TAR HEEL HIKER

2011-03-06T06:06:00.000-08:00

Winter Backpacking
2/19/11 - 2/21/11

So I have never done any backpacking before. Up to this point I had only done car camping. Last spring when I started volunteering for Habitat for Humanity I was paired up with another long time volunteer named Rob. We started talking and he found out I hiked year round. He told me about his winter camping adventures and how I should join him and his friend, Bruce, come winter. Over the course of the summer Rob convinced our Habitat Project Manager, Lindsey, and me to take on the challenge of a backpacking trip into the White Mountains. Nothing like diving head first into backpacking.

As with many of my hikes this one started in Waterville Valley. Last year the men had camped out on Scaur Ridge right next to the Tripyramids and felt that would be a great place to set up camp again. While I have done the Tripyramids already in the summer I was holding out hope of being able to get on the North Slide of North Tri in the winter. Another reason Lindsey and I readily agreed on this spot was that my parents were going to be at the condo in Waterville and if we needed to bail out we had a place to stay. We started our trek up Livermore Rd. a little before 9am. If you haven’t ever been here the trail is a former logging road. In fact the bridges still have signs on them for truck weight limits. It is wide, gradual uphill, and becomes a cross country skiing super highway. We beat the groomers and xc rush hour so it was a pleasant hike. Well, except for the 40lb packing I was carrying. My father escorted us to the Scaur Ridge Trail where he wished us luck and sent us on our way. The Scaur Ridge Trail gave us excellent views of the North Slide. I don’t know if I can really describe the sheer joy of finally getting to Scaur Ridge and finding our campsite. My shoulders thank me immensely for removing my bag.

This joy was short lived though. It was time to gather firewood, dig a fire pit, and build two quinzees. I was assigned Paul Bunyan tasks first. While I was Sven Sawing dead trees my three companions were piling up snow for the qunizees. Once we had our two piles it was time to dig the fire pit and get a fire going so we could have some hot beverages. My hot chocolate really hit the spot. That was a good thing because we still needed to go and dig out our quinzees. Due to the fact that Lindsey and I have never built a quinzee before we were split up. Lindsey and Bruce worked on the girl’s quinzee and Rob and I did the guys. Rob started the initial digging but quickly let me go in. At almost 5’10 I was the shorter of the two. I felt like a little kid building the ultimate snow fort. I had always wanted to build an igloo when I was younger and now I was getting a snow cave to sleep in. I would carve chunks of snow out, push them down to my feet, and then kick them out to Rob who would shovel it away. When it came time for the finer details I had to switch and let Rob in. It was probably a good thing because I don’t know if I could have leveled out the floor. I would hate for one of the guys to slide out of the tunnel entrance in the middle of the night. With our homes made it was time to settle into our fire pit for some camp food and lots more hot chocolate. Our fire pit featured a snow bench around the whole fire (except for the ramp leading in and out). The guys had fastened some wire to a tree branch that then hung over the fire. Here was our pot was for melting snow. Having a hot fire and hot food was just what we needed as temperatures dropped to 0 degrees. Lindsey and I started to get cranky after our long day so we headed off to our quinzee around 7:30pm.

Note to self, change your socks and sock liners before bed and wear more clothes. Ok, I slept pretty terrible my first night. I was cold, my shoulders hurt too much to lie on either side, and I really needed to eat more food before bed. I woke up tired but with a positive attitude about the day. We had some oatmeal to get us going followed up by delicious cheese and bacon sandwiches cooked by Bruce. (For the record I was the one carrying the frying pan in my pack but man was that weight well worth it.) This really perked up Lindsey and my spirits. We all agreed a hike up the Pine Bend Trail to North Tripyramid would be our adventure for the day. The trail can get rather steep and a bit icy. Lindsey and I had our MSR Lightening Axis snowshoes on which were making the guys jealous. Not only did we have better traction then them, but we also had televators. When we got to the summit I wanted to go see the North Slide so we started heading down to it. It didn’t take long before I was sent on to see it and take pictures on my own. The trail was not packed out and again steep. When I returned the guys decided to head back to camp and let Lindsey and I go to Middle Tripyramid on our own. Middle Tri offered a beautiful view into Waterville. It was a nice little spot to sit and have some snacks before heading back. The trip down Pine Bend was a ton of fun. Lindsey got to do her first glissading and loved it. It is so much easier and quicker to go down a mountain that way. When we got back to camp Lindsey and I decided to take pictures of the teddy bear I brought doing different things. I guess this is the 2nd grade teacher in me. He chased me up a tree, pretended to cut down a tree, took a nap, and jumped over our fire pit among other things. All that playing around got me hungry. Tonight we feasted on a four course meal. It started with Cheetos followed up by tomato soup. Next were two different types of mashed potatoes with corn. Our final course of the evening was s’mores. I loved this meal. To me, it was perfect. Following dinner I broke out my Nite Ize Flashlight Frisbee for some headlamp Frisbee. Afterward we helped clean up and retired to the quinzee. Sleep came much easier tonight.

Waking up with light seeping in through our tunnel was almost surreal. Did I really just spend the night in a snow cave at 3000 feet? We wanted to savor our quinzee experience so Lindsey and I stayed tucked into our sleeping bags just chatting for a while. Eventually we had to accept the day and get going. After breakfast we packed up our bags and decided to test the strength of our qunizees. Lindsey went on top of the one she built and I went on the one I built. We also decided to jump up and down and it still withstood our efforts. Finally, we cut holes in to see just how thick our walls were. Turns out Lindsey could have made our quinzee a foot bigger. The four of us took a quick walk up to Scaur Peak before donning our packs for the trek home. Dad met us at the end of Scaur Ridge Trail to escort us back down Livermore Rd. and get pictures of our victorious return.

Note: 4 days after returning from our trip we got word that Rob’s wife was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Please keep Rob, his wife Bobbie, and the rest of their family in your thoughts and prayers.

Carter Dome

2011-02-03T16:17:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have been super bad and haven't updated this since May. So I will have to do some back tracking and add in what has been done. In the mean time, without further ado here is the latest installment

#39 Carter Dome
1/22/11

What better way to bond with your father then to go on a hike? Our bonding started only about 3.5 years ago with a recreational snowshoe trip up Snows Mtn. in Waterville Valley, NH. Man did we think we were hot stuff going up a mountain, all 500 feet of elevation gain. It didn’t take long before that wasn’t enough for us. While searching for more trails in the area dad came across a website about the New Hampshire 4000footers. Six months later, on June 1, 2008 we conquered our first NH 4ker, Mt. Tecumseh. We were hooked. Although the views from the summit were limited it still felt so amazing. When could we get up to New Hampshire again to do the next mountain?

Flash forward to now and here we are doing our 39th NH 4ker. For the record we are also on our third pair of snowshoes each. This trips destination was Carter Dome (elevation 4,832ft). Joining us on the hike would be my friend Erica. She did South and Middle Carter with us over Labor Day weekend but this would be her first winter 4ker. Usually I let dad pick what mountain we do and the trails we take. After reading trip reports from others he decided on going Nineteen Mile Brook Trail to Carter Dome Trail to Zeta Pass to Carter-Moriah Trail. I wanted to stop by the Carter Notch Hut, so as we hiked I worked on convincing him to make a little loop out of it.

We got to the parking lot around 8:30am and it was packed. We ended up getting the last parking space. Nineteen Mile Brook Trail was well packed out with everyone going to the hut. Our traction of choice at first was Yaktrax Pros and none of us had any difficulty. We met some people coming back from a night at the hut and I asked if any of them had been to the summit and knew how the trail was from the hut. Unfortunately none of them had been up so dad wasn’t totally convinced yet. We got to the junction of Carter Dome Trail and it was evident that snowshoes would be necessary and that we would be breaking trail. This caused our pace to slow down considerably but we plowed on. I led first. After a while Erica offered to lead and I decided that since she runs half-marathons that she would be perfectly fine in the front. It wasn’t until a little before Zeta Pass that we can across some guys coming down. Thank goodness, they had broken some trail for us. At Zeta Pass we met a lady hiking by herself. She said that we would really enjoy going down to the hut. As she was going up to the summit there were people glissading down the trail back toward the hut. Dad and I love glissading so finally he agreed to make a little loop. Along the way we had seen some glimpses of the presidential range but no good open shots. Finally, along the Carter Dome Trail, we got some openings with beautiful shots. The sky was perfect. Right before the summit we got our best view. It was as if we were living in a postcard. The tiredness of hiking up melts away and is replaced with amazement and joy. Being able to see Mt. Washington without a cloud around it is awesome. The true summit is surrounded by trees so there is no great open view. Since there was a few feet of snow on the ground we were able to find another little opening to get some pictures.

