Mt. Jefferson - 5712' Mt. Washington - 6288' (42/48)

Bundled-up Vivian

Paloma and I finally committed to getting back on the trails and finishing up our quest to hike the 48.  We had our sights set on summitting Mt. Jefferson via the Caps Ridge Trail on Sunday, August 20th, however poor weather and the fact we were hiking with our 16-month old, Vivian, caused us to turn around about a half-mile from the summit.  We were bummed but knew that we made the right decision, especially after talking with others who did go to the summit and told us it was miserable.  I will say, though, she looked pretty cozy bundled up in my Deuter Kid Comfort Air carrier!

We decided to return to conquer Jefferson less than a week later, on Saturday, August 26th.  This time, however, we decided to up the ante and add Mt. Washington to the plan.  Given our experience the week prior, we decided that hiking in the Presidential's with a 16-month old might not be the best plan given the unpredictability of the weather and the long hours we would be hiking, so we recruited my parents to join us on our trip to hang with Vivian while we hiked.   We arrived at the Caps Ridge trail-head at just after 9:00AM, made our final preparations and were on the trail at 9:25AM.  The weather at the base was just above 50 degrees and the skies were clear.

Beautiful Day

Our route for the day was to take the Caps Ridge Trail up to the summit of Jefferson, then take a short jaunt down the Jefferson Loop Trail to connect to the Gulfside trail across to Washington.  To reach the summit of Washington we would take the Trinity Connector.  Our plan was to descend to the Lake of the Clouds hut via the Crawford Path, and finally return to the base of Washington via the Ammonoosuc trail.  A total distance of 10.5 miles or so.

Climbing the Caps

The Caps Ridge trail is unique in that the trail-head starts at such a high elevation that you break treeline within a short period of time.  The trail is relatively mild early on but was a bit overgrown - surprising since it seems like it is well used.  You are treated to some decent views pretty early on - this particular day was nice and clear so the views were fantastic.  Quite a difference from the week prior.  Once you break treeline you begin to climb over the Caps - a series of rock outcrops that require some bouldering to get over.  It is actually quite a fun trail to climb on.  As we climbed to around 5000' the temperature started to drop significantly, so Paloma and I both put on our fleece jackets and rain shells.

Summit of Mt. Jefferson

We reached the summit of Jefferson at 11:30AM.  It was quite breezy at the top and we were in and out of the clouds.  When the clouds cleared we were treated to amazing views over to Mt. Adams and Mt. Madison, as well as over to our destination - Mt. Washington.  Woof - it looked like quite a trek to get over there!  We spent only a few minutes on the summit of Jefferson as we were eager to begin our trek across the range to Mt. Washington.

The Cog Railway

The Gulfside trail is actually quite pleasant and easy going, though even though were were keeping a pretty good pace Washington still looked quite far.  Halfway between Jefferson and Washington is Mt. Clay, which although is over 5000' tall, doesn't qualify for the 4000 Footer list due to the prominence rules.  We were tempted to take the Mt. Clay Loop to bag this mountain as well, but given the time we decided to stick to the Gulfside Trail and skip the elevation gain to bag Mt. Clay.  The views along the Gulfside trail were phenomenal, and it really highlighted the scale of the Presidential Range.

 Paloma on the Gulfside Trail

After we circumvented Mt. Clay, we emerged onto the shoulder of Mt. Washington and quickly came to an intersection with the Cog Railway.  We reached the tracks just in time to see one of the trains going by - this was pretty cool.  As we waived to the passengers descending via the train, half of me was thinking about what wussies they were taking a train to visit the summit of Washington, though the other half of me was tempted to hitch a ride down.  We got a bit turned around at this point and had to backtrack a bit to get back on the correct path to the summit.  This involved climbing alongside the train tracks, which got the legs burning as the ground was quite soft and the pitch was quite steep.  We finally found our way back to the trail and began climbing steadily to the summit of Washington.  The final approach was via the Trinity Connector, and before we knew it we were standing on top of the tallest of the 48 4000 footers, the mighty Mt. Washington.  The time was 1:40PM.

Ugh!

For those unfamiliar with Mt. Washington - lets just put it this way...the summit is a shit-show.  I've purposely put off hiking Mt. Washington because most people who climb it end up being disappointed because they have found the summit to be swamped with people who either took the Cog Railway or Auto Road to the top.  Well folks, that is exactly what we experienced.  We had to wait in a twenty minute long line to get our photo with the sign at the summit.  It was not enjoyable.

Summit of Mt. Washington

Now - I am not knocking people for driving or taking the railway up - just a few months ago Paloma, Viv and I drove to the summit of 14k foot Pike's Peak in Colorado and had a great time.  But it is quite a let down to have hiked for so long and to not be able to enjoy the summit.  Oh well - I knew what we were getting into.  After we snapped our summit photo we decided to get the heck out of dodge, and began our descent to the Lake of the Clouds hut at 2:00PM.

