My birthday present to myself when I turned 50 was a backpacking trip on the Cohos Trail. Read at these links about my adventure and about the amazing people I met along the way.
The Cohos Trail is New Hampshire’s unique long-distance trail, extending more than 160 miles from the White Mountains to the Canadian border.
Learn more at the official Cohos Trail web site and the Friends of the Cohos Trail Facebook page.
Kim Nilsen had a dream three decades ago about a long-distance trail through New Hampshire’s north country, and he worked to make that dream come to life and to bring together other people with the same vision. The result is the Cohos Trail.
It’s over 160 miles long, stretching from the Davis Path in Crawford Notch to the Canadian border at Pittsburg. It’s an international trail, now that it connects with the Sentiers Frontaliers trail network in Quebec. The southern part of the trail piggybacks on trails maintained by the U.S. Forest Service, the Appalachian Mountain Club, and the Randolph Mountain Club in the White Mountains. North of NH Rt. 110 in Stark, the Cohos Trail comes into its own, bringing hikers to areas quieter and more remote than the much-traveled paths of the Whites.
Granite State Walker 
I have relatives in Vt. I have done some long distance hiking in Michigan (the Shore to Shore Trail Tawas to Empire ~ 225 miles) in the early 1970s.
Active in AK wilderness ANWR (1991 & 2010); Gates of the Arctic 1971 (before it was a park), 1996, 2001; and numerous week long backpacks since moving to AK in 1990. COHOS TRAIL appeals to me since no bear container, shotgun/.44 magnum needed. May attempt thru hike next spring. I gave your guidebooks and current maps. Thanks.
If you make it to the Granite State, I hope you enjoy your time on the trail! The Friends of the Cohos Trail Facebook page remains the best way to get up-to-date trail information, so check it out as you make your plans.