I love gravity. It is great in the winter when you can slide down the trail whether in your snowshoes, boots, or on your butt. We went almost a mile down the Carter-Moriah Trail before it was time to glissade. It was very obvious when that time had come. The trail got very steep. Snowshoes off and time to sit down and enjoy the ride. I used the heels of my boots if I needed to slow down. Along the way I came across a sleeping pad and EMS Nalgene bottle that someone had lost. I picked them up and put them on my lap for the ride. Dad also found a water bottle.When the sliding was done we were almost at the hut. Erica and I went ahead and brought our found goods in to see if anyone there had lost them. Sure enough when we were waiting for dad to show up a man asked if we had seen a Nalgene. We told him it was inside along with a sleeping pad. He was very happy to have his lost items back. The sun had gone behind the mountains so we couldn’t linger long. After a brief rest it was time to get to the car. There was a short uphill right after the Carter Lakes but otherwise the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail was great going down. Dad put his snowshoes on, Erica had her Yaktrax on, and I went bare boot. The trip back was fast and uneventful. It was a long day having to break some trail, but the views more than made up for it.

Moriah

2010-05-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

#28 Moriah
5/16/10

I forgot my boots! Really who does that? You’re going to New Hampshire to hike and you forget your boots. You know there is going to be snow so your Gore-Tex boots are important. Urg. I was not pleased when I opened the trunk and realized this. Luckily I was wearing my North Face trail sneakers. They would have to be my footwear.

So the Carter-Moriah trailhead was at the end of a neighborhood. It was kind of strange. No parking lot. We were able to park right there though. Turns out we were the only ones on the trail that day. Off we went. Uphill right away. Lucky for me the trail was dry to start off with. I knew this wouldn’t last though. The beginning of the trail was not that interesting. Some uphill, some flats. After a little while we reached the first of a bunch of rock slabs to walk up. I can imagine these would be difficult if wet or icy. Some of them even opened up for some nice views toward the presidentials. Then the snow started. We were at about 2800ft. At first it wasn’t a problem, there wasn’t that much of it. With the snow came some mud though. I was trying to avoid some mud and stepped on some snow. Soft snow. Down my foot went, into the muddy water. I could feel the wetness through my socks. So it begins. Soon enough there was no avoiding snow. It covered everything. Since it was warm out the snow was also soft in spots. That meant post holing. I’m not really sure my gaiters really made a difference. I could tell my feet were wet but at least they weren’t cold. Then the kicker. We got off trail again. Two hikes in a row. There was a ton of blow downs, which made it difficult to follow the trail. I have to admit I was frustrated. Last thing I wanted with wet feet was having the hike take longer. Good thing for dad’s GPS. We were able to figure out where approximately the trail should be and went that way. Eventually we did find the trail again. It wasn’t too long after that before we made it to the top.

It was rather windy and chilly at the top. That didn’t stop me from sitting there and eating some lunch. There is a nice large rock at the summit, which was free of snow. Another groups of three hikers from Montreal came up right after us and we all had plenty of room to sit on the rock and enjoy the 360degree view. Now my feet were getting cold. When I was moving they were good but once I stopped and the wind was getting to them it wasn’t as good. We took a little break and then headed down. Back in the snow. Dad put on Yak-Trax but I decided to just slip and slide my way down. Following the trail was a little easier this way. We did have to refer to the GPS twice but we made it. I was going at a rather fast pace. I was ready to be done with this hike. I probably would have felt different had I had dry feet, but that is my own fault. Going back down was fine, I slipped a few times but otherwise uneventful.

The Hancocks

2010-03-17T14:27:00.000-07:00

#26 North and #27 South Hancock

March 13, 2010

The lack of snow in Waterville made me a little nervous. I had read there were some stream crossings and I didn’t know if they were exposed. My fears went to the wayside as we drove up the Kancamagus Highway and the snow on in the woods increased. We parked at the hairpin turn, loaded up and headed out.
We both decided to use Yaktrax for some traction. The trail, although not marked was easy to follow at first. At one point though it seemed that most footsteps lead out to the stream. Being that things were not well marked we decided to follow the path most traveled and headed out walking on the stream. Now we knew this wasn’t the Hancock Notch Trail but we had no idea where it really was. We followed along and at one point our path seemed to take a left hand turn. Dad got concerned and checked the GPS. He thought we should go straight but I reminded him that we wanted the Cedar Brook Trail after a while and not the Notch Trail. So we decided to continue to follow the footsteps and go left. Eventually our alternative trail lead us back to the real Cedar Brook Trail. It wasn’t too long before we met up with the Hancock Loop Trail. This was actually fairly well marked. A pleasant surprise that only really lasted until we got to the junction of going to North or South. We picked north, and that’s when the real fun began.
Again we followed people’s footsteps. We dropped down only to have to go up, big time. The footsteps lead us over to the slide. Umm, not the trail, but we couldn’t figure out where the real trail was. We decided that last time the footsteps got us where we needed to be so why not follow them again. Up the slide we went. For the most part it was like climbing stairs, I found a foot hole and used it. This was kind of nice, less stress on the calves. The higher we went the harder it was to figure out where all the footsteps went. I spotted a cairn and decided to go toward that. Things were now getting icy and I was starting to wish I had my crampons on and my ice axe with me. Dad was on all fours at this point. We took a break at the cairn and then kept up with the footprints. They lead us finally back into the woods, but again it didn’t look like on to a trail. At some point I lost the footprints and we were on our own, so we just kept going up. Somehow we managed to find the real trail right before the summit. We got to the top and took some pictures. The summit offered some nice views back to the south. Next stop South. Off we went.
This time the trail was easy to follow. The yellow blazes were obvious. This was a welcomed treated. The trail between the two peaks was not too bad and occasionally offered some views of Franconia Ridge and North, including the lovely slide we climbed up. The summit of South on the other hand had no views. So we didn’t really hang around there long. As we were going along I slipped and fell on my bottom and started to slide down the trail. Why get up? So I continued to slide down. Dad decided to give me some room and slide down also. We managed to cover almost 600 vertical feet very quickly. Actually it was a lot of fun and made the trip down easier on the body. Eventually we had to get back up and walk but it wasn’t long before we made it back to the junction. From there we just headed back how we came. After we got off the stream this time someone had put an arrow in the snow pointing the way you were suppose to go. Oh well. We made it in the end.

Mt Madison

2010-01-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

#25 Mt. Madison
January 16, 2010

So I had been checking weather.com all week for the forecast on Mt. Washington. Turns out I should have checked the high peaks forecast at mountwashington.org instead like dad did. More on that later. So the forecast was looking good and dad and I both wanted to hike up Mt. Madison. I really wanted to use my crampons and get a good winter climb in. Temperatures were looking good and so was the wind (so I thought). We left Waterville at our usual 7am start. We parked at Appalachia just like we had 6monthes earlier when we did Adams. This time our trail of choice was Valley Way.

At the trailhead there was a group of guys preparing to head out, we said our hellos and went long. Valley Way is a nice trail. It is well traveled so it is packed down. Once again I took snowshoes and didn’t need them. I have to keep telling myself the extra weight is good exercise. The beginning of Valley Way is a gentle uphill. You don’t get any really steep sections in the first mile and a half. Even then it isn’t bad until about a half mile to the hut. Dad and I wore our Yaktrax on the way up. We were surprised that the group of guys didn’t pass us. With about a mile to go we encountered another group of guys. This group was coming down. They had hoped to do a Presidential Traverse but the weather was too much and turned them around. So I am thinking, great, this can’t be good. A little farther along we encountered two more guys. They had wanted to do Madison but turned back because it was “socked in.” Even more lovely news. Although, they did say they had talked to a group of 4 that had been successful. Along we continued and soon we met the group of 4. We chatted awhile and they said they could see cairn to cairn so they made it. Alright, some positive news, kinda. We were in the clouds at that point and I hate not having any views. Plus you could hear the wind getting louder. I was starting to doubt weather.com’s forecast of 30mph winds.

Finally we made it to the Madison Spring hut. Here we encountered two guys that had just come off Adams and said it was wicked up there and no views. We were pretty much still in the clouds. Not wanting to give up we found the side of the hut that was most protected and put our crampons on. Suddenly Madison came out of the clouds. It was time for us to head up while there was some sun. We dropped our bags around the corner, under the hut and headed up the summit cone. Now at this point I was well aware that the winds were much stronger then 30mph. I found myself at times running up the slope. I wasn’t doing this because I was excited, I was doing it because there was a serious tailwind pushing me. The higher we went the winder it got. I started having difficulty with balance. The rocks became my friends as they offered balance and a little wind block. Soon I felt like I was in a cartoon, leaning full tilt forward, not going anywhere and not falling. Then a slight let down in the wind and I moved on. Then I got blown to the side, up and at it again. Finally I could see the summit. There she was. There also was a 15foot section that had no rocks protecting it and near hurricane strength winds blowing. I sat down and waved dad on. I was afraid to go. I didn’t want to be blown off.

