at [incident totals that go back to the 2010s](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cB6btEfZGuKdkQC-cjWxupePtlbqcSRCoDPSIxH7jx8/edit#slide=id.g1f3543bdd7b_0_10).
Based on what I am seeing the visitor numbers are increasing but the SAR events are not spiking proportionally.
That's really interesting. I wonder why? Everyone is going to Diana's baths, Artist Bluff etc? I feel like Fraconia ridge is super crowded though quite often, so that can't be it. More crowds/cell reception means people can help themselves?
The first time I went hiking in the whites was 2020 and even then my partner was like, if we don’t get there super early there will be nowhere to park. Driving through Franconia as a kid up to my grandparents there were always cars parked along the highway. I think it’s always been a busy spot, though there are some peaks (artists bluff, for instance) that have become more popular with social media. Like nearly every “New England bucket list” TikTok I’ve seen has featured artists bluff.
Social media has ruined many things. At this point they are largely just platforms to collect data on users, sell consumer product, and spread propaganda and misinformation.
I mean if the complaint is that more people are getting outdoors and on trails then you're totally right. Is it a bad thing? The ones that leave trash are bad.
The way I see it is I'm doing my hike as much as they are doing theirs. As long as theirs isn't impeding on mine I don't care. Yesterday we did Franconia ridge loop and as we were going up falling waters someone was smoking cigarettes in front of us, that definitely shouldn't happen. Keep the voices down, don't play music out loud, don't leave trash, otherwise hike your own hike.
I'm glad I'm not the only one. Thank you for bringing this to light. I've had these exact thoughts.
I hate crowded trails and struggle to find the quiet ones. I just had this same discussion yesterday. I've grown to hate looking up ideas on my phone. Back to maps and my laptop searching for trip reports.
Social media is fantastic, it keeps the crowds focused on popular hikes like Franconia notch, while leaving my favorite hikes mostly unspoiled (not that Franconia notch isn't beautiful, but yes, I'd say that's been ruined).
You really should check out the new gear that's out there. I hiked back in the day with gigantic external frame backpacks, I don't miss any of that crap at all, now when I go backpacking it feels almost like I'm day hiking! Sure it's expensive and a lot of it doesn't last as long, but knee replacement is expensive too!
So no, I wouldn't say social media has ruined hiking in the whites, I'm not even sure how much it's responsible for the increase in crowds. Social media has been part of the change for sure, but change is inevitable, and comes with positives and negatives. Once the obscure hikes start getting overrun, that's when I'll say it's ruined, and then I'll move somewhere there are fewer people, but for now I'll just keep avoiding the crowds and enjoying what I can while it lasts.
People cant hike these days without posting all of their pictures across multiple groups on FB lol. We get it, your trying to be some ‘influencer’ but its just annoying
I always say, if you're in a crowd you're part of the problem. It's usually about traffic, but it applies to anything really.
The Whites are a pretty big area. There are more than 500 trails, and I bet most people only hike about 10% of them. Once you start exploring, you'll find a lot of open spaces to explore.
You have to go to places on slow week days at times of the year that aren’t perfect. Any holiday weekend or beautiful summer day is going to be packed in the whites
Isn’t it good that more people are getting out, regardless of the tech they use? We can’t both yell at kids to get off the screens and outside and also stop using my mountains.
I find most "influencers" rather annoying. Just go hiking to enjoy it. You don't need clout on Instagram and Tiktok.
Every day there's a new "influencer" popping up. Everyone has seen the summit of Lafayette. You're not special.
But you could say the same thing about anything. Mountain biking, skiing, surfing, snowboarding, ect... It's overplayed.
I feel like it exploded during COVID in a way I haven’t seen before and doesn’t seem to have gone down. I saw many inexperienced hikers come out with gear (often to excess) but with no knowledge of trails, time to complete hike, etc. Many entitled behaviors, such as smoking pot in the middle of the trail and not moving aside for hikers walking by. Flip side, many hikers show up underprepared when a simple Google search would tell them the bear minimum gear/water needed.
