The White Mountains were fabled to be difficult, but they are interesting as well. We are now hiking in the country's most popular hiking trail network. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), a group of rich, would-be explorers that has existed in the northeast US since the mid-1800s, manages this area. We see lots of folks-- on everything from day trips, to hut-to-hut hikes, to country-crossing slogs like ours.
We slowly summited Mt. Washington, New Hampshire's highest peak, rock-hopping scree fields in 35 knot winds and frost (while I longingly watched the road and train that also go to the top).
At their huts in the White Mountains, the AMC offers work-for-stay deals to Appalachian Trail thru-hikers. We have taken advantage of this a few times. You get a bunk (or floor space) and a meal in exchange for an hour of dish washing (or similar chore). It's been neat to meet the kids who work at these hike-in only outposts, and great to sleep out of the 4000'+ elevation wind and cold.
These huts existed before this area was even a national forest. When one hut was remodeled in the 1990s, the U.S. National Forest Service told the AMC they were now subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Galehead Hut, built in the 1930s and accessible only by a 7-mile boulder scramble, had to put in a wheelchair ramp and handicap accessible privies.
The towns we have stopped in to resupply are also Americana of a bygone era. Most used to have mills or a logging industry, now they are supported by tourism centered on foliage, hiking, ATVs, and snowmobiles.
Most towns have a hostel for Appalachian Trail hikers, a fairly niche market.
Lincoln has a speakeasy for the same. I was given a phone number and a name. When I called, I was asked a series of questions about the AT, when the man was satisfied that we were actually AT thru-hikers, he gave me his address, a few blocks off Main Street. This guy is a former hiking guide now confined to a wheelchair. He has built bunks in his garage and offers free lodging to AT hikers, in exchange for help with household chores or gifts of cheap beer. From the street it looks like a normal house, inside, the bunks, walls, and entire garage door are covered with graffitied trail names of hikers who have preceded us.Our resupply stops are pretty calorie focused. We are burning around 5000 calories per day hiking and getting hungrier by the day. Since we are carrying everything, we won't buy anything less than 100 calories per ounce. We dump peanut butter on every breakfast and Fritos and olive oil on top of every dinner to make them more calorie rich. We don't cook anything that requires more than boiling water. In town, we treat ourselves to cocktails and salads, but also eat like football players, packing in protein-rich meals and sneaking more than our share of foil wrapped butter servings at every opportunity.