As I sat there talking to myself I realized I couldn’t come this far and not go on. I was less then 100ft from the summit. There was a slight let up again and this time I ran not because of the wind pushing me forward but for fear of it pushing me over. I ran up and dad pointed to a spot for me to sit. There was a tiny bit of protection here. He had to fix his crampon and I tried to take pictures and not lose the camera. Once he fixed the crampon it was time to get off and back to the hut. Off we went. I took off because I wanted out of the wind. I then noticed I was struggling to breath. Here I am walking into 60+mph winds at 5300feet elevation. I turned me head a bit so I could get more air in and out. Luckily this trick worked. As we headed down I saw a group coming up. It was the guys from the parking area. They too had dropped their sacks and were making their way up. I stopped and chatted for a minute and waited for dad. Then I kept going. I was very happy when I saw trees again. See as we were coming off the mountain the clouds were rolling back in. While we were up there we were above them but could see Mt. Washington engulfed in them. Dad came down a little bit after me, turns out his crampon fell off and he went down using one, which caused some falling. We got back down to the hut where I was more then happy to dig into some food. We chatted with some guys taking a lunch break and took a rest. After a little while we gathered our supplies and headed down. The way down was uneventful, but I was very happy to get to the car and our post hike chocolate milk.

Thoughts: AHHHH. That was crazy! I crawled, got blown over, had a hard time breathing but pushed on. My fear of getting blown off was a bit much. I had the ice ax if need be for self arrest and there was no great cliff. I did have to talk myself on but I think that is what sets us apart from those who turn around. I knew to wait for a little let up to move from protection to protection. I had the proper clothing. Some people think I am crazy for what I do but the rush I got being up there is something they will never experience. Oh yeah, I think that is about my limit with the wind. Any higher speeds would be a bit much.

2009-12-31T08:30:00.000-08:00

#24 Mt. Waumbek
12/19/09

I love how the fact that this was two days short of the official start of winter made this a fall hike. It certainly didn’t feel that way. On the drive in the car thermometer showed as low as –11 degrees. At the start it was –6 degrees, the coldest start I have had. There was plenty of snow on the ground but alas I was NOT walking in a winter wonderland.

This time dad and I were not alone. Dave was joining us for the hike. I warned him we weren’t fast hikers and today I really wasn’t. I was starting to get a cold, which caused me to drag my wagon. I also was wearing my plastic boots to get use to them and that slowed me down some. We parked right next to a gas station in an alternative parking lot. The trailhead lot was closed but this only added maybe a half-mile to our round trip. The trail was not difficult. This was good again cause I wasn’t on my A game. At the beginning of the Starr King trail the snow was fairly packed and we weren’t post holing. As we climbed though the snow started becoming more powder and less packed down by others. This caused more post holing. Dad was getting really annoyed. It didn’t bother me too much probably because I am lighter and don’t post hole as much.

When we got to the top of Starr King we took a bit of a lunch break. Dave found a nice rock to sit on and dad and I sat by the random fireplace. We decided that we were going to leave our bags here and go lighter to get to Waumbek. Dad decided to put his snowshoes on but Dave and I stayed in boots. It was a lot better having less weight on your shoulders for the hike over. There were a few little viewpoints but not too much. When we got to the top of Waumbek there wasn’t any view, urg. I plopped down and decided to do a snow angel. We took some pictures and headed back with some speed. See a blizzard was brewing down in NY/NJ and we wanted to get home before it hit CT.

Going down I was doing better. I had some energy from my food and the whole using gravity helped. I was slipping a bunch because of the plastic boot bottom but did well. I was very happy to get back to the car and sit down. Thank goodness this wasn’t a more difficult hike because my body was having a hard time. I kept telling myself “I can do all things” and I made it.

Next up, a “real” winter hike. LOL

2009-12-13T14:43:00.000-08:00

Carrigan #23 for number 23

11/25/09
This is not so much a trip report but a tribute. The Saturday before Thanksgiving during a JV football game Matty B. of Ledyard collapsed on the field of an aneurysm and was rushed to the hospital. Things took a turn for the worse on Sunday and he was transferred to CT Children’s Medical Center. There it was determined that he was brain dead. His parents decided to keep him on life support so friends and family could say their good byes. They also kept him on so that they could donate his organs. A few months before when he got his license he signed up to be an organ donor and his parents granted his wish. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving he was taken off life support and passed away. I headed up to New Hampshire with my parents and uncle right after finding out he had passed. I sat in the back with a heavy heart. Many of my soccer players were friends with him and were devastated on Sunday at a vigil. The gasps you heard when the superintendent said he wasn’t going to make it, the boys crying, it was a hard time. One girl asked me why this had a happen and she expected a response. I told her that he did not suffer and he went out doing something he loved, football. I also told her that in his dying he would save many others. His lungs were to go to a 12 year old.

So here I am going to one of the best views in New Hampshire yet we are completely engulfed in clouds. Off we went. Again I don’t remember much about the hike, I just kept thinking about Matty. His football number was 23 and this was my 23rd 4000footer. What I do remember was a nice ridge before the top, well it seemed like it would be anyway, all I saw was cloud.

The top was very windy and wet.

We stayed for a little while to have a snack and then headed down. My uncle runs marathons so he took off. Soon after I got a surge of energy and took off myself. I just got into this great rhythm and was practically running. Actually, after the last stream crossing I did run to the end. I have never felt that good after a 10mile hike. It was as if I had extra energy. I beat the book time by almost an hour and a half. My uncle had waited for my dad and they came along 20min later.

So Matty B. this hike is for you. One may die so others may live. You are a true hero.
“I can do all things”

The Flume #22

2009-09-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

The Flume
September 5, 2009

As always, when I miss a Waterville week I am bummed. It is always for a good reason but just the thought of not doing a 4ker is sad. In this case I had soccer tryouts (I am a JV soccer coach in the town I teach in) and a friend’s wedding shower. So when I found out we were not having soccer practice over Labor Day weekend I was insistent we go on a hike. I had suggested going to NY or VT but Dad is determined to get all the NH 4kers done before he turns 61 (he is 58) so we decided on NH. I suggested we camp at Waterville. We are members of the pool in town so we could use that to shower and we can eat in town instead of cooking at the campsite. The plan was to leave CT before 6am Saturday, drive to WV, get a campsite, then head to Flume to hike. Somehow on Labor Day weekend our planned worked. There was one campsite available for Saturday night and Saturday night only. We paid, put chairs out, and headed to the trail. After reading Trish and Alex’s blog dad decided we were going to go the back way up and thus avoid the slide. He didn’t want to be hiking up an exposed slide with the sun baring down on us. When we got to the Lincoln Woods parking area again I was surprised with a long weekend and great weather we had no problems with getting parking.

We headed out across the suspension bridge and onto the Wilderness Trail. Here you encounter casual bike riders and walkers. One man passed us that looked ready to hike, otherwise it was all casual families. This part is super easy and we commented on how much work someone put into this trail with what looked like railroad ties along the way. We got to the Osseo trail and headed out away from the casuals. At first this trail is also really easy with only mild grades. Of course this is always a bit scary because you know at some point you will have some serious up hill if it is otherwise this easy. On we went. We encountered a few groups coming down but otherwise it wasn’t very crowded. The trail did eventually start going up at a more steady pace with some switch backs thrown in. Then the moment we had been waiting for…. the stairway to heaven. At least that’s what came to mind seeing all the wooden ladders. They were nice. You could tell your claves would be much happier in the morning since your feet got to stay flat going up. Once at the top of the ladders there was still more uphill. I was not feeling in top shape. Could have been the 4 hour car ride that morning or the starting to play soccer again, who knows. I just wanted to get to the top and be done. At the junction with the Flume Slide trail we met a couple that had just come up it and said it was miserable. They looked hot and tired. We chatted a few minutes and then headed up to the top. From there it is only .1 miles to the top so very quickly we got to the open views from the ledges. Dad wanted to stop and take a break along the ledge before getting to the tippy top he too was struggling today. We got some pictures and dad was ready to move to the real summit. Here we rested and I had a Pop-tart. It tasted so good after a long hike up. We talked to the couple that we met at the Flume Slide trail. The guy had done Kilimanjaro a while back and was telling me about it. I was extremely jealous, I would love one day to do Kili. Our visit to the top was a bit longer then usual. I think we were both pretty tired and wanted to enjoy a nice view.