Lake of the Clouds

The hike down Crawford Path to the hut was relatively mild.  As we hiked we watched someone fly a drone, presumably taking some cool aerial shots of the Lake of the Clouds.  We reached the hut at 2:45PM.  If I could turn the Lake of the Clouds hut into my full-time residence I would do it in a heartbeat.  What a gorgeous setting.  Flanked by Mt. Washington and Mt. Monroe, the hut sits on the shore of a crystal clear lake that Paloma pointed out almost resemble those infinity pools you see at high end Caribbean resorts.  We stopped in the hut to use the facilities and I was tempted by some delicious smelling brownies that must have just been made by one of the crew members there.  I was good though and passed.  I wanted to spend more time at the hut but it was now 3:00PM, so we decided to begin the final section of our hike via the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail.

Swimming Hole

The Ammonoosuc Ravine trail skirts down the ravine alongside the Ammonoosuc river.  It was a bit steep at the top so we had to take some care in our descent.  What a beautiful trail, though.  There are a number of small waterfalls and swimming holes along the trail, and great views back up towards Mt Washington.  We kept a decent pace as we got lower on the trail, and reached the Cog Railway parking lot at 4:50PM.  What a great but exhausting day of hiking.  We reunited with my parents and little Vivian and began the drive back home.  I was pooped!

All in all this is a fantastic hike.  It is decently strenuous but the hike along the Gulfside Trail is mild and gives you a decent recovery period before ascending Washington.  Make sure you check the weather before doing this hike, though, as you are exposed for several miles.  42 down, 6 to go!

Hike Stats

Trails: Caps Ridge, Jefferson Loop, Gulfside, Trinity Connector, Crawford Path, Ammonoosuc Ravine

Total Time (Including Breaks): 7:25

Distance: 10.5 Miles

Elevation Gain: ?? (If anyone has an accurate Elevation calculation of this route, please let me know!)

North Twin - 4761' South Twin - 4902' (39/48)

Paloma Mapping the Route

On Sunday, September 6th, Paloma and I decided to head back up to Rt. 3 to tackle North and South Twin.  We were both a bit intimidated to do this hike as South Twin looked absolutely massive from the view we had of it when we hiked Galehead.  Never-the-less, the forecast was looking great so we made our way to the trail-head.  The ride up was relatively uneventful and quick, save for the few spots where the fog was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

The trail-head was easy to find, but that was only because we made a correct guess as to where Haystack road began.  There is no sign whatsoever marking this road but we somehow took the correct turn - keep this in mind if you are heading up there.  Even though we arrived relatively early there were already a number of cars in the parking lot - it was, after-all, Labor Day weekend.

North Twin Trail-head

We started our hike at 8:42AM.  The weather was a nice, crisp 60 degrees at the base with very little humidity.  My kind of hiking weather.  I forgot how much I love late summer/early fall hiking.  Our route for the day was to take the North Twin Trail up to the summit of North Twin, continue along the North Twin Spur to the summit of South Twin, then return the same way - a total distance of 11.2 miles.

The first half mile or so provided a great warm-up to the hike - a nice and flat trail through the woods – up to the water crossings.  I had read that the water crossings of the Little River on the North Twin Trail could be tricky, and those descriptions were correct.  The first crossing wasn't too difficult but at the second crossing I completely ate it on a slippery rock and wound up in knee deep water.  It figured that this was right in front of the first two people we encountered on the trail as well.  Oops!  Luckily we got Paloma across with no incidence.  The third and final crossing was also a big one but I learned my lesson from my prior fall and avoided wet rocks.

Water Crossings!

The next section of trail became incredibly steep.  Suddenly we were paying for the first few miles of flat hiking that we had just enjoyed.  Our blood was pumping and lungs burning as we made our way up this section towards the summit of North Twin.  As we climbed higher we were treated with some nice views through the trees, which culminated in a beautiful lookout point just below the summit.  A family was sitting down enjoying their lunch on the giant boulders overlooking the beautiful, untouched Pemigewasset Wilderness.  We snapped a few photos and continued on our way to the summit of North Twin, reaching it at 11:25AM.  The summit of North Twin is a pile of rocks in the woods – nothing memorable at all.  We snapped our obligatory summit photos and continued onto the North Twin Spur over to the summit of South Twin.

Great Lookout Below Summit

The North Twin Spur trail begins by descending quite steeply onto the ridge between the two Twins.  From here, the view over to South Twin looks incredibly intimidating.  I thought to myself “this can’t be right, that looks WAY further than 1.2 miles.”  I was convinced that we weren’t going the correct direction, even though we were following the signs exactly as they were pointing.  Sure enough, we were on the correct trail, and in all honesty it wasn’t that difficult!  Don’t be fooled by your initial view of South Twin – it goes by much faster than you would imagine.

Summit of North Twin

We reached the summit of South Twin at 12:10PM – the perfect time for lunch.  I would have to say that the summit of South Twin ranks near the top of all of the summits we have hiked to thus far.  The 360 degree views were nothing short of spectacular.  It was a bit breezy at the top so we decided to hunker down on a ledge overlooking the Pemi.  It was the perfect lunch spot.  I took my boots and socks off to let them dry in the sun as they were still soaking wet from my dip in the river.  We typically spend no more than 10-15 minutes on any given summit, but this was so beautiful that we decided to spend a few extra minutes to enjoy it.  We took some great photos from the top before heading back over to North Twin and ultimately down to the car, beginning our descent at 12:35PM.