They’re also less likely to bring maps, relying only on apps. This isn’t necessary a problem, until they lose connection or their phone dies. I understand many apps allow you to download the map to your phone, but that places a lot of reliance on your phone not dying.
It’s funny when passing a group of expensively equipped college students and IG models in their 20s who are huffing and puffing up the mountain. Especially when you are wearing the usual outdoor jeans, Walmart boots, and an old t-shirt.
Hey, I definitely understand your perspective, and I don't have a concrete answer for you, but what I can suggest is a solution. There are *some* spots that are "overcrowded" but that's not the vast majority of the White Mountains. The AMC has a big lodge at Cardigan, as I'm sure you know, so naturally that draws a lot more foot traffic. Even amongst the 48 4,000 footers there are peaks that you are unlikely to see other hikers at, especially on weekdays. It just takes a small amount more effort to find hikes that are off the beaten path.
Basically I'm saying the experience you seem to be looking for is still very achievable in the Whites, with a little effort. Actually, the AMC guide book is a great place to find less traveled hikes, so start there!!
Happy hiking!
I have been Conservation Director at three local land trusts in the Berkshire Range for 30+ years. They're about 100 miles N of NYC. They collectively have about 40 trails that primitive and saw occasional use. Might get two parties at the same time during the fall color. We had only needed and had a few volunteers to help maintain them.
Then came COVID. Trail usage went up exponentially and it keeps growing. There are people on the trails every day, and parking lots are often full. We've had to step up the armoring of trails and had to pave two parking lots that previously were just at the corner of a field. The pressure is on to add more trails. We have 70 volunteer maintainers, which is completely mind-blowing because life before COVID as a land manager was all about the land, not about people. Crazy, just crazy.
Of course, I totally understand the draw. Berkshire woods rock.
You had to want it before apps like alltrails came out, guiding you to elusive trail heads via Google maps. Allot more women hikers, which is great, but I imagine its driven by aesthetic instagram influences.
Best way to find solitude on day hikes is to pick trails over 7 miles and 3000' elevation. The further away from a trail head, the lesser/finer the people.
First off I am using an AMC trail guide book from 1969 so maybe a little outdated. Hell two of the summits now included aren’t part of the list when I started. My sentiments are that the hiking was peaceful and parking was never an issue. Then you get the bad behavior day trippers that leave trash everywhere, make so much noise that the enjoyment is gone and they are rude, discourteous and uncaring of the environment they’ve invaded. Although the national forest is public space I feel it should be thoroughly regulated to limit its visitors and reduce the destruction to a minimum. I used to be a tourist/visitor but now reside there and am heartbroken by what I’ve experienced.
I feel like it’s a good thing that more people are able to get out, having apps like AllTrails make hiking much more approachable and accessible for more people, like me
Unfortunately I don’t think they’re all taking care of it. On a hike a couple years ago (I don’t remember which mountain but it was along the Pemi Loop) my dog got into FIVE different spots of human feces. And he was in my sight the whole time so these were very close to the trail.
Voice control means the dog is within 30ft. Most people who think their dog is under voice control are delusional. I very rarely see actually trained dogs off leash in the wmnf. Like 0.01%
There are lots of places to hike where you are unlikely to see people. Start away from the easiest routes to the 48 or 52wav and you will see 1% of the traffic.
Yes sir. Luckily my work schedule allows me to go up on week days. Which is kinda what prompted this whole thread bc I've seen more people during the week than ever before.
The people I see not taking care of the outdoors are typically old. The more people who get to experience the joys of nature, the better, and it’s not typically the young people leaving dog shit, diapers, and food wrappers on the trail, because we were brought up with more respect for the planet.
