The Lake of the Clouds Hut Trail In New Hampshire Was Named One Of The Scariest Haunted Hikes In The U.S.
By Michelle|Published September 22, 2021
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Michelle
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Michelle's life is a colorful map of exploration and adventure. From the iconic streets of New York to the sunny shores of Florida, the jagged coast of Maine to the rugged terrain of Montana, she's been fortunate to call some of America's most beautiful states home. Beyond the U.S., Michelle's wanderlust has taken her on a motorcycle journey through India, led her to teach English in Hanoi, and saw her studying Spanish in Guatemala. Michelle graduated with a communications degree from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and in addition to a career in advertising has worked with OnlyInYourState since 2016, where her love for travel and storytelling converges. Alongside writing and exploring, Michelle finds joy in photography, staying active, and time with her family.
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In New Hampshire, we don’t need to wait for Halloween to tell a spooky story. With as much history as we have here, there are plenty of ghost tales to go around. Many of them involve haunted hotels or other places that have been around since the early days of the state. Somehow, the presence of these ghosts are not surprising. But the ones you might meet high on this mountain are a bit unexpected. After all, how often to you come across a spooky presence out on the trail?
Throughout the region, the Appalachian Mountain Club offers huts for hikers and adventurers to stay in during their trips into the great outdoors. One of the most beautiful is the Lake of the Clouds Hut, located near Jackson.
This story dates back to 1901 when a different building sat on the same site as this AMC hut. The hut was built to provide shelter for hikers after two were killed in an attempt to summit Mount Washington.
Mount Washington is known to have some of the harshest outdoors conditions in the world and wind gusts of more than 230-miles per hour have been recorded. These are the highest in the world! Temperatures are also volatile and can drop quickly when bad weather rolls into the area.
All of this combines to create treacherous conditions. To date more than 150 hikers have been killed on the mountain as a result of changing conditions and inexperience.
And that is what makes the hikes to this hut so haunted. The ghosts of these hikers are a known entity around here. It’s believed that the souls of those who the mountain has taken are still here. Most people refer to this as “the presence.”
“The presence” can be felt inside and in areas near the hut. One spooky story of “the presence” being felt involves an AMC member who was sent to open the hut at the start of the season. After not returning, a rescue party found him hiding under a sink, terrified. He reported seeing a crowd of ghoulish faces and was unable to leave.
People nail boots to the wall to keep them from wandering off after their owners have left them behind. Apparently even ghosts like a nice pair of hiking boots.
Other reports say that insulting the ghosts and their hiking ability might leave you in trouble. Those who have spoken ill might be struck or pushed by ghostly hands!
While all of this might be alarming, don’t let it keep you from visiting. In the summer things here get packed. There’s room for 96 hikers to stay overnight so you can rely on strength in numbers!
The Lake of the Clouds hut is best booked far in advance. You can check availability for this and the other AMC huts be sure to visit their website. There are a few different trails that will take you there. You might even want to check out the Cog Railway as a way to find it.