Summit of South Twin

The hike back over the North Twin Spur went by quickly, and before we knew it we were on the top of North Twin again, ready to head down to the car.  The descent from North Twin was even steeper and longer than it had seemed on the way up, which made me truly appreciate the fact that we were hiking down and not up at that point!  We made pretty good time on the descent, reaching the car at 3:35PM.  We quickly changed out of our stinky hiking clothes and started on our drive home.  We needed to stop in Danvers on the way home to feed my parents cat, so we took Route 16 home, stopping in North Conway for a delicious dinner of pasta and bbq chicken pizza at Delaney’s Hole in the Wall.  If you can avoid Route 16 on Labor Day Weekend, do it…I’ll just leave it at that.

Overall this was a long, relatively tough hike but one that rewards you with fantastic views.  Take extra care on the river crossings and you will love this one!

Hike Stats

Trails: North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur

Total Time (Including Breaks): 7:00

Distance: 11.2 Miles

Elevation Gain: 3,700

Mt. Monroe - 5384' Mt. Eisenhower - 4780' (33/48)

Edmand's Path Trail-head

With the weather forecast looking absolutely gorgeous for this late in September, Paloma and I decided to tackle the two remaining southern Presidential mountains on our list, Mt. Monroe and Mt. Eisenhower.  On Saturday morning we set off for the Edmand's Path trail-head, located on Mt. Clinton road off of Route 302 in NH, at approximately 6:40AM.  The ride up was relatively uneventful and quick - the weather was looking great, 65 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

Paloma's Best "I'm Scared" Face

When we arrived at the trail-head the parking lot was already full but we were able to find a spot alongside the road just outside of the lot.  Looked like there were plenty of others taking advantage of the weather.  We threw on our gear and made our final preparations, officially beginning our hike at 9:10AM.  Our route for the day was to hike up Edmand's Path to the junction with the Crawford Path, hike over to Mt. Monroe, and then return and summit Mt. Eisenhower, returning back to the car by Edmand's Path - a total of 9.8 miles round-trip.

The Ridge

The beginning of Edmand's Path was very easy and the trail was in excellent shape.  Early on we crossed a few streams on well-built man-made bridges.  I was surprised at how dry the trail was given that nearly every trail in the White Mountains we have hiked on have been pretty wet.  Needless to say, we were cruising at a pretty good pace.  After a mile or so the trail began to steepen a bit but remained pretty mild until only a half-mile or so before the junction with Crawford Path.  The trees began to thin quite quickly and we could begin to hear the whistles from the Cog Railway across the ridge on Mt. Washington.  We also began to catch some views of the Presidential Range and down to the Mt. Washington Resort.  Things were looking beautiful.

Shoulder of Eisenhower

When we finally emerged from the trees onto the rocky shoulder of Mt. Eisenhower, we were treated with views that were nothing short of amazing.  It seemed fake.  Both of us were in awe at how beautiful it was.  One would think that after hiking so many mountains with great views that it would get old, but no...it doesn't.  We continued skirting along the rocky shoulder of Eisenhower until we reached the junction with Crawford Path, reaching it at 10:57AM.  There were quite a few people climbing up to the the summit of Eisenhower, so Paloma and I decided to head over to tackle Mt. Monroe first.

As we eventually learned, you cannot see the summit of Mt. Monroe from Mt. Eisenhower. It is indeed, actually quite far away but is blocked by some rolling hills.  When we got to the top of the first rolling hill we realized we were only about a quarter of the way there.  The hike along the exposed ridge was awesome, though.  The sun was shining so even though it was windy it was quite warm.  I even managed to get a bit of a sunburn on my face.  We eventually passed the summit of Mt. Franklin, a non-4k and continued over towards Monroe.

Looking back towards Eisenhower

When we reached the junction of Crawford Path with the Monroe Loop, we got a bit mixed-up,  If you continue on Crawford Path you actually circumvent the summit of Monroe.  We started this way for a few hundred yards but realized quickly that it was not leading us to the summit.  We backtracked and took the Monroe loop up.  Whoever designed this trail is a sick, sick person.  The trail literally climbs up the steepest outcrop of rocks before bearing right across a field to the final climb up Monroe.  If the trail was just 100 yards to the right you would avoid this rocky mess but no, the trail decides to go right over it.  Oh well, the views from the top of this rocky mound were great.  After this we cut across an alpine field and began the final climb up the rocks to the summit of Monroe, reaching it at 12:25PM.

Summit of Mt. Monroe

There were a few other people at the summit soaking in the sun and views but it was much less crowded than the summit of Eisenhower which we could now see, miles away across the ridge.  We enjoyed beautiful views of Mt. Washington and the Lake of the Clouds while eating lunch hunkered down behind a large boulder.  It was quite windy at the top which was actually quite refreshing.  It was neat to look back across the ridge we had just hiked across to Eisenhower, though knowing that we had to hike back all that distance seemed daunting.  We let our food digest for a few minutes and were back on the trail at 12:40PM.

Summit of Mt. Eisenhower

Thankfully the hike back across the ridge was quite a bit faster than our hike out.  We were cruising back towards Eisenhower, passing many people along the way.  I had to ask Paloma what she put in our PB&J sandwiches because my energy level was at an all time high.  We reached the original junction of Crawford Path with Edmand's Path at 1:36PM, this time continuing straight towards Eisenhower.  At this point it was quite crowded, so we decided to haul ass to the summit of Eisenhower, take a few photos, and began the descent to the car.  We reached the summit at 1:50PM, snapped our photos, and were on our way down at 1:56PM.  I hate crowds.