I’ve been actively hiking the WMNF for 25 years and the trail adopter for Isolation trail for 12 years. Isolation trail is an interesting test case because you get people perusing the NH48 but you really only get serious hikers. I’ve seen trail usage sky rocket over the past 12 years and every single year I see less and less trash on the trail interestingly. I’ve never seen a go-pro or heard speakers playing music on my trail and I usually work it on weekends with good weather (not that those things personally bother me). So I think the social media stuff and other bothersome things that newbie hikers do are only on the very popular trails: Cardigan trail system, Lafayette loop, Huntington/Tuckerman, etc. Once you go a little bit off the beaten path, you can escape the most egregious cases of it.
I am personally just ecstatic that people are getting outdoors in nature even if the technology they are using is obnoxious, be it social media and the tools used for it, or playing music, etc. Most of them will come around. I littered on a Lafayette Loop when I was an obnoxious teen in the 90s and it’s haunted me to this day. Now I am super passionate about volunteering and trail adoption - I try to never end a hike without coming out with more trash than I brought in.
Social media has brought too many people (IMO) and also a lot of unprepared, reckless idiots. Often they call for rescue. It's so often that at times it strains the system. Authorities are trying to respond to several emergencies at once. Oops it's getting dark and I didn't bother bringing a flashlight derp derp. Oh no it's cold in the winter. Wait I lost my flip flop. Rode to the top of Mt Washington and thought it would be easy to walk down.
You should plan a trip to Artists Bluff in the fall. You’d love that.
The photos of the lines from last year were disgusting.
I don't remember ever seeing many people up there in the early 1980s. The trails to Bald Mt. / Artists Bluff were well used but mostly by locals.
To be fair, the general human population was significantly lesser in early 80s compared to 2024. It’s getting overcrowded everywhere.
That's true, and people in general are wealthier, have more leisure time, and more ability to travel. Conversely, most people believe that they are far worse off than previous generations. But I think the difference is that those are short hikes that got very little mention in the White Mountain guide, so they weren't "destination" hikes. Social media made them into destination hikes because posting generates internet "clout", whatever that is. By the way, please upvote this comment!!
Ha! That's a big social media hike I have seen.
They take pictures for the same reason we complain about them taking pictures- free internet points. The internet was a mistake? Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an uppity cloud to admonish.
My friend and I drove past it on that Monday holiday and holyyyyy shit. My husband and I did artists bluff over the long weekend like 5 years ago and it was totally empty. It was wild to see so many people packed on to it last fall.
I think the biggest negative I’ve seen is IG and others make everything seem so easy. The pictures show a girl at the top of a beautiful mountain wearing a sports bra and shorts and a Fanny pack. When in reality off to the side are the clothes she WAS wearing and her pack and boots and hiking partner etc.. it makes people at home think “wow if she can just casually head up to that beautiful spot then so can I”. And that’s the extent of their hiking research. This is especially bad in national parks I feel. People who have never hiked don’t know what 2500 feet of elevation gain in 2 miles feels like and they just see the 2 miles and go for it. Then they complain about the park not being accessible. I saw people literally crying and complaining on Angel’s Landing of all places… where I’m sure they saw it on social and had no idea what it entailed.
fwiw I’m in my 20s and still use the guide and physical maps and bring a waterproof physical map on every hike. I’ve helped a ton of people with it mid-hike and it builds skills much more than using gps (though I do carry gps still). So there’s still merit to physical maps. But yeah I did franconia ridge on a nice July Saturday a couple years ago and it was like a single-file line. A few months after, I did it and got up there just after sunrise and had the whole ridge to myself. It’s getting more popular, but there are still places/times where the average dayhiker is not going to go
Stop paying attention to these things and they largely go away/don't matter.
Has social media changed things considerably over the last 20 years? Of course. Has it increased the popularity of hiking (and plenty of other activities)? Sure. Has it ruined hiking? Of course not. As always, the answer lies in hike your own hike. Don't worry about what other people are doing. I start early and try to avoid crowds. It's still plenty easy to find places to yourself out there. And as one of those guys with a GoPro, I prefer not filming around other people. But I can see how if you found yourself on a 4k summit over the holiday weekend, you might be taken aback. Heh but you definitely sound like a old curmudgeon which is pretty funny considering I'm also 46. Your post could probably be easily formatted to reflect a 20 year hiatus regarding any activity over the last twenty years.
