The Six Husbands Trail covers roughly 1.8 miles from the floor of the Great Gulf to the summit cone of Mount Jefferson, gaining around 2,000 feet through the steepest and most exposed terrain on the Presidential Range. The technical heart lies on a rocky arête called Jefferson's Knee, where wooden ladders bolted and cabled into vertical cliff faces help hikers through pitches that would otherwise require technical gear. Between the ladders, the trail passes through caves and demands sustained scrambling on steep, polished rock. The AMC White Mountain Guide calls it "very steep and rough," a phrase widely regarded as an understatement by those who have climbed it.
Cut in 1909 and 1910 by Warren W. Hart and AMC volunteer crews, this trail was designed from the outset to be an adventure. Hart was known for routing trails through the most dramatic terrain he could find, and the Six Husbands Trail is one of his defining works. The name honors Chief Weetamoo (c. 1635-1676) of the Pocasset tribe; Weetamoo Falls already bore her own name, so the trail was named for her six husbands instead.
The trailhead junction is roughly 4.5 miles in from the Great Gulf Wilderness Trailhead via the Great Gulf Trail, placing any difficulty deep in the wilderness. Most parties do not descend this route; the ladders and steep exposure make the ascent a practical one-way commitment. Icing in late fall and early spring makes conditions genuinely dangerous.