Our hike down was the fastest hiking I have ever done.  Aside from getting stuck behind people at many points, we were borderline running down Edmand's Path.  I was treading a thin line between hiking fast and being completely out of control on the descent, grabbing onto trees and sliding down boulders.  Paloma and I both worked up quite a sweat on the way down the trail.  Unfortunately, many people on the way down seemed to have little knowledge of trail courtesy.  If someone is coming up from behind you, move aside and let them pass!  There were numerous points where we were right on the heels of groups of others and it took ten minutes for them to finally stop and move over.  Annoying!

Paloma and I at the Summit of Eisenhower

Near the end of the hike we crossed back over the streams we had crossed at the beginning.  Submerged in the last stream was a man making strange grunting noises, clearly enjoying the refreshing water as his dog sat on the shore with a bewildered look on his face as if saying "I am NOT with this guy."  Hey, to each their own I guess.  It did, after all, look quite refreshing.  We finished the final few hundred yards of the hike, reaching our car at 3:22PM.  Overall this hike was on the easier side and had some tremendous views.

We quickly changed into new clothing and began the ride home.  I was shocked at how many cars were parked along the various trail-heads that we passed on the ride.  It looked like everybody and their brother were hiking the Franconia Ridge mountains as cars were parked for what seemed like miles on each side of Rt. 93.  We stopped at the Lucky Dog Tavern in Plymouth on our way home for dinner and ate perhaps the best plate of nachos I have ever consumed - pulled pork nachos with cheddar cheese and diced pickles.  Sounds strange but was absolutely phenomenal.  All in all a solid day in the mountains!

Hike Stats

Trails: Edmand's Path, Crawford Path

Total Time (Including Breaks): 6:10

Distance: 9.8 Miles

Elevation Gain: 3,800'

Mt. Lincoln- 5089' (25/48)

Ever since our failed attempt at bagging Mt. Lincoln while hiking Mt. Lafayette last September, the mountain has been calling our names to complete it.  Lincoln was the last of the four Franconia ridge mountains that we had to complete (Lafayette, Liberty, and Flume being the others), so we decided that it would be a good choice for our 25th mountain.  Finally my buddy Foster was going to join us on a hike, so Paloma, Foster, and myself set off on Saturday morning towards Franconia Notch to finally bag Lincoln.

We arrived at the Falling Waters trail-head at around 9:15 AM.  Despite the forecast calling for clouds and showers, the weather at the base was a beautiful 45 degrees with minimal clouds in the sky.  Things were looking good.  We made our final preparations and were on the trail at 9:30 AM.  There was still a ton of snow on the ground, I estimated about three feet or so, but luckily the trail was pretty well packed down and easy to follow.

The frozen cascades

Our route for the day was to hike up the Falling Waters trail to the top of Little Haystack, then traverse the ridge to the summit of Lincoln and return the same way, a total distance of 7.8 miles.  The lower portion of the Falling Waters trail is relatively mild, gaining elevation gradually.  Since there was so much snow, we had little issues with any of the water crossings as they were completely covered - sometimes we didn't even realize we were over a river bed.  Within only a few minutes we reached what we assumed was the cascades that this trail is famous for, though they were completely covered in snow and frozen so there wasn't much to see.  In a few spots you could see some flowing water - I bet this trail is beautiful when the snow is gone.

Falling Waters - Appropriate Name!

As soon as we passed through the open river bed area the climbing truly began.  The trail was still packed down relatively well but only about one foot in width - stepping off to either the left or the right would cause your legs to post-hole down about three feet.  It was actually quite funny as every few seconds one of us would let out a "damn" or an "oof" as our legs broke through the snow and plummeted downward.  We eventually caught up to a group of three which we would end up leap frogging the rest of the way to the top.  By this point the trail was climbing steadily towards the summit of Little Haystack, which stands at about 4800' but unfortunately doesn't count due to the difference in height of it to the ridge which it is a part of (read the AMC 4000' "rules" here).  Our hearts were racing and our legs were burning.  This was a difficult section.  We stopped for a quick snack break of Raisinets and clementines to refuel our bodies before the final push.

Lunch on Little Haystack

We finally broke through the trees and reached the top of Little Haystack at 11:50AM.  Now here is where I must admit we encountered a bit of confusion.  In reading about the route prior to our hike, I had read that you would reach the top of Little Haystack and then continue on the ridge to Lincoln, though I didn't realize that Lincoln completely blocks the view of Lafayette from here, and it looks like there are no mountains beyond it.  Stupid me thought that we must be at the top of Lincoln since I knew the order of the mountains on the ridge and couldn't see Lafayette.  This lead to me proclaiming that we were at the top, and we ended up taking premature summit photos and eating lunch.  Luckily, an older gentleman asked us about our route of the day and I told him we were just hiking Lincoln so we would be turning and heading back down after we ate.  Thankfully he questioned whether we had already been over to Lincoln which caused me to realize that we hadn't reached the summit yet!  Whoops!  I would have been devastated if we turned back and figured out we had only hiked Little Haystack!  Nevertheless, the top of Little Haystack was beautiful and gave us great views.  We had a nice spot hunkered down between some boulders which shielded us from the wind as we ate.

