Have you heard of this NH hut challenge? Hikers compete for fastest time to hit all 8 huts

Hiking to just one hut can be enough of an adventure for many. But some take on the challenge to hike to all eight White Mountain huts – in just one go.

The White Mountains Hut Traverse is one of the most notable “Fastest Known Time” (FKT) routes in the Northeast United States. FKTs are speed records for running, hiking or cycling routes. But unlike an organized race, like a marathon, FKTs are self-organized and often done alone.

The fastest known time to traverse all eight NH huts is under 10 hours.

What are the NH huts?

White Mountain National Forest is home to eight high mountain huts where hikers can stay overnight in bunks and get fed dinner and breakfast. The huts are only accessible by foot and vary in difficulty to get to.

Here are the huts, ranked from easiest to most difficult to get to using the most direct hike:

• Zealand Falls
• Lonesome Lake
• Mizpah Spring
• Carter Notch
• Greenleaf
• Lakes of the Clouds
• Galehead
• Madison Spring

What is the White Mountains Hut Traverse?

The White Mountains Hut Traverse is a point-to-point, 45.25 mile run that hits all eight huts, with Carter Notch Hut at one end and Lonesome Lake Hut at the other. The route, which largely follows the Appalachian trail, can be run either direction.

The FKT website says that the route is a “true tour of the most popular sections of White Mountain National Forest” with a mix of brutal climbs and sections of fast running. It has 16,175 feet of vertical gain.

It is the fourth most notable FKT route in the northeast, scored for its history, aesthetics, competitiveness and difficulty.

Usually, FKTs can either be “supported,” which typically means having a pacer or another person providing food or water, or “unsupported,” which means you do everything by yourself. But on this route, visiting and resupplying at the huts is part of the route, so records are deemed “self-supported” if you use pacers and/or the huts.

People have been attempting to set records on this route since the 1930s. According to the FKT website, it’s especially become a tradition for AMC Hut Croo workers.

What are the fastest times to traverse all eight huts?

American Jack Kuenzie has the men’s record for the fastest known time to reach all eight huts, completing the course in 9 hours, 58 minutes and 3 seconds on Sept. 1, 2021.

Professional ultra runner Katie Schide has the women’s record: on July 25, 2019, she ran the route in 12 hours, 23 minutes and 6 seconds.

What are other Fastest Known Time routes in NH?

Six of the top 10 FKT routes in the northeast are in New Hampshire.

Tied for fifth is the New Hampshire 4000 Footers, where the unsupported record was just broken by Jackson resident Andrew Drummond in July.

The top ten routes are:   

1. Presidential Traverse (NH)2. Pemigewasset Loop (NH)3. Long Trail (VT)4. Hut Traverse (NH)5. (tie) Hundred Mile Wilderness (ME)5. (tie) New Hampshire 4000 Footers (NH)7. Great Range Traverse (NY)8. White Mountains 100 AT (NH)9. Mahoosuc Traverse (ME, NH)10. Adirondack 46 High Peaks (NY)

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald. Reporting by Margie Cullen, USA TODAY NETWORK – New England / Portsmouth Herald