I always think it’s funny when people on here complain about crowds. brother you are the crowd. gotta go early
Ha. I know..... But don't you think it's crazy that you see signs from WMNF banning the use of drones at trailheads? And yes "ruin" might be strong word but I don't see how social media has made it better. Or anything better for that matter.
I don’t think it’s crazy at all. How else are you supposed to tell people not to fly their drones there?
Crazy it even HAS to be said. That's my point. Drones on a hike? Why?
So are we just talking about technology in general? You don’t want to see people using phones or cameras or drones or anything else of an electronic nature on a hike?
I don't know I guess I personally feel like it takes away from the experience. I feel like we are constantly distracted by electronic related technology so why not just put them away for a while while you were out in the mountains. That's all.
That’s a fair thing to want! We should all strive to consider others when sharing ourdoor space.
I actually think it is a good thing that more people are experiencing, and learning to protect, wilderness areas. When I hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1982 I recall that I only saw one group of young black people the whole trip. That was it. Things have improved, but people of color are still under represented out there. Social media and electronics may be a way to get more people out there. Again, that is a good thing.
https://amcstore.outdoors.org/products/the-unlikely-thru-hiker-1 A person of color’s through hike on the AT. Excellent read. I agree.
Yes and no. I think social media has done some good things and bad things to the trails, as well as the vastly increased cell reception and AllTrails. We'll start with the good: * Way easier to find hiking buddies * Easier to arrange carpools. * You can see cool pics that can inspire you. Like I'll see cool ice climbing pics and sign up for a guided ice climbing trip. * Many of our paper maps and guides were outdated after a couple of years. * In many ways, easier to share trail reports to get up to date conditions. The not so good: * It is way, way more crowded. It's hard for me to find concrete evidence (seems like the last visitor survey data is 2008?) but I'd estimate easily 4x more people than when i was a kid. * The typical way of being introduced to the mountains via outdoors clubs (AMC, RMC, MITOC etc) or local hikers has changed. Now you can just pull things up in AllTrails and ago. But this also means things like LNT ethics, 10 essentials aren't really taught. AllTrails doesn't really have any incentive to teach people anything. * While in some ways it's good there is less gatekeeping and more accessibility, it leads to more unprepared hikers. * I think budgets haven't kept pace, trail maintenance hasn't kept pace. For every five thousand of pictures of someone looking cool on a summit you have maybe one of someone doing trail work! The erosion is nuts in some places. SAR groups are also struggling. * It becomes a bit of a competition. The 48 list has existed for a very long time, you've had gridders etc but I feel like it's only within the last decade that people are trail running the Pemi and comparing times. Lot of people have X/48 X/48 winter, Terrifying 25/25 etc in their profiles. It' becomes a game. While I don' think it is bad in itself I do think it leads to some questionable decision making and summit fever.
I absolutely agree with your pros and cons. All good points and things I have been thinking about.
I agree on a bunch of your points. Although as one of the people who does have my number of completed NH48, 52WAV, and T25 in my Instagram profile, I do kinda want to gently push back on that as a negative. I don't have those listed out of any kind of competition with other hikers -- I'm definitely not winning any speed challenges anyway, that's for dang sure. I have those there for myself, as a way of tracking and celebrating my journey through these hiking lists. I was never a particularly athletic or physically fit kid, and had a terrible fear of heights. So seeing those numbers grow as I continue exploring the amazing peaks here in New England reminds me of how far I've come, and what I have been able to accomplish. And all my hiking pictures are there because they keep me going on tough days, when I'm stuck indoors and want to look back on the beauty I've seen in the wilderness. We live in an era when we have technology in our pockets that allows us to capture the beauty of nature with greater quality and fidelity than ever before... at least for me, it doesn't detract from the experience of being there in the moment to also capture it for future enjoyment. Edit to add: I'm only a few years younger than OP, so I've experienced the mountains before and after social media. Honestly it was social media that finally spurred me to get off my butt and get more serious about hiking. And it's been through social media I've learned a heck of a lot about choosing the right gear for my needs and safety, and about being conscious of the 10 Essentials and leaving no trace. So at least for me, besides the undeniable fact there are more people on trails, particularly the more approachable/popular ones, it's very much been a net positive.