We decided though to not wait too long because we wanted to get back and set our tents up before it got dark. So down we went. As usual down seems to take forever, especially the places that are relatively flat. You feel like they went by so quickly when you were going up. Well, maybe they do because you have more energy. It is always interesting to me that at the end of any hike my feet are tired and I just want to be done. This was a little over 11 miles so that’s understandable but even the shorter 6 or 7 mile hikes I get the same way. This makes me think that it is totally a mental thing.

Thoughts: Not my favorite mountain. There were good views but it wouldn’t be one I would recommended to people looking for a hike. Camping at WV was fun. It got down into the 30’s overnight and I slept great in my 20 degree bag.

Cannon

2009-08-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Backtracking #16 Cannon
May 9, 2009

Without further ado… I am finally up to date with my 4kers. Due to Amy and Scott’s wedding we did not go up in April. Well dad wouldn’t have been able to hike anyway because he got to spend a few days in the hospital with a strep infection in his leg. It is believed to have gotten into him from the blisters he was not taking care of properly. At the beginning of April I also sprained my foot in our school’s charity basketball game (teachers vs. 6th graders). Taking those factors into account and the fact that there was some snow and ice still around we decided to go easy and do Cannon.

Two months before we were in the same parking lot and heading up the Lonesome Lake trail. Boy did I miss the snow covering the roots and rocks on the trail. There was some mud but not too bad. The trail wasn’t too muddy and there wasn’t any snow until right before Lonesome Lake. It was nice seeing water this time instead of ice. We continued along Lonesome Lake Trail until we met up with Kinsman Ridge. There was a fair amount of snow at the intersection and it was fun to feel the temperature change when we dropped down a few feet. I put my Yaktrax on now because things were getting slippery. We took our snowshoes not knowing what the trail would be like but they were defiantly not necessary. Although the trail to Cannon was relatively short it had some steep sections with some rock scrambling.

Once at the top we made our way to the observation tower. We went up for some pictures but it was windy and cooler up there so we didn’t stay there for lunch. Instead we walked over to the top of the tramway. Along the way we came across a section of snow that was still three feet deep. I just had to play in the snow. We sat at picnic tables that were sheltered from the wind for lunch. It was weird to be up there with no other people (the tramway wasn’t running).

We decided to continue taking the Kinsman Ridge trail back down to the tramway parking lot. There was a lot less snow on this trail and at times it was also fairly steep. At one point we came out to what looked like it was a ski trail. At the same time I couldn’t imagine anyone skiing on it. It was narrow, there were a ton of 3-4ft tree stumps, and no snow guns. I guess you really have to wait for a lot of natural snow before hitting this trail. We made it to the bottom and then had a 2-mile walk along the Pemi Trail to get to the car. The skies looked threatening but we managed to not get wet.

Thoughts: I miss the snow already. If only I could have longer daylight and snow. I guess I need to head to Alaska in the summer. They have a lot of daylight and snow.

Kinsmans

2009-08-23T13:22:00.001-07:00

Backtracking # 14 North Kinsman and #15 South Kinsman
March 7, 2009

Well I was a little disappointed that there didn’t seem to be as much snow this year as last but there was still plenty. It was suppose to be in the 40s today so I didn’t even bring a winter coat. Just a Nike cold weather top, a Nike fleece, and my raincoat for wind protection.

We parked at Lafayette Place Campground in one of the last spots and suited up. As we headed up Lonesome Lake trail we followed a group of men. I liked their pace but soon they split and the ones that had fallen behind let us pace. This is a nice trail because it is sort of gradual up the side and not straight up like I feared. We met up with the other guys in the group waiting for the ones behind us. They were going to Cannon so we said bye and headed out along the ice on Lonesome Lake. It was still overcast at the time and I was disappointed we couldn’t get good views yet. Once we got to the lake we then found Fishin’ Jimmy trail. I was surprised at the beginning of the trail. It dropped down at first and then had a somewhat flat section before heading up. We were bare booting at this point and I wasn’t having too much of a problem. Dad on the other hand was starting to posthole some. Once we got onto Kinsman Ridge trail there the clouds were lifting and we started to get better views. Things got a bit chilly right before reaching the top of North Kinsman so I had to add the fleece that had been in my bag. We got to the top and found a little flat open area to sit and have some lunch.

After a brief rest we headed out. We came across another viewpoint and I felt to take a picture when I heard my dad shout behind me. He had made a posthole the entire length of his leg. I of course had to take a picture of him before pulling him out. He decided at this point he needed snowshoes. I was still holding out in putting mine on. We caught a glimpse of South Kinsman and it looked like it was going to be steep getting to the top. Looks can be very deceiving. It wasn’t that bad getting there. The top of South is more exposed and provided nice views. By this time the sky had cleared nicely and we were able to get some nice shots of Franconia Notch. There was a bunch of other people along the trails today, probably because of the nice weather. We had another break and then headed back the way we came.

Along the trail back I wore my snowshoes. I could tell as the day went on the weather was really warming up and I didn’t want to do a big posthole like dad. On our way back we passed a few people in shorts (with gaiters) and even a guy hiking shirtless. Now I wasn’t that warm, but it was a really nice day.

Thoughts: I want plastic boots. I have seen a ton of people with them this winter. My winter boots are bulky in my crampons and snowshoes. Plus I can’t wear them the next day because they are usually still wet.

Pierce and Eisenhower

2009-08-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

Backtracking - #12 Pierce and #13 Eisenhower
February 7, 2009

So when we got to Waterville Kim and John were already there. They told us that some people walked into the condo saying they were renting it. Kim informed them we were the owners and we were here that night. So the people left and we thought that was the last of it. Until 12:30am when I am sleeping on the pullout couch and some people come in the front door. Scare me to death. I get up and there are like there are people in here. They leave but every noise now makes me think someone is coming in. This means I do not get a lot of sleep. Never a good thing.

I am less then pleased when it is time to get up. I get myself in gear and we head out to park at the lot on Mt. Clinton road. From here we head to Crawford path. It was a struggle for me at first. I am not a morning person and really do need my sleep. At least along the way we encountered a giant snow face on a tree. There are defiantly more people on the trail then the last two hikes. This could be because it is suppose to be near 30 for a high. Wow, it’s like tropical weather compared to those hikes. I don’t remember too much of the trail other then it wasn’t that bad. Had I gotten proper sleep that is, for me on that day it was not so fun. I pushed on. We started to get glimpses of other mountains peering through the trees. This always helps my spirit. When we reached the cut off for Mt. Pierce there was an AMC group that had just come down and were on their way to Eisenhower. Dad and I went up to Pierce, got a few pictures and quickly left. This was just a stop off. The real mountain of the day was Eisenhower so that’s where we wanted to be.

We had been bare booting thus far with no problems. The col between Pierce and Eisenhower had some deeper snow and some icy spots. About half way along after we had a snack break I decided to put my crampons on and dad decided to put his snowshoes on. This was my first time on ice with my crampons and it was fun. We got to the steep section at the summit cone and there were people coming down so I sat down and decided to watch them. Dad was lagging behind a bit anyway. The people were concerned I was hiking along because they couldn’t see dad around the corner taking his snowshoes off. For some reason he thought it would be easier to do this without snowshoes on. That might have been true but crampons really helped. I even used my ice ax to help get up. So I got up quickly and then had to wait again for dad who wasn’t enjoying this little section as much. He got up the steep part and then it wasn’t too bad to the top. Here there was a group of three men enjoy the views of the presidentials. It wasn’t beautiful blue skis but the clouds were so high you could still see all around. We took our pictures and video and then headed out.

We like to go in loops so we decided to head down toward Edmands path. I still had on my crampons, smart move. Dad still didn’t put them on, bad move. I got down the steep, icy back side without a problem. In fact I would have been pretty terrified had I not had some traction on. Dad eventually had to sit down and slide on the ice because it was getting a bit hairy. Finally we got off the cone and things leveled out. Dad decided it was time to put the crampons on. We head out around Eisenhower on Edmands only for it to go from ice to post holing down 2 feet into powder. Off the crampons went and on to snowshoes. This trail was not as broken out as Crawford path and there was some deep snow, even with crampons. No boot sliding today. This trail wasn’t bad at all. It eventually led out to the closed part of Mt. Clinton Road which is used by snowmobiles. We didn’t see any but it seemed to take forever to get back to the car.

Thoughts: Even though I enjoy snow hiking it is harder. You carry more weight and going through snow and ice can be difficult. Oh well, better then hiking in 90 degrees with 90% humidity.

