Hi fellow hiker,

In this email, we answer some of the most frequent questions we receive regarding food, water, and huts (and money!) in the White Mountains. We know that no FAQ is exhaustive, so if you have any other questions just respond to this email.

Best regards,

Pygmy Elephant

MEALS

Dinner and breakfast are included in your overnight stay at all accommodations.

Dinner in the huts is served family-style at 6:00 am sharp and includes fresh bread, soup, salad, a hearty entrée, and dessert. With advance notice, the huts can offer child-friendly meal options and accommodate dietary preferences including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and lactose-free diets. Dinner in the Highland Center Lodge is served family-style at 6:00 pm Sunday to Thursday, and on Friday and Saturday, there is a dinner buffet from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Breakfast in the huts is served family-style at 7:00 pm sharp and includes eggs with pancakes or a baked good, plus hot cereal, fruit and breakfast meat, like bacon or sausage, with coffee, cocoa or tea. Breakfast in the lodge is served buffet-style every day from 6:30 am to 10:00 am.

Lunch: The huts do not offer packed lunch, but if you happen to hike past one at midday you can stop in for soup and bread. The lodge has a deli that serves up soup, salad, and sandwiches from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm daily; You can even order a trail lunch to take with you on your hike, but just make sure you order the night before. Otherwise, pack in all lunch articles.

Please notify us or AMC Reservations if you have food allergies or any other dietary needs. Please Carry In/Carry Out all personal trash and recyclables.

WATER

Water is available in the huts along the trek. Most people choose to fill up before they start the day's hike with 2 or 3 liters of water.

For those that would like to have a bit more water security, there are streams along the way in the stages hiked in lower ground, but please purify this water with purification tablets or a water filter. The presence of cysts of the intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia in water sources in the White Mountains is thought to be common, though difficult to prove. It is impossible to be sure whether a given source is safe, no matter how clear the water or how remote the location.

Allow extra contact time (and use twice as many tablets) if the water is very cold. Chlorine-based products are ineffective in water that contains organic impurities, and all water-purification chemicals tend to deteriorate quickly.

HUTS

The AMC huts are fashioned after the refuges on the high mountain treks in the Alps. If you’ve been on our Tour du Mont Blanc or Haute Route trek, for example, you’ll see the similarities. They’ve been in continuous operation in one form or another since 1888, when Madison Spring Hut was built. The Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 is the first time in 132 years that the AMC has had to close all eight of its huts.

Though each hut is unique, they share a number of characteristics:

Huts are all off grid and do not provide electricity to charge your gear.
Bunkrooms are co-ed, unheated, and unlit. You should bring an appropriate sleeping bag and a headlamp or flashlight.
Washrooms have toilets – either composting or waterless – and cold running water.

There are two seasons at the huts: full-service and self-service. All huts have a full-service season, which lasts from early June to mid-September or mid-October, depending on the hut. Most huts have a self-service season in May, as well. The exceptions are Lakes of the Clouds and Madison Spring. The difference between the seasons is AMC’s famed “croo.”

The croo (crew) is a lively bunch of young people that staff the huts every summer and tend to their guests. This includes dispensing the requisite pillow and three wool blankets to every guest, providing information about trail and weather conditions and, most importantly, cooking daily breakfast and dinner. During full-service season, there is also a hut naturalist on site who provides information before and after dinner on local flora and fauna.

For inquiries regarding your specific itinerary, please contact your group leader or key travel builder. If you have any questions about the content of this email, feel free to reply here.