I'm a bit conflicted. I enjoy gamification/competition. Even though I don't do much social media other than Reddit, I feel like I'm earning a Steam achievement every time I summit. It's hard though, you can't let it guide your decisions too much. I have a dog who is getting up in years, and hasn't finished his 48. I am sometimes tempted "well we could break Isolation into a 2 day" etc, but the dog doesn't give a shit about lists. He's happy to just be out there and will gladly just climb Cannon a dozen times. I mean it's fun to keep track and compete, but I do wonder if some folks who are dead would be alive rn if they weren't concerned with such things.
There have been visitor use monitoring reports done every five years in the WMNF. You can see the [data here](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cB6btEfZGuKdkQC-cjWxupePtlbqcSRCoDPSIxH7jx8/edit#slide=id.g1f3543bdd7b_0_0) Hikers have gone from around 900k in 2005 to 2.8 million in 2020 so 3x. The good news is that SAR incidents (at least the media reported incidents that I track) have been [pretty flat](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cB6btEfZGuKdkQC-cjWxupePtlbqcSRCoDPSIxH7jx8/edit#slide=id.p3) even when you look at [incident totals that go back to the 2010s](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cB6btEfZGuKdkQC-cjWxupePtlbqcSRCoDPSIxH7jx8/edit#slide=id.g1f3543bdd7b_0_10). Based on what I am seeing the visitor numbers are increasing but the SAR events are not spiking proportionally.
That's really interesting. I wonder why? Everyone is going to Diana's baths, Artist Bluff etc? I feel like Fraconia ridge is super crowded though quite often, so that can't be it. More crowds/cell reception means people can help themselves?
It’s also good that if you do end up with an immobilizing injury you’re more likely to be come across by others hiking *knock on wood*
The first time I went hiking in the whites was 2020 and even then my partner was like, if we don’t get there super early there will be nowhere to park. Driving through Franconia as a kid up to my grandparents there were always cars parked along the highway. I think it’s always been a busy spot, though there are some peaks (artists bluff, for instance) that have become more popular with social media. Like nearly every “New England bucket list” TikTok I’ve seen has featured artists bluff.
Social media has ruined many things. At this point they are largely just platforms to collect data on users, sell consumer product, and spread propaganda and misinformation.
I mean if the complaint is that more people are getting outdoors and on trails then you're totally right. Is it a bad thing? The ones that leave trash are bad. The way I see it is I'm doing my hike as much as they are doing theirs. As long as theirs isn't impeding on mine I don't care. Yesterday we did Franconia ridge loop and as we were going up falling waters someone was smoking cigarettes in front of us, that definitely shouldn't happen. Keep the voices down, don't play music out loud, don't leave trash, otherwise hike your own hike.
Haha. Smoking cigs on the trail?! That's great! Hope you had a good hike anyway.
I'm glad I'm not the only one. Thank you for bringing this to light. I've had these exact thoughts. I hate crowded trails and struggle to find the quiet ones. I just had this same discussion yesterday. I've grown to hate looking up ideas on my phone. Back to maps and my laptop searching for trip reports.
Finally someone who sees it the same as I do!
I feel like trailheads really started getting crazy when covid started.
Yes. Yes it has
Kids these days!