Mt Liberty

2009-08-22T09:59:00.001-07:00

Backtracking #11: Mt. Liberty
January 10, 2009

In honor of the fact that it has been very hot and humid here along the CT coast I think it is appropriate to think of a much cooler time.

So the month before I experienced some really cold weather hiking up Mt. Jackson. It was enjoyable and very difficult at the same time. When I heard that the high for our proposed hike was going to be 10 degrees with little wind I was very excited, much warmer then the week before. We set out for the Basin parking lot. It was decided that the walk along the snowmobile (bike) trail was a little shorter from the Basin then the Flume lot. We did not encounter any snowmobiles as we made our way to the Liberty Springs trail. At first Liberty Springs trail goes up but soon enough it almost flattens out.

We made good time but could see that it would be getting steep soon. I may have been going a little too fast on the flats because the up hill was about to lay a hurtin on. Once we started going up consistently we decided to put the snowshoes on. Up until this point we were bare booting. I especially wanted to put my snowshoes on because I had recently gotten a pair of MSR Denali Ascents with the heel bar. I wanted to see if raising the bar would in fact help make going up a little easier. They did in fact help. Most of the trail at this point was up but there were a few short sections that flattened out a little and I felt like I had high heels on. The heel bar is good if you are going up for long periods (like on this trail). It could get annoying if the trail had more flats and some downs. It wasn’t until we got to the Liberty Springs Camping area that we encountered our first people. There were two men coming down. We took a nice long break here and dad wasn’t sure if he could go on. After examining the map it seemed that there wasn’t that much more of this up hill until we reached the junction with the Franconia Ridge trail. So we powered on.

Once we intersected with Franconia Ridge we went to the right to toward the summit. I took off at a faster pace because I knew we were close and I couldn’t wait to see the view. When I popped up out of the trees it was amazing. Way off to the south there were some clouds but every other direction it was crystal clear blue sky. I took my snowshoes off because they were becoming annoying on the rock and headed to the summit. I could hear dad shouting with joy when he popped out. I was concerned that if anyone was around and heard us they would think he was in trouble when in fact he just thought the view was so amazing.

At the top we took our usual pictures and dad called mom to say we were in fact at the top. We stayed on a bit longer then we usually do because it was so beautiful. There was a little wind so we decided to head off the summit to snack and have some hot chocolate. As we were heading down we encountered our only other person of the day. It was a guy coming up alone. He had on t-shirt (I wasn’t that warm) and a wool hat that said Patrick. We spoke briefly and then continued down. I decided it would be fun to boot slide down. So I would run a few steps and slide. Repeat. Sure I fell a few times but boy did we get down real quick. We trudged along the flat section of the trail and out to the snowmobile trail. Now there were snowmobiles coming by. This part seemed so much longer going back. It was slightly up hill and I was pretty tired.

Thoughts: I love winter hiking. The views were absolutely amazing. Plus you get crisp, clear air that you can’t get in the summer. 10 degrees isn’t that bad to hike in.

Monadnock in the Summer

2009-08-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

Mt. Monadnock in the summer

What better way to introduce some friends to hiking up a mountain then to take them to Mt. Monadnock. It’s a relatively short hike with some rock scrambling. Which I guess I failed to tell them. Hahaha, my bad. Somehow I convinced Stephanie to be at my house at 6:30am. I was extremely tired, to say the least. I had been at the New England Country Fest the night before in Foxboro and didn’t get home until the wee hours of the morning. I think this is the only reason she agreed to come along since I wasn’t going to be on my A game. At a little after 7 we met Michelle and Ryan in Plainfield. Luckily Ryan said he would drive the rest of the way. Up we went.

The parking lot wasn’t crowded yet when we got there. I thought it was because it was suppose to be so warm but later when we got back it was packed so I guess others were just getting a late start. We got our backpacks ready and put on the bug spray. I used my Ben’s with DEET and the other three used Green Irene 100% natural bug spray. No one got bites so it appears that Green Irene survived the first test. We may have to put her to the test some more. Off we went, and the sweat started pouring down. Goodness was it hazy, hot, and humid. We went the same way as last time, White Dot to Cascade Link to Red Dot. When we got to Red Dot things started heading up more. This is when I started to hear it from some unnamed individuals. They were not quite ready to be doing some rock scrambling. Although there was some whining they did a good job and were scrambling along without a problem. A little before the top all parties agreed this would be a nicer hike if it was cooler and less hazy (hopefully a fall trip back). When we got to the top we encountered the crowds. I was pretty surprised how many people were up there on such a hot day. The top was rather comfortable though with a breeze. We found a slab to sit on and enjoy some snacks and get some pictures.

After a nice little stay it was time to head down. We went the White Cross. There were a few times the ladies needed to scoot down on their bums because they weren’t feeling confident in their balance. This was rather amusing to me but hey, they got down and didn’t get hurt. We got down and everyone was very happy to take off their shoes. I was really proud of everyone, even though there was some whining, they did a good job and kept a decent pace. Good Work Steph, Michelle, and Ryan!

North (#20) and South (#21) Twin

2009-08-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

The Twins #20 and #21
August 3, 2009

We headed out from Waterville Valley in search of our next destination. We knew we wanted a fire road off of route 3. We thought from the map it should be the third one we came to but we were expecting signs. At first we went past it but then we saw the “You are now leaving the White Mountain National Forest” sign. So we turned around and turned into this road. There were some signs for camping but nothing to let you know this was the trailhead for North Twin. It wasn’t until we went the 2 miles to the little parking area that we could confirm we were in fact in the right place.

Stepping out of the car you could hear the Little River rushing. At first you kind of hike away from the river but soon enough you are hiking right along it. We had read that it was near impossible to do the first crossing in high water and that you could bushwhack to the third crossing. The water was defiantly too high but there was an obvious trail following along the river. The trail was very muddy though. If you are going to do this trail now I highly recommend having high waterproof boots. We got to the third crossing and pondered ways across. There were two trees that maybe could be used to shimmy across but I wasn’t high on that idea. We went up river a little bit and it appeared to have more exposed rocks to use. We defiantly had to step into the water but were able to find rocks that weren’t too deep. At one point some water splashed up onto my socks but nothing got down into the boot. This first part of the trail was only a very slight incline so now it was time to head up. Along the way we met Dave, the North Twin Spur trail maintenance man. He was happy to see we weren’t soaking wet. He had been up on the mountain for the last week doing work and was wondering what the river crossing was going to be like. We chatted for a few minutes and then parted ways. The trail up seemed fairly easy to me after my recent adventures in the Cascades.

There was nothing too exciting until we got to a clearing not too far from the top of North Twin. We stopped and snacked and then headed on. We took the short side path at the summit to have another view. The clouds were starting to melt away so the views weren’t that great yet. As we headed along the spur there was one small steep section but nothing too bad. On we went. The hike between the two was a lot easier then it looked when we were on North. We reached the bald summit of South Twin as more of the clouds were disappearing. It was a bit chilly and breezy at the top. I put my fleece on and sat up top to eat while dad sought protection among the rocks. We got our pictures and talked to two other groups before heading back down to check two more 4kers off our list.

Thoughts: No blisters with my new boots and socks!

Panorama Point, Mt Rainier

2009-07-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

Panorama Point, Mt. Rainier July 19, 2009

We got down to Mt. Rainier National Park right after the sunset and headed to Cougar Rock Campground. Upon arriving we saw the full sign but decided to check out if it really was full. In fact every place had someone in it or a reserved sign. We tried to reserve but it wouldn’t let us (must have been filled already). We decided to ask the camp hosts just in case. They confirmed our fears, it was 110% and the next closest campground was about 30miles back where we came from. Dejected we made the loop around to leave only to be stopped by the host standing in the middle of the road. Her husband just informed her that two sites had just opened up because the people staying there got sick. Excited, we followed the husband over to pick our site. Setting up camp was fun at 10pm with headlamps. Ok, I admit it; I used a redneck hat that was camouflage with lights in the brim instead of my headlamp. Once we got settled it was off to bed. The only problem was a new group was coming in tomorrow so we would have to try to move again. So right after breakfast Saturday morning Scott headed out with Natalie (using a 18month old for sympathy) to find us a new spot. I suggested Amy, being almost 8 months pregnant, go with Natalie but Scott was successful. We threw everything in and on the Xterra and headed to our next home. Due to all this moving we decided to wait until Sunday for our hike. This was a good choice because Saturday was a zoo being a National Park Fee Free Weekend. I will do everything possible not to go to another park on a fee free weekend again. Just pay the entry fee. Of course we had no choice, this is when I was out there. We decided to get up Sunday at 6am and head out to hopefully beat the masses if they came out again.

