48x13: Middler schooler Amelia Krautmann climbs her way to victory over New Hampshire's 4,000-footers

The most striking thing about Amelia Krautmann is not that she finished hiking the 48 peaks in New Hampshire 4,000 feet or higher before her 13th birthday on Oct. 26, but the wisdom she accumulated over the journey.

She’s learned the peace that comes with being in nature, the importance of family time and the satisfaction that comes with setting intentions.

“I’ve learned that I’m very goal-oriented,” said Amelia, a seventh grader at Belmont Middle School who lives in Canterbury. “Having goals helps me get into a mindset where I’m trying to complete something, so I have a sense of happiness at the end, and I can think about it and work towards it. It’s a really good feeling.”

She says rather than focus on how many miles or summits she had left as she hiked with her family — parents Charlie and Danielle Krautmann, brother Peter and dog Jasper — over the course of the seven years she worked toward her peak-bagging goal, she focused instead on the landscape at the top of each climb, endeavoring to memorize the shape and lines of each mountain and each range, so she could identify them later, at a glance.

A young peak-bagger’s stats

The 48 4,000-footers are all in roughly seven ranges in the White Mountain National Forest in Coos and Grafton counties. While summiting them all is a common feat for seasoned hikers, it's still a dangerous and relentless one — especially for someone so young.

Starting in 2019, Amelia completed all 48 in 30 separate hikes, summiting more than one peak on some outings. She did 14 hikes in 2025, and the other 16 between 2019 and 2024, covering a total of 268 miles and climbing 103,277 vertical feet.

Charlie was her statistician, tracking mileage, elevation gain and total time on a spreadsheet.

Amelia’s shortest hike of those tabulated was also her first one, Cannon Mountain at 4.2 miles. The longest was Mount Zealand at 17.65 miles, which took eight hours and 29 minutes.

Charlie said while on that long hike on Zealand on the Owls Head trail, the family bushwhacked to Franconia Falls to swim and play on the natural rock slide because it was such a beautiful day, so the mileage reflects that detour. That day also included some comic moments, such as when Jasper snitched a sandwich from some a fellow hiker.

Getting started

Amelia started hiking with her parents as a toddler. Danielle and Charlie are avid climbers and became her inspiration and support systems. They’ve done many hikes together as a family, including in Canada, and as Amelia worked toward her goal, often she was accompanied by her father and brother.

Hiking came naturally to Amelia, and she built muscle over time. Running cross-country and track in school, and downhill skiing, helped build her stamina, as well.

Hiking has also been good for her mind.

“Hiking is a good time to keep my inner peace, and think about life and kind of reset. I really like the calmness, and I like getting exercise. I like being able to be in the outdoors a lot. I love observing the nature, and I love when there’s a nice view at the top.”

She was 6 years old in 2019, when she completed Cannon with her parents and Peter, who was 3 at the time, and is now 10.

She was on her own feet the whole time, but didn’t begin carrying her own pack until three years ago. “I think that hike took a while, but it felt like an adventure,” Amelia said. “I really like walking and talking with my parents, and hiking in nature.”

Danielle and Charlie completed the NH 48 when they were in college.

“My parents always told me about how they did it, and I always thought I’d do it at some point, but I didn’t really make a goal for myself until a couple of years ago,” Amelia said. “I was hoping to complete it before high school.”

In 2024, she didn’t hike much. “I realized I missed it. So, this year, I decided I wanted to keep going with it.”

Hikes in 2025

At the beginning of this summer, Amelia had hiked 20 of the 4,000-footers, with 28 left to complete. She knew she wanted to hike others, but had yet to name a goal or completion date.

Then, she heard her reading and writing teacher, Keith Noyes, talk about his daughter, Ava, a senior at Laconia High School, who hiked her first 4,000-footer when she was 10, and completed 39 of the 48 peaks as a 12-year-old.

Amelia was sold on the challenge.

She first tackled Mount Hale, a 4.26-mile climb that took two hours and two minutes. “I did it on a Friday after school,” she said, noting her dad and brother were with her, along with Jasper, a year-and-a-half-old yellow Lab.

The same group set off on Amelia’s last two peaks on Oct. 12 — 14 days before her birthday. They covered mounts Madison and Adams, a total of 8.62 miles, 5,594 feet in elevation gain, in five hours and 59 minutes.

“We were a bit nervous, because the weather wasn’t looking amazing for [that day]. It was really windy — 50 to 60 miles per hour at the top — with a wind chill of 15 degrees,” Amelia said. “I had on a jacket, windbreaker, mittens, gloves. We could see to Jay Peak in Vermont, and could see into Maine.”

Best moments

Amelia stayed in her first hut this summer, in August, on Galehead Mountain, packing in a sleeping bag and overnighting on a bunk, after watching shooting stars with her father and brother.

“It was cool,” she said. “We met a few Appalachian Trail hikers. Their packs were really big. We talked to some; they were telling us they were almost done.

“I realized that there’s a whole community of hikers,” she added. “You can meet so many different people. I met some kids my age, hiking. I think it was just really cool to see how people enjoy the culture.”

A friend of Amelia’s expressed interest in the sport. “So I took her. It was really cool to introduce her to hiking,” Amelia said, noting they summited both North and Middle Tripyramid. “She liked it. I think we’ll take her on some more hikes next year.”

Difficult moments

Before climbing Galehead, Amelia and her family hiked North and South Twin mountains, and as they were descending South Twin, she fell. “I was maybe two tenths of a mile behind my brother and my dad. I was so tired. ‘Please get me to this hut.’ I was completely exhausted,” she recalled.

“I get kind of mad when my brother’s faster than me.”

Amelia told many stories about her brother, though, and clearly enjoys sharing adventures with him.

She noted he doesn't have far to go to complete his own round of the NH 48.

What’s next?

For now, Amelia is content to continue hiking with her family and friends. She may one day tackle The Grid, which is hiking the 48 4,000-footers in every month of the year. Noyes, she said, is halfway to that goal.

The 2019 New Hampshire Teacher of the Year, Noyes said Amelia is fortunate to have a family who enjoy the outdoors with her.

He describes Amelia as a motivated learned who give 100% in all she does.

“She enjoys the challenges, and at times pains, that come with growing as a student and human being. She doesn’t shy away from struggle, but instead leans into it with all she has,” he said.

“I see such a bright future for Amelia.”