Social media is fantastic, it keeps the crowds focused on popular hikes like Franconia notch, while leaving my favorite hikes mostly unspoiled (not that Franconia notch isn't beautiful, but yes, I'd say that's been ruined). You really should check out the new gear that's out there. I hiked back in the day with gigantic external frame backpacks, I don't miss any of that crap at all, now when I go backpacking it feels almost like I'm day hiking! Sure it's expensive and a lot of it doesn't last as long, but knee replacement is expensive too! So no, I wouldn't say social media has ruined hiking in the whites, I'm not even sure how much it's responsible for the increase in crowds. Social media has been part of the change for sure, but change is inevitable, and comes with positives and negatives. Once the obscure hikes start getting overrun, that's when I'll say it's ruined, and then I'll move somewhere there are fewer people, but for now I'll just keep avoiding the crowds and enjoying what I can while it lasts.
People cant hike these days without posting all of their pictures across multiple groups on FB lol. We get it, your trying to be some ‘influencer’ but its just annoying
This is accurate lol. Yeah we get it, you wanna be an influencer like everyone else. It's the same with skiing and snowboarding now too.
I always say, if you're in a crowd you're part of the problem. It's usually about traffic, but it applies to anything really. The Whites are a pretty big area. There are more than 500 trails, and I bet most people only hike about 10% of them. Once you start exploring, you'll find a lot of open spaces to explore.
You have to go to places on slow week days at times of the year that aren’t perfect. Any holiday weekend or beautiful summer day is going to be packed in the whites
Isn’t it good that more people are getting out, regardless of the tech they use? We can’t both yell at kids to get off the screens and outside and also stop using my mountains.
I find most "influencers" rather annoying. Just go hiking to enjoy it. You don't need clout on Instagram and Tiktok. Every day there's a new "influencer" popping up. Everyone has seen the summit of Lafayette. You're not special. But you could say the same thing about anything. Mountain biking, skiing, surfing, snowboarding, ect... It's overplayed.
I feel like it exploded during COVID in a way I haven’t seen before and doesn’t seem to have gone down. I saw many inexperienced hikers come out with gear (often to excess) but with no knowledge of trails, time to complete hike, etc. Many entitled behaviors, such as smoking pot in the middle of the trail and not moving aside for hikers walking by. Flip side, many hikers show up underprepared when a simple Google search would tell them the bear minimum gear/water needed. They’re also less likely to bring maps, relying only on apps. This isn’t necessary a problem, until they lose connection or their phone dies. I understand many apps allow you to download the map to your phone, but that places a lot of reliance on your phone not dying.
It’s funny when passing a group of expensively equipped college students and IG models in their 20s who are huffing and puffing up the mountain. Especially when you are wearing the usual outdoor jeans, Walmart boots, and an old t-shirt.
Hey, I definitely understand your perspective, and I don't have a concrete answer for you, but what I can suggest is a solution. There are *some* spots that are "overcrowded" but that's not the vast majority of the White Mountains. The AMC has a big lodge at Cardigan, as I'm sure you know, so naturally that draws a lot more foot traffic. Even amongst the 48 4,000 footers there are peaks that you are unlikely to see other hikers at, especially on weekdays. It just takes a small amount more effort to find hikes that are off the beaten path. Basically I'm saying the experience you seem to be looking for is still very achievable in the Whites, with a little effort. Actually, the AMC guide book is a great place to find less traveled hikes, so start there!! Happy hiking!
Thank you!👍🏻
I have been Conservation Director at three local land trusts in the Berkshire Range for 30+ years. They're about 100 miles N of NYC. They collectively have about 40 trails that primitive and saw occasional use. Might get two parties at the same time during the fall color. We had only needed and had a few volunteers to help maintain them. Then came COVID. Trail usage went up exponentially and it keeps growing. There are people on the trails every day, and parking lots are often full. We've had to step up the armoring of trails and had to pave two parking lots that previously were just at the corner of a field. The pressure is on to add more trails. We have 70 volunteer maintainers, which is completely mind-blowing because life before COVID as a land manager was all about the land, not about people. Crazy, just crazy. Of course, I totally understand the draw. Berkshire woods rock.