Paloma and I at the summit of Lincoln

Realizing that we still had some work to do, we packed up our things and headed across the ridge to the real Mt. Lincoln at 12:20PM.  It was beautiful along the ridge, and it was neat watching the clouds whip by, engulfing us for a moment, then disappearing completely.  Just goes to show you the ever changing weather in the White Mountains.  We reached the summit of Lincoln at 12:45 PM, where Mt. Lafayette was revealed to us.  Now it made sense!  From the top of Lincoln we were treated to great views of the ridge and across to Cannon Mt.  Since we had already eaten, we took a few snap shots at the summit then headed back across the ridge to Little Haystack to begin our descent.

Men.

The word "hilarious" describes our descent nearly perfectly.  A steep trail + melting snow + gravity and inertia = three hikers completely out of control for much of the descent.  I don't think I have laughed for such an extended period of time in my life as I did during our hike down.  It was nearly impossible to hike slowly which caused us to have to basically jog down.  This was all good until one of us would hit a soft spot and post hole one or both of our legs into the snow and stop dead in our tracks and face plant. I'd estimate that about once every five minutes one of us would be tumbling down the trail in some awkward movement.  Thankfully the amount of snow made every landing soft, so we were able to laugh at each other rather than have concern for each other's well being.  I am just hoping that no kids were nearby to hear the variety of questionable language that was coming out of our mouths each time wiped out!

By this point we were all soaking wet and tired, but were having a blast, so we decided to engage in what many winter hikers rave about - butt-sledding.  Yes, sliding down the trail on nothing but your ass.  The first spot we decided to give it a whirl was at a steep hairpin turn on the trail.  It looked like others had the same idea, and a human ice-luge shortcut was made.  It was too perfect to pass up.  We all cruised down the 60' slide on our asses.  It was quite fun.  We continued to slide down all of the remaining steep spots we could find as we made our way back to the base.

We arrived at the lot at 3:10 PM - though we were sore and exhausted, we continued to talk about how awesome the hike was as we changed into dry clothes and packed up the car for the ride home.  This really was a great, challenging hike.  The Falling Waters trail is definitely one I will revisit at some point as I would love to see the cascades in action!

Public Service Announcement:  If you ever plan to hike with Foster, bring eye protection and a helmet.  He has a nasty habit of sling-shotting all branches he passes into your face.  I am thankful that I still have vision in both eyes.


Hike Stats
Trails: Falling Waters Trail, Franconia Ridge
Total Time (Including Breaks): 5:40
Distance: 7.8 Miles
Elevation Gain: 3400'

Mt. Tecumseh - 4003' (Paloma reaches the midpoint!)

After a long and cold few months, the weather finally looked like it was going to cooperate.  Paloma and I were excited to try out some of our new gear and decided to do our first “real” winter hike on Saturday (we have hiked in the snow before, but mostly snow that resulted from a “freak” storm).  We chose to hike Mt. Tecumseh as A) it is the only 4k that I have hiked that Paloma hasn’t, and B) we were pressed for time and needed to make it a quick one.  I have hiked Tecumseh numerous times before but was excited to hike it again fully in the snow and get my body back in “hiking shape” for the coming season.



Trailhead w/ my microspikes

We had plans to attend my Grandmother’s 85th birthday party (Happy Birthday, Grandma!), in the afternoon, so we left our place in Bradford at just around 5:30AM.  We are used to waking up this early to go to the gym before work so it truly wasn’t that tough getting up.  The ride up 93 was relatively uneventful, and I was happy to see that they have upped the speed limit to 70MPH just past Concord.  Needless to say, we made it up to mountain pretty quickly, pulling into the lot just after 7:10AM.  The temperature at the base was 14 degrees, but we knew it was going to warm up quite a bit as the day continued.  For those who are unfamiliar with Mt. Tecumseh – the trailhead for the Mt. Tecumseh trail is located in the parking lot of the Waterville Valley ski area, so parking is ample (well, at this hour it was…).  We weren’t sure how long the hike would take us so we quickly tossed our packs on, took a couple of photos at the trail head, and began our hike to the summit at 7:20AM.

We chose to hike the Mt. Tecumseh trail, which is exactly five miles round-trip, as we heard that the trail tends to get packed down pretty good in the snow.  We had brought our snowshoes in the car with us but upon seeing the trail, decided that our microspikes would be enough, and left the snowshoes behind.  This is my first time using microspikes and let me tell you, I am a HUGE fan.  The traction that they provided on the packed snow was incredible.  Such a simple invention that works amazing.  We were hiking at a pretty decent clip and shortly into the hike had no need for our hats and gloves as we were working up quite a bit of heat.  The only trace of others that we saw during our ascent was a few footprints, snowshoe prints, and the far-off noise of skiers and boarders arriving at Waterville Valley ski area. 

