1-Mt Washington (Presidentials). Mile after mile, view after view, there's something different every time you look up. Whether you're coming on another cirque or ravine or just having new mountains or parts of the ridge come into view there's a lot to take in. The summit itself is a clutter of buildings featuring, among other things, New England's highest parking lot and a train station. To rise above the fray use the observation deck on the roof of the main building.
2-Mt Lafayette (Franconia). This is the great narrow ridge in the Whites and it's a beauty. What's the fun of climbing up without being able to look down and gloat. Between Little Haystack and Lafayette, it narrows but never to the point of being scary. And except for the far side of Mt Washington, you can see virtually the entire White Mountain National Forest from the summit.
3-Moosilauke. The rounded, grassy (by NH standards) summit is reminiscent of the balds in Carolina. What I love most about Moosie is that you can see the White Mountains looking in one direction. Even if you’re not familiar with the Whites, it’s quite a view. The other feature is how high it is. After gradually working your way up through the other New England states, Moosilauke towers like a sentinel at the western gate.
4-Mt Kinsman. Given the overload of scenery and terrain that now pours in on the northbound hiker, the Kinsmans can sometimes get lost between Moosilauke, getting to town and the Franconias up ahead. Kinsman is one of the only mountains in New England that I found to be better backpacking than day-hiking and the reason is the ascent from the south. Great looks at the southern White Mountains and back to Mt Wolf on the ascent and of course a great view of Lafayette from both summits.
5-Webster Cliff. Probably the best view of a Notch along the entire AT. They’re somewhat different than gaps given the haphazard contour of the mountains and that the ridges are shorter and less well-defined than they are in the south. Webster’s many outlooks also give you a great look at the Pemigewasset Wilderness, the great raised plateau below the high peaks across the notch now returning to its primeval state.