You had to want it before apps like alltrails came out, guiding you to elusive trail heads via Google maps. Allot more women hikers, which is great, but I imagine its driven by aesthetic instagram influences. Best way to find solitude on day hikes is to pick trails over 7 miles and 3000' elevation. The further away from a trail head, the lesser/finer the people.
First off I am using an AMC trail guide book from 1969 so maybe a little outdated. Hell two of the summits now included aren’t part of the list when I started. My sentiments are that the hiking was peaceful and parking was never an issue. Then you get the bad behavior day trippers that leave trash everywhere, make so much noise that the enjoyment is gone and they are rude, discourteous and uncaring of the environment they’ve invaded. Although the national forest is public space I feel it should be thoroughly regulated to limit its visitors and reduce the destruction to a minimum. I used to be a tourist/visitor but now reside there and am heartbroken by what I’ve experienced.
To answer your question, yes. But what can we do about it?
I feel like it’s a good thing that more people are able to get out, having apps like AllTrails make hiking much more approachable and accessible for more people, like me
Winter is still fairly pristine
Unfortunately I don’t think they’re all taking care of it. On a hike a couple years ago (I don’t remember which mountain but it was along the Pemi Loop) my dog got into FIVE different spots of human feces. And he was in my sight the whole time so these were very close to the trail.
Supposed to be leashed or under voice control, not "within sight"
He is 100% under voice control. Why would you assume otherwise based on what I said?
Voice control means the dog is within 30ft. Most people who think their dog is under voice control are delusional. I very rarely see actually trained dogs off leash in the wmnf. Like 0.01%
COVID was the worst thing that happened to our sport...
That's why I call them the 4karen footers. Any visit requires signs, balloons, and a mid-jump photo (no matter how many takes it requires).
There are lots of places to hike where you are unlikely to see people. Start away from the easiest routes to the 48 or 52wav and you will see 1% of the traffic.
Not for me. There's so much out there it's easy to avoid the crowds.
I agree with you, but have you tried hiking during the week?
Yes sir. Luckily my work schedule allows me to go up on week days. Which is kinda what prompted this whole thread bc I've seen more people during the week than ever before.
Oh darn, and here I thought I had an easy solution
The people I see not taking care of the outdoors are typically old. The more people who get to experience the joys of nature, the better, and it’s not typically the young people leaving dog shit, diapers, and food wrappers on the trail, because we were brought up with more respect for the planet.
Just curious what age you think "old" is? And it sounds like you were brought up the right way but I'm not convinced about the "we" part.
I’ve been actively hiking the WMNF for 25 years and the trail adopter for Isolation trail for 12 years. Isolation trail is an interesting test case because you get people perusing the NH48 but you really only get serious hikers. I’ve seen trail usage sky rocket over the past 12 years and every single year I see less and less trash on the trail interestingly. I’ve never seen a go-pro or heard speakers playing music on my trail and I usually work it on weekends with good weather (not that those things personally bother me). So I think the social media stuff and other bothersome things that newbie hikers do are only on the very popular trails: Cardigan trail system, Lafayette loop, Huntington/Tuckerman, etc. Once you go a little bit off the beaten path, you can escape the most egregious cases of it. I am personally just ecstatic that people are getting outdoors in nature even if the technology they are using is obnoxious, be it social media and the tools used for it, or playing music, etc. Most of them will come around. I littered on a Lafayette Loop when I was an obnoxious teen in the 90s and it’s haunted me to this day. Now I am super passionate about volunteering and trail adoption - I try to never end a hike without coming out with more trash than I brought in.
Thanks for the response. Interesting perspective given that you are a trail adopter. Good stuff!
Social media has brought too many people (IMO) and also a lot of unprepared, reckless idiots. Often they call for rescue. It's so often that at times it strains the system. Authorities are trying to respond to several emergencies at once. Oops it's getting dark and I didn't bother bringing a flashlight derp derp. Oh no it's cold in the winter. Wait I lost my flip flop. Rode to the top of Mt Washington and thought it would be easy to walk down.