Woodpecker Damage

It was quite peaceful hiking in the snow, as most of the noise is muted by the covered trees.  The trail was in great shape, and it was nice to be able to hike without staring at the ground to avoid slippery rocks and roots.  We passed by a tree that had been ripped to shreds by, as I would find out from my uncle at the birthday party later, Pileated Woodpeckers (think Woody the Woodpecker).  Dang, these things must have power tools attached to their beaks!  At one point, the trail was virtually straight up for quite a ways, and I could only imagine how fun skiing/sledding down it would be.  Maybe next time I will bring my skis!  This particular section definitely got our heart rate going and also burned my legs all the way from my Achilles tendon to my, well, ass.

The trail finally flattened out and we knew that we were closing in on the summit.  We passed the junction with the Sossman trail, and cruised through the one last steep section to the summit, reaching it at 9:00AM on the dot.  We were shocked at how quickly we had summited.  Typically, we would just be starting out on a hike at this time and here we were, at the top of a 4k!  The sky was beautifully clear and offered us amazing views of the surrounding mountains.  In the distance we could see Mt. Washington, which looked like a giant glacier, completely covered in snow. With an eye on the time, knowing that we had an obligation at 1:00PM in Concord, we quickly wolfed down our PB&J sandwiches and took a few summit photos, heading back down to the parking lot at 9:05AM. 

Summit of Mt. Tecumseh

To say that we cruised down is an understatement.  We flew.  At many points we were actually full out running down the mountain.  I am not sure what Paloma put in our PB&J sandwiches, but I felt like I had enough energy to hike up and down this mountain ten more times.  Once again, thank you to the snow for removing the threat of tripping over roots and rocks!  As we got closer to the base of Tecumseh we finally began seeing some people hiking up and could hear people making first tracks on the ski slopes adjacent to us.  Most people we passed were shocked that we were already on our way down from the summit, as it was still very early.  We reached the car at 10:05AM – about an hour or so faster than we had anticipated!  By this time, the parking lot was bursting at the seams.  It was completely filled by skiers and snowboarders – people had to begin parking along the access road to the mountain.  We gave up our spot to a friendly family and began heading towards Concord.

Paloma reaches 24 peaks!

We stopped at a store on the way to Concord to kill some time, then stopped by my cousin’s house for a much needed shower.  After that, we joined the rest of the family at my Grandparent’s place for a great birthday luncheon, where we talked, visited, and of course, enjoyed some delicious beers.

All in all a beautiful day for the first hike of the year, and what a great way for Paloma to officially reach the “half way” point of the 48 4ks with me!

Hike Stats
Trails: Mt. Tecumseh

Total Time (Including Breaks): 2:40
Distance: 5.0 Miles
Elevation Gain: 2200'

A group hike back up the Kinsmans!

On Saturday, October 12th, I headed back up to hike the Kinsmans again and enjoy the beautiful fall colors by Lonesome Lake.  Paloma was away for her Bachelorette party so I didn't want to continue knocking mountains off of our list without her, so I decided to do the Kinsmans again since I enjoyed this hike a few months back.  This time I was joined by my buddies - Eric, John, and Elwood, as well as Joe, Julie, and a couple of their friends - and a dog named Max!

Lonesome Lake

The night before us gentlemen had engorged ourselves with pounds of Chinese food and beer, so needless to say it was difficult to get up in the morning.  Regardless, we were up and on the road at 6:00AM, meeting up with Joe and Julie along the way. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and soon enough we were on the trails wearing nothing but shorts and short sleeve shirts.  I was quickly reminded of how much I hate the beginning part of this trail - too much traffic from people hiking just up to Lonesome Lake.  Once we passed the lake, however, the traffic lessened quite a bit.  We kept quite a fast pace going up and stopped to have lunch on the ledges and take in the views.  We headed over to South Kinsman, had a snack at the summit, and began the descent down to the car. The weather was absolutely gorgeous the entire hike - hard to believe it was the middle of October.

Preparing for My First Bushwhack - Wolf Cub - 8.3.13

It has been a few weeks since my last hike - been very busy lately!  Paloma is away in Sao Paolo, Brazil for two weeks for work, so I decided to sign up for my first ever trip through the AMC - Boston Chapter - a 12+ mile bushwhack of Wolf Cub, a 3000' mountain located close to Lincoln, NH.  A bushwhack means that there are no formal trails leading to the summit, so we will be using a map, compass, and brute force to move through thick woods/brush to our destination.  I couldn't be more excited!  We might even try to tackle the slightly more popular Mt. Wolf - this is all depending on energy levels and interests of the others in the group.  It looks like there will be approximately 6 or so others doing the hike with me.  I have not met any of the others but just knowing the type of people who tend to enjoy hiking, I am sure they will all be great.

Topographic Map of Wolf Cub

Though I have spent plenty of time exploring the woods off-trail - I have never done this with a particular destination in mind.  Luckily, one of the guys I am hiking with is experienced with land navigation and has offered to help me get my bearings once we are underway.  I was able to scrounge together some old "bushwhacking" gear (see below), including some old gators to help protect my legs if we are pushing through thorns/brush and some clear lensed glasses to protect my eyes from sticks etc. in the dark woods.

I am confident in my fitness level at this point so I am not too worried about that aspect of the hike - though I think it will be more challenging than I am anticipating given that we are hiking through non-maintained woods. It will sure be an adventure, one that I can't wait to write about when I finish it!