We had no problem finding a parking spot at Paradise. Our initial plan was to go to Paradise Glacier so we headed out on the Skyline Trail in the counterclockwise direction. The beginning of the trail is paved for all the tourists. Soon enough we were on a path. Pretty soon the path lead to snow. I had my Yaktrax with me so I decided to put them on after slipping around a little. Scott didn’t have any but was very happy he decided to bring his friends poles. The first real time on snow was up a short but steeper section. I believe when we got to the top we were on Mazama Ridge. There was more snow then dirt ground at this point but the trail was easy to follow since there were little markers poking out. At one point we heard a noise and tried to figure out what it was. Turns out it was a ptarmigan. I was a bit disappointed it wasn’t something bigger. The view was fabulous along the ridge. You could see up to Rainier or down into a valley and were surrounded by peaks all around. When we got to the Stevens/Van Trump Memorial we decided to head toward Panorama Point instead of Paradise Glacier.

We kept following the Skyline Trail, which was pretty much all snow now. I wish I had known, there was an awesome place to sled. It would have been easy to bring an inner tube along and blow it up when we got there. Due to all the snow we didn’t see as many flowers as expected, I guess we were a little too early. Along the way we did get to see two marmots that were only about 10feet away. I now felt a little better about seeing some different animals. (Where are those mountain goats people spotted yesterday?) There were more patches of dirt trail along with snow that was still deeper then me. Along the way up we met a skier who had just done a run and was planning his next. Up we went to Panorama Point. From there we could see through the haze and just over the neighboring peaks Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Adams.

Behind us of course looming above was Mt. Rainer. Talk about a tease, we had to turn around and head back. Amy and Natalie were waiting down at the campsite. We headed back down via Golden Gate Trail. As we were heading down we saw the skier making a run down where we were headed. We passed two groups of Rainier Mountaineering heading up the trail. I was jealous of them. Their thoughts were on the summit, a place I would like to go. Soon enough we were back to the paved path and encountering the tourists looking for the waterfalls.

A fox (picture taken from in a car)

Thoughts: GO BACK! GO HIGHER! Summit!

Mt. St. Helens!

2009-07-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

Mt. St. Helens, Washington 7/21/09

Now if you had asked me last year if I would want to hike up a volcano, let alone the most famous on the mainland, I would have said no way. After researching more about geology and volcanoes to teach my 4th graders this past winter I learned to not be so scared of volcanoes. My students on the other hand didn’t think it was the best idea. I had to explain to them that it wasn’t going to just erupt. There are warning signs. Along the way in my research I found that you have to purchase climbing permits to go above 4500ft. Once I got my plane ticket I looked up passes and they were sold out for the Thur, Fri, Sat, and Sun I was going to be there (only 100 are sold per day). I was going to be hiking with Scott and he works during the week so I just accepted at first we weren’t going to be able to do it. About three weeks before my trip I found out Scott was going to take Tue off (Mon had sold out at that point too) so we could do it. Tue also happened to be the day I fly home on the red eye.

So Monday afternoon comes around, Scott gets home from work and we head out with my printed out receipt in hand. Luckily there was very little traffic and we get to the Lone Fir Resort in Cougar at 9:30pm to get our passes. From there we headed up to the Climbers Bivouac at the start of the Monitor Ridge Route. This was an interesting little place with two composting toilets, no running water, and some tent sites with fire pits. Some people slept in tents, some in cars, and some in sleeping bags out in the opening. I took the car route and Scott the out in the open route. As the night progressed the weather got warmer and therefore we got less sleep. The plan was to get up at 3am and head out with headlamps. I had wanted to make sure we were done with plenty of time so I could shower before spending the night on a plane. Also, the forecast was for temperatures in the 90s and I didn’t want to spend another day baking on the slopes of a mountain like the week before on South Sister.

At 3:30am we headed out with headlamps into the woods. This was my first time out in the dark and man could you see thousands of stars. The trail through the woods was smooth and only a slight incline. At one point there was an opening and we could see the lights of Portland. After a little more then an hour and 2 miles we came to timberline (interestingly there was a composting toilet right before timberline). Here things started to head up onto Monitor Ridge. The sky was also getting a bit lighter. Now we started doing rock hopping mixed in with some spots of walking on screen (think beach sand with pumice). As we started up the sun was rising in the east beyond Mt. Adams. This was another advantage of going early; being on Mt. St. Helens and watching the sun rise over Mt. Adams, amazing. At this point we started to notice the haze. I was a bit disappointed because I knew that the views wouldn’t be crystal clear but at least I would get some views. This was also about the time when Scott started to thank me for insisting on going so early. We could tell it was getting hot and we were happy to know we would be pretty high before being in the full force of the sun.

Monitor Ridge is great, rock hopping along and looking around to the south. We could see over to Lava Canyon and the volcano was casting a miles long shadow. There was another pair about thirty minutes ahead of us and we kept looking for them along the trail. We were very happy to be on the rocks for such a long time. We both feared that the screen would be lower down. Along the way we went by two GPS volcano-tracking monitors. We managed to be in the shade until about 6:30. At this point the rocks were getting smaller and less frequent. Soon enough we were on screen almost exclusively. I felt like this is what the surface of the moon must be like. That or take a beach, put it on an angle, and remove the water. Poles were very helpful at this point. Up we went. We could see the top and were very glad to see the pair in front of us standing there. Looking behind there was a group of 4 moving much quicker then us. Right before the top they caught us and we all got up there together.

At the top there is about 4-5 feet of flat before the drop off into the crater. So I am not a huge fan of heights and was a bit nervous here. I decided not to walk around the rim and just enjoyed the view from that one spot. From here through the haze we could see Mt. Hood to the south, Adams to the east, and Rainier to the north. Looking down into the crater we could see the lava dome steaming! I was not expecting this. At the same time you could hear small rock falls inside the crater. This also reaffirmed my desire to sit tight and not let the unstable rim get the best of me. It was windy and chilly at the top so I at first put my new First Ascent fleece (side note: I love my new fleece, the First Ascent line is by Eddie Bauer and will be in full release this fall, look for it). We chatted with the group we came up with. There was a lady and two men from Austria and their guide. The day before they did Hood and they were planning on doing Adams in two parts the following two days! Talk about amazing. This explains how they got up to the top 1.5hours quicker then us. I would love to be in that type of shape now and they were in their 50s.

We all headed down at the same time. This is when my gaiters became crucial. We were going quicker and the screen was loosening up. I would step down and my boots sunk in. The gaiters kept the screen out of my boots. At one point I lost my balance and fell down. Now screen and small pieces of pumice are not like falling at the beach. I still had my fleece on which helped my arm only get scratched a little. (My arm is sore and I have bruises on my leg 2 days later). After assessing my scrapes we moved on. There were many more people on the trail now and it was getting hot. At one point we decided to go running through the snow instead of the rocks. Scott slipped and went sliding down. If only we had a sled. After the snow we took a trail lower on the ridge. My once brown boots now appeared gray. We got down to the woods and boy was it hot. The woods were not as dense as we thought but truthfully it is probably mostly all new growth since the 1980 eruption. The melting glaciers and ash on the volcano would have wiped the original trees out. The two miles seemed to take longer going back to the car but at least it wasn’t hard.

Thoughts: All in all it took us a long 5 hours to get to the top but only 3.5 to get down. We were very happy to go early and avoid some of the heat. This time I used sock liners and a pair of First Ascent socks and my feet did better, although I think I will need boots a half size bigger if I am going to be going with thicker socks and liners. I stood atop Mt. St. Helens!!!!!

South Sister, OR

2009-07-22T13:47:00.001-07:00

South Sister - Bend, OR 7/15/09
Third highest peak in OR 10,358ft (of torture)

This hike really beings on Tuesday the 14th when I woke at 3:30am EST to get to the airport for my 6:00am EST flight to Seattle. I land in Seattle at a little after 11:00am PST, have some lunch, visit with my friend Amy, and get dropped at the train station. Next I have a 2:20pm PST train ride to Portland. Three and a half hours later I finally arrive, 5:50pm PST (8:50 EST). My friend Dawn picks me up and I throw in the towel at 8:00 and go to bed. At that point I had been up for almost 20 hours, traveled thousands of miles, and by various modes of transportation. Alas my early morning traveling was not done. Wednesday the 15th we got up at 3:00am and were out the door by 3:30 to drive the 3+ hours down to South Sister, which is just outside of Bend. Needless to say I am tired (and possibly a bit dehydrated) before I even start.

We are taking the southern route to the top so we park at the Devil’s Lake Campground, which starts around 5000ft. It looks almost like the parking lot is next to an old lava flow, kinda cool. A little after 7:30 we are finally on the trail walking through a Douglas Fir Forest. Way different from what I am use to in New England. I notice there are a lot of down, dead trees but we have no explanation to why. This portion of the trail is not difficult by saturated with mosquitoes, annoying. We took our first break next to another apparent lava flow right before the end of complete shade. We rounded the lava flow and got our first good glimpse of our destination.

