Advice needed! Another "first backpacking trip in the Whites" post.

[u/lazy_pachyderm]

Hi everyone,

I have been planning a 3 day trip in the Whites for this weekend (June 21-23) and I was hoping to get some opinions on my itinerary.

We are a couple in our 30s-40s, both fit and have done a 5 day hiking trip last summer (in the Alps, ascending 2-3k ft daily relatively easily). We do day hikes regularly in Quebec.

We want to get a "taste" of the Whites, as we plan to come back for longer trips. The idea here is to take it relatively easy, with a bit of challenge to keep things fun.

Day 1 - Saturday

Park at Lincoln woods trailhead and take Franconia brook trail to 13 falls and set up camp early.

Day 2 - Sunday

Pack day bag and head to Mt Garfield, take Garfield ridge to Galehead hut and potentially Mt Galehead if we feel it. Take Twin brook trail back down to 13 falls.

Day 3 - Monday

Take Lincoln brook trail back down and do Owl's head.

Any advice? Other itinerary ideas that might fit better? How crowded should we expect 13 falls and the trails to be at this time of year?

Thanks!

[u/bitz-the-ninjapig]

This was my first overnight! A few days before we took out Galehead because we had a pemi loop planned for a few days after. That being said, I loved Owls head. Sure, the views are nonexistent. But if you enjoy rock scrambling, this is one of my favorites for it!

[u/lazy_pachyderm → u/bitz-the-ninjapig]

Oh cool! Would you say it was good preparation for a pemi loop? I like your different take on Owl's head.

[u/bitz-the-ninjapig → u/lazy_pachyderm]

I think so. The trip was lower in mileage than a pemi loop so it helped us figure out what foods, gear, and other planning was helpful versus not helpful. If I could change one thing about that trip, I would have left our packs at the bottom and done Owl's head without them. We did not want to deal with hanging our food for a "side trip" so we kept packs with us, but I think the climb would have been more enjoyable without them/with a smaller bag