The below is some of the gear that I am bringing along on the hike.  Much of this I would typically carry anyways, but bushwhacking requires some additional items.

Gear

1. Hat to protect from branches.
2. Gators to protect my legs.
3. Gloves to use if I need to remove brush from the path.
4. Headlamp in the event that we take longer than planned.
5. Clear lenses to protect my eyes in the darker woods.
6. First-aid.
7. TP for, well, pooping.
8. Hand-sanitizer for after #7.
9. Goldbond - miracle for every sweaty male.
10. Lighter.
11. Knife to kill attacking bears.
12. Compass for navigation purposes.
13. Plenty of protein/energy bars.
14. 100 Oz's of water.
15. Rain jacket for bad weather.
16. Not pictured - other food, boots, pack,
extra clothes.

Check back in a few more days for a detailed report of this trip!

Mt. Hancock South - 4319' & Mt. Hancock North - 4420' (15/48)

Teamwork

On Saturday, June 29th Paloma, my parents, and I set out on a ride up to the Kancamagus highway to hike the Hancocks.  I had read numerous reports about this hike being pretty difficult, so we decided to set out early so that we would be able to take our time.  Plus, the forecast predicted late afternoon thunderstorms, something that we didn't care to get stuck in.  We arrived at the trail-head at 8:25AM, and were on the trail at 8:37AM.  We decided to take the classic ten mile "loop" up the Hancock Notch, Cedar Brook, and Hancock loop trails.

Sasquatch Ahead!

Since NH had experienced similar weather to us for the few days prior (RAIN!), everything was extremely wet and muddy, and the air was quite humid.  It was approximately 75 degrees.  The start of the hike was relatively flat and uneventful, which may be the reason I took my eyes off the trail and subsequently took a digger no more than three-hundred yards into the hike.  Thankfully, no injuries, though I felt like a moron.  Note to self: don't step on wet roots.  After dusting off the mud and debris from my legs, we carried on.  We were cruising, and it felt great to chip away at the ten mile round trip with relative ease.

Planning the Route

We were slowed down a bit further along the trail due to numerous river crossings, mud puddles, and wet terrain, though the elevation gain continued to be minimal.  We all got quite muddy but the challenge of the various crossings kept things interesting.  Things got a bit scary when we passed some writing on a piece of birch bark - "Beware, Sasquatch Ahead."  I let out my best wookie impression in hopes that it would scare Sasquatch away, hoping deep down that my wookie call wasn't actually a Sasquatch mating call.  That would have sucked.

Summit of Hancock South

We continued on through the mud, the moisture and fog made the woods a bit eerie.  We were shocked at the number of Lady Slippers (the flower) that we saw along the way, as they are a relatively rare and protected plant.  We reached the Hancock Loop trail and decided to climb up to the South peak first, over the ridge to the North peak, and down from there.  The minute we began heading up to the South peak, the elevation gain increased immensely.  Finally it felt like we were hiking!  While this section was only one half mile in length, the elevation gain was significant.  The trail was heavily eroded and required you to grab on to rocks, branches, and the ground at many points.  The humidity combined with the steep climb caused sweat to soak through my shirt and drip from my face.

Heli-dropped Bridge Material

We reached the view-less Hancock South summit at 11:11AM, took a few pictures and began the trek over to the Hancock North summit at 11:20AM.  The ridge was equally as muddy as the earlier parts of the hike. In a particularly muddy section, we came across hundreds of logs and boards that looked like they were dropped in by helicopter.  It will be nice once they are assembled into a bridge.  We used some of the logs to help us navigate this section, which proved to be quite difficult as they were moving and slipping all over the place.  The ridge continued to dip and rise through a primarily pine forest - we reached the Hancock North summit at 12:09PM.

Summit of Hancock North

While there were no views from the immediate summit, a hundred or so feet down a trail labeled "outlook" brought us to a couple of boulders with great views - a perfect spot for us to sit down for lunch.  The sun actually poked through the clouds at this point, which was nice as it helped dry up some of the sweat that we had accumulated on our clothes.  We took a few more photos and began the descent down the North section of the Hancock Loop trail at 12:35PM.

Lookout on Hancock North

I was quite thankful that we decided to do this loop counter-clockwise, as the descent from the North summit seemed significantly longer, wetter, and steeper than the South.  Even though the difference between the steep sections on the South and North sides was less than a quarter of a mile, the North side felt much much longer.  We all slipped and fell at least once on the way down - it was quite treacherous given the wet weather.  Once we met completed the loop we began the nice easy descent back to the car.  We were all starting to feel a bit sore so the nice gradual descent was welcomed.  About a mile from the car we began to hear thunder in the distance, so we picked up our pace in order to make it to the car before getting caught in a heavier rain.  We reached the car at 3:26PM, just as the skies opened up and a downpour began.  Perfect timing!

Steep Descent from Hancock North

We drove back to Haverhill and decided to grill out on our porch.  A solid ending to a nice, long, summer hike.

Overall I enjoyed this hike.  I would recommend saving it for a cloudy day, as the views aren't too spectacular or readily available.  While the distance is just under 10 miles, you chip away close to 5 miles on relatively easy terrain.  The short but steep sections heading up to both peaks is definitely difficult, but the overall hike was one of the easier ones for us.