Now this part of the trail seemed easy (on the way back we despised it). It was relatively flat and almost completely exposed. Earlier in the woods there was some snow, now it was becoming more frequent. We didn’t have to walk in a lot of it but it was reflecting the sun. On a cloudless, 90-degree day this is very bad. On we went taking our next break in a little shady patch. This appeared to be our last quality shade and the start of steep climbing. As we headed up we encountered more snow. Although hot, the snow crossings were not hard and we had no problem bare booting. As we went upward the exposed ground became much more loose. It was not bad at first because there were enough larger rocks around to get footing but it was becoming more of a challenge. Along the way we met a family from VT and had a brief discussion on how this weather was nothing like what it has been at home. They took off; obviously in better shape then Dawn and me who were starting to suffer more. At this point we couldn’t go every hour before break. One minute “oxygen breaks” were becoming the norm.

During one of these we stopped and watched as some people running down. Running, on loose screen. We marveled at how they could do that so confidently. At this point, all shade was pretty much gone except maybe a little behind a rock. We were eating, we were drinking, and boy were we hurtin. Right before 9000ft we took a break and the rock I sat on faced down. I felt miserable and then looking down a steep slope, I really didn’t think I was going to make it. Popping some Advil I told myself that I came all this way I had to get to the top. It was mind over matter. I told myself I was struggling because I was so tired from all my traveling. I also figured altitude had something to do with how I was feeling. Although looking down was a bad idea it was hard not to because there appeared to be another large lava flow and dome. It looked so cool. We pushed on to up over a small lip to the base of Lewis Glacier. The small lake that had formed sure looked nice for a swim but it was too far down. We had no extra energy to waste.

Now we came to the part that was all loose screen from here up. Over 1300ft of it. Everyone around, include us were taking about 5-10 steps and then stopping. I kept checking the altitude on the GPS as a way of seeing how much we had left to go. We gave a little cheer when it hit 10,000ft but we still had over 300more to go. Finally we made it, but not really. We had reached the south side of the crater but couldn’t see anything to the north because the north side is higher. Following some other people we headed left. Bad idea, it doesn’t connect. We got a picture and then headed around. At one point the trail brought us down onto the glacier sitting in the crater. Now at the start of the trail I had some issues with mosquitoes, the next section I had bees following me and my bright yellow LiveSTRONG shirt, and now we were being swarmed by thousands upon thousands of butterflies. Here we are standing on a volcano, a symbol of fire and destruction, and surrounded by beautiful butterflies. There are so many I am afraid I might accidentally hurt one as I walk. We managed to make it over to the true summit without knowingly hurting any butterflies. Now we can see north. We have a great view of Middle and North Sister. Although a bit hazy we can see Mt. Jefferson and way off in the distance Mt. Hood.

After spending some time on top we headed down. The screen is even looser now with all the people who have been coming up and down before us. This means we have to go slower then anticipated. We also realize we still feel miserable and are getting quite low on water. Oh, and the day is getting hotter. I ask Dawn if she will ever listen to a hiking suggestion of mine and without hesitating she says no. We find a little shade from some rocks around 8000ft and take a short break. We are afraid if we sit too long we won’t be able to get up and moving again so the break really is short. The trail is sort of difficult to follow as there are no posts or cairns but this isn’t really a problem, just an occasional nuisance. I can’t tell if I hated the snow at this point because it was so hot and slippery or liked it because I was getting it in my boots and cooling my legs a little. At this point Dawn has gone through 3 32oz Nalgenes. I give her mine, which is half full because I had a 100oz Camelbak. We hit the flat and feel like we are doing ok. That is until I take the last sip of my Camelbak water and all we have left is 10oz of my other Nalgene. The flat took forever now, we hated it. All we could think about was shade. How desperately we needed shade. We were approaching 8 hours of strenuous activity in the sun. I don’t know if I have made myself feel so miserable before. Finally, we reached the shaded woods. At first I was so relieved to not be in the sun but I was practically attached by mosquitoes. I was way too tired to stop and but bug spray on. I wanted out. I wanted the car. It was like adding insult to injury. About half way through the woods I needed to have some of the water. Dawn managed to make it back without having any more. I don’t know if I was ever so happy to see a car. I tried to clean off the ash/screen that had collected on my legs but some just wouldn’t come off. Truthfully I didn’t care. I also didn’t care that we had a 3+ hour drive. I cared that I was sitting and that once we stopped for gas I was going to have some nice, cold chocolate milk.

Thoughts: If it is going to be hot and you are going to be exposed get out earlier if possible. We both drank 3.5 liters of water/Gatorade and essentially ran out. This would have been a lot more enjoyable if it wasn’t so hot out and maybe if I hadn’t flown out the day before. I got blisters again and am on a mission to figure out how not to get them (I would later have more success on Mt St Helens with this). Although this was a pretty miserable day I climbed over 10,000ft and had some great views!

#19 Mt Adams, NH

2009-07-07T09:56:00.000-07:00

July 6, 2009

We had initially planned on doing the “Madams” both Madison and Adams. As we were hiking we decided that just Adams was enough for the day. I had three viable reasons
my knee still hurts from when I decided on a Friday at lunch I was going to run the Niantic Bay 10K that afternoon without doing any purposeful training
there was a chance of thunderstorms after 3pm and the rate we were going this summer it meant there would at least be rain
I am heading out to Seattle/Portland for some Cascades hiking (Paradise Glacier on Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, and maybe South Sister) next week and want to be fully recovered for that

So we left Waterville at 6:30am for the trailhead. We decided after reading some other peoples reports (thanks Trish and Alex) that we were going to park at Appalachia and do the Airline Trail all the way up and Valley Way down. The Airline Trail was very pleasant at first. It was a mild gain at first, which gives me a warm-up. This way the muscles, heart and lungs could get warmed up before anything really serious. After about a mile and a half we started getting A LOT of mud. You wouldn’t want to do this trail right now unless you had Gore-Tex boots. Luckily there weren’t all that many bugs considering how wet it was. After about three hours we finally hit tree line. Along the way we could hear other people behind us and I was waiting for them to catch and pass us. We didn’t actually see them until we stopped above tree line for a break. They passed us but then took a break a little way up so we ended up passing them.

Up we went, rock hoping along the way. I would say these rocks were a little smaller then Mt. Washington’s so it seemed a little more technical but not too bad. We were praying all the while that it would not rain because I could imagine they would be very slippery. When we got above tree line at first the summit was in the clouds, but just barely. As we got closer to the top those clouds lifted and so in turn did my spirits that we would have some views. Sure enough, the clouds appeared to be at 7000ft so we had our 360 degree views. It was cool seeing some snow still on Jefferson. I had also never seen Mt. Washington from this side before and therefore the Auto Road. While we were up top our “friends” as I started to call them got up there. They had done a three hour drive from Maine that morning just for the hike. (Hi Nick, Brenna, and Dennis!) They too had initially planned on doing Madison but were thinking otherwise. After a lovely lunch of Pop-Tarts Dad and I headed down.

Dad suggested going down toward the Gulf Side trail because it appeared to not be as steep. He was right. Going up we had about .6miles of steep rock hopping, going down it was only about .3. We meet up with the Gulf Side trail and headed down to visit the Madison Spring Cabin. As we were coming around the Gulf Side trail we saw our friends coming down the Airline and waved to them. The Madison hut was nice and cozy. I bought myself a Snickers and got dad some freshly baked bread. I was surprised that we could see our breath in here. It was so humid out that I did most of the hike up in shorts and a t-shirt and only had a thin Dri-Fit long sleeve shirt at the top. It turns out it was only in the 40’s at the top and maybe 50 at the cabin. Our friends followed into the cabin a few minutes later where we chatted some more. Around 2pm we decided to head back home. It didn’t take long before we started to feel raindrops. Then at 2:15 thunder, urg, that’s 45min early. There was only a little bit of thunder, maybe 15minutes worth but then it started to rain pretty good. I decided to put my raincoat on, dad decided to let the rain cool him off. The combo of rain and thunder lead me to go a lot faster down then I wanted. My knee was not so happy with this but I thought it was the safer solution. Valley Way was a much less muddy trail so I think it allowed us to go a bit quicker. It was also nice because right after leaving the hut we were below tree line and thus felt a little safer with the weather. With around a mile left the rain stopped and the sun started to come out. Around a half-mile left our friends came running up to us. They decided to run down because of the weather. They started to run ahead but then had to take a shoe-tying break. At this point they decided to walk the rest of the way to the cars with us.