Hike Stats
Trails: Hancock Notch, Cedar Brook, Hancock Loop
Total Time (Including Breaks): 7:00
Distance: 9.8 Miles
Elevation Gain: 2650'

Mt. Hale- 4054' (13/48)

It shouldn't be snowing on Memorial Day weekend, right?  WRONG.

Hale Brook Trail-head

Paloma and I, despite the dismal looking weather predictions, decided to head up and hike Mt. Hale on Sunday.  We figured we would likely experience some off and on showers and clouds, so we chose Hale as it isn't known for having the best views. We didn't want to sacrifice a mountain with better views in this weather.  Hale also happens to be a relatively short and easy hike compared to the other forty-seven, so it seemed like a logical choice.

Given that the book-time on the hike was just over three hours, we decided to sleep in a bit longer than usual hiking days and ended up leaving our place at 9:30AM.  The ride was relatively simple, and the weather was much nicer than the forecast had read.  That is, until we were about thirty minutes from the trail-head   As we got up higher in elevation and deeper into Franconia Notch, the clouds began to increase in size and snow began appearing on the road.  After going back and forth as to whether or not we should continue our drive and attempt the hike, we decided that we had already come so far and we would go forward with our plans. If the hike became too dangerous we could always turn back.

Slippery river crossing

We arrived at the trail-head just before noon and were surprised that there were actually a number of cars parked there.  The temperature at the base was around 39 degrees.  We started out on the Hale Brook trail at two minutes past noon.  The first mile or so was relatively easy, with only a few patches of snow along the trail.  It was raining lightly so Paloma and I had our rain gear on and our hoods up - our feet covered in mud.  We passed by a man and his dog who were on their way down - he indicated to us that there was quite a bit of snow towards the top but that it was still doable.  We continued on.

Snowy trails

As we continued up the trail, the snow began to cover the trail and the rain that was coming down on us at the start turned to sleet and snow.  We came out to a ridge with a long, steep drop off to our left that lead down into a rapidly moving river.  We had to be extra careful as the trail was quite slippery and we didn't want to slide down the ridge into the icy river below.  Once we got past this section we encountered a second group of people on their way down.  We chatted for a few moments with them, while one of the ladies nonchalantly snacked on a giant snot that was dripping from her nose.  Hey - guess she needed some extra energy.  We passed another group with a gorgeous English Mastiff - this dog looked like he was built for this type of hiking as he traipsed down the trail with ease.

The snow continued to pick up and the trail was now fully covered - thankfully the snow was very wet so it was packed down nicely.  If it had been a drier snow we would have probably had to turn back, as neither Paloma or I had micro-spikes or snowshoes with us.  The woods were absolutely beautiful with the fresh snow, and the thickness of the snow on the surrounding pine trees drowned out any and all noises, making it extremely peaceful.  Every so often we would come across some snow covered cascades which added to the beauty.

I mentioned to a passerby that it felt as though we were part of one of those Coors Light commercials, where the ice climbers go on a dangerous trek to fetch some ice cold beer, open a door on the side of the mountain, and appear at a bar.  It seemed as though we would reach the top, find some ice cold beer, and return it to our friends having a cookout in t-shirts and sandals at the base.  This was, after all, Memorial Day weekend - and that is what you are supposed to be doing!

Paloma's new friend

We reached the summit at 1:42PM, and thankfully we were the only ones at the top at this time.  It was beautiful yet eerie at the top.  We were fully socked in by clouds so you could not see more than a hundred feet in any direction.  The summit of Hale is pretty unique - it is a giant circular field outlined by pine trees, in it's center is a giant rock cairn, nearly six feet tall.  Someone had built a snowman on one of the rocks at the top, using pieces of Twizzlers for the nose, mouth, and eyes.  I asked Paloma if I could eat them....she said no.

It was fairly chilly at the top, and the sweat that we had created on the hike up was now making us quite cold.  We decided to hike down a few hundred yards to hunker down behind some trees before we ate lunch.  We wolfed down some sandwiches and began our descent at 1:55PM.  In better weather, the descent would have been a cinch, but the snow/sleet and mud made it treacherous, so we had to go at a much slower pace than usual.  As we got lower in elevation, the temperature increased quite a bit and the snow that was on the top of the trees began freeing itself from the branches and pelting us off of the head.  It was actually quite comical as every so often one of us would let out a yelp as snow exploded off our head.

Summit of Mt. Hale

The trail was absolutely drenched as we approached the bottom, so there was really no need for us to watch our steps anymore - our clothes were already drenched.  We reached the car at 3:23PM, cold, wet, and muddy, yet happy as can be.  To us, the nasty weather and snow covered trails added to this hike, and made it that more enjoyable in way.  It is a hike that both of us will absolutely remember forever!

On the way home we met up with my Grandparents in Concord for dinner.  Paloma and I had to stop at a Walmart on the way to pick up some cheap clothing to wear, as neither of us remembered to pack a change of clothes.  We had a very enjoyable seafood dinner with my Grandparents - what a great end to the day!

Hike Stats
Trails: Hale Brook Trail
Total Time (Including Breaks): 3:23
Distance: 4.4 Miles
Elevation Gain: 2300'