Thoughts: We were all happy we decided not to do Madison because we would have been up there and exposed when the thunder came. Not the place to be in a storm. I went with what dad called the non-traditional hiking shorts, a pair of mesh, dri-fit, basketball shorts. I found these a lot easier to move in. I think I like my North Face boots better then my Asolos. I keep getting blisters in the Asolos.

Osceola Again

2009-06-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

Repeating #2 Mt Osceola
June 7, 2009

Dad and I were staying up in Waterville a day longer and we had to decide on a second day of hiking. I suggested Osceola because last year when we went up you could only see 10 feet in front of you. I heard the view was good and I wanted to see it myself. Plus if we had to turn around for some reason we were still in the valley and it wouldn’t be a big deal because we have done it before.

We waited until noon to head out. We wanted to see everyone off who was headed home. The only problem was that the Weather Channel was forecasting a chance of rain for 2:00pm. Now I was a little tired and sore from the day before. I had a blister on my right heel that had a Band-Aid on it, but I was on a mission. Must get to top and see view. So off we went from the parking lot on Tripoli Road. It was fairly rocky from what I had remembered. If you have some balance this is pretty easy to deal with, only slows you down a little bit. It does take well over a mile though for things to smooth out. We took our regular first hour stop but this was just a short rest and some liquids. We had lasagna for lunch at 11:30 so neither of us needed food yet. We powered our way up. Occasionally, through the trees, you could catch glimpses of Mt. Tecumseh. Then I could see the dark clouds brewing in the west. This caused my pace to maintain, if not increase slightly. Must, see, view. Now I never would have thought that I could go at that pace the day after doing 11miles over 2 4kers. Mind over matter.

We got to the top and it was well worth it. Way different from the last time. The views swept from Mt. Washington, down to yesterdays peaks, the lakes behind them, and over to Tecumseh. Man I have got to come back here in a crystal clear day with a picnic lunch.

This is the perfect place. Great views, nice flat rocks to sit on. I took some pictures and a video, had some snacks, and talked to some other hikers. Dad already left in search of the other views. I felt some rain drops, put the raincoat on, and headed back a little bit. Right before the top there was a big rock with some concrete footings on it. This is where the side trail is to the views on the other side. Although this viewing rock was smaller it gave the rest of the views we didn’t see before, including Franconia Notch and back to the presidentials. While this isn’t a true unobstructed 360 degree views between the two places you can see 360 degrees.

The clouds weren’t looking promising and we didn’t want to get really wet so we headed down, again at a fairly rapid pace. There are some rock slabs to walk across and we didn’t want to see if they become slippery when wet. At this point I can tell my Band-Aid has fallen off and my blister is not feeling so well. The hot spots on my big toes are also becoming really hot. That didn’t stop me though. I wanted down. I didn’t want to get wet and I did want to get to Lahout’s in Lincoln before it closed for the night. On our way down we discussed how we would most likely be coming back here more. It is a fairly easy 4ker. Only gaining 2100 feet with a bunch of switchbacks to make it very manageable. Plus the view at the top is great. I will have my picnic lunch of here one day.

Thoughts: I would recommend this as a first 4ker. As long as you have some balance the rocks are not difficult. Even if you aren’t interested in 4kers this is still a great hike with a beautiful reward at the top. Bring a picnic lunch in your backpack and enjoy your stay at the top. You won’t be disappointed, unless of course the top is in the clouds and you can only see 10 feet in front of you.

Mts Whiteface and Passaconaway

2009-06-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

#17 Whiteface and #18 Passaconaway

June 6, 2009

The adventure really started on the drive over. For over 20 years we had driven by Sandwich Notch Rd off route 49 on the way in and out of Waterville. I always wondered about it. Well let me tell you, it was an adventurous road. Right away we went up. This is fine, the road was paved, and it was wide enough for two cars. Soon enough the pavement ended. Right after the Sandwich Notch Farm the road got interesting. Twists, turns, little hills that were so steep you couldn’t see the road at the top. Praying that it wasn’t a moose on the other side of the hill. Oh yeah, it also was wide enough for really only one car. The two times we encountered cars in the other directions it was a little hairy but all parties survived. Needless to say dad’s week old Subaru Forrester did well but he wasn’t willing to go back that way.

We got to the trailhead at 9 and it was already filling up. We quickly headed out toward Blueberry Ledges Trail for our way up. It was quite nice at first, a bit of a warm up. Gentle inclines to get the muscles, heart and lungs warmed up. Still I was going really slow. I couldn’t get myself going any faster, I think it was the thought of 10+ miles that my body was trying to pace itself. Soon the inclines got a little steeper but nothing too bad. After an hour we took our customary snack break. We headed up again and soon met a lady coming from the Blueberry Cutoff. We invited her to come along and she decided to join our march upward. I was leading, our new friend Debbie in the middle, and dad in the back. Onward and upward we went. Things got steeper but still not too technical. About 45minutes later we took our second snack break. It wasn’t too much past here that Debbie and I had to put our poles away because we were scrambling and needed both hands. At one point we can across a nice little scramble that use to have some steps drilled in. I was very happy to be going up these, I would not have been pleased going back down them. I went up all the scrambles first, found hand holes, and the best way to go up. I think it was beneficial to be tall at times, the longer legs made some of this easier. After 3 hours we made it to the clearing right by the top. There was a small, but very friendly AMC group up there already that we chatted with a little. We had some more food, took more pictures, and parted ways with Debbie. She was heading back down and we were heading over to Passaconaway.

The Rollins Trail between the two summits was moderate at first but nothing really technical. It went down a lot more then I thought. There were occasional views of the bowl but nothing too exciting. We were surprised how many people were going in the opposite direction. That meant they were going to go down the Blueberry Ledge scrambles, no thank you. After intersection Dicey’s Mill Trail things started going back up. I was thankful for the switchbacks because I was becoming very tired. I had taken my big bag with extra weight like my sleeping bag to get use to it and get a better workout. I was defiantly working out. Nothing really to speak of on the way up. Right before the top there was a little clearing, I stopped briefly and then headed toward the summit. Boring. No views, just a cairn. I quickly got back to the little clearing and lay down. I sarcastically said I wasn’t tired, I was just working on my sun tan. I did get up because the bugs were annoying. I noticed that the view was looking toward Waterville. We were so close by way the bird flies, yet so far away. We didn’t stay long because there was nothing to see and it was buggy. Now we saw black flies but I didn’t get bit by any. The mosquitoes on the other hand seemed to ignore the Ben’s 100 and take to nibbling on my head. Grrr. Down we went. I was going at a decent pace but then my ankle started to ache. No reason that I could think of in particular but it was enough to annoy me. We went down Dicey’s Mill Trail which was fairly easy. About a third of the way down I slowed down a lot. Between being tired and my ankle bothering me I couldn’t get myself going any faster. There was no real rush. That was until we heard some thunder. The trail is pretty shaded so we couldn’t tell where it came from or where it was going. It was enough to get me moving quicker. It seemed like it took forever to get down. Finally we came to a clearing with a nice looking house. The sky had some small dark clouds so it appeared that we just heard an errant clap of thunder. I was very happy to get back to the car and just sit down. 18 down 30 to go.

Thoughts: Go Blueberry Ledges up and Dicey’s down. If it is wet Blueberry will be very difficult. Maybe an 11mile hike isn’t a good time to test out new socks. Eat more if you are carrying more weight. Random hikers that you pick up along the way can make a hike go by quicker. Thanks for joining us Debbie!

Mt. Jackson

2009-05-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

Backtracking #10: Mt. Jackson, NH
December 13, 2008

The physically hardest day of my life thus far. Two days earlier a major ice storm struck causing major damage around Mass. and NH. The White Mountains didn’t have it as bad as the southern part of the state but there was still ice around. The forecast for Waterville was a high of 10 and for Mt. Washington –10. I figured Mt. Jackson would be in the middle of that. Needless to say no one else came up to Waterville this weekend with us.

Due to it being one of the shortest days of the year we headed out early (well early for us). I think the car thermometer said 8 degrees, the warmest part of my day. As we headed out the temp went down. There were clear blue skies until we got to Franconia Notch. There were clouds in the notch and it was like going through a storm. Oh yeah the thermo read –3 at this point. We got through to blue skies and slightly warmer temps. I was excited because I thought we would have fantastic views of Mt. Washington and the rest of the Presidentials with these skies. My hopes were dashed when we spotted Crawford Notch. It was just like Franconia, road to top of mountain clouds, only in the far southern presidentials. It was like a sick joke, not only is it going to be very cold but also you won’t get to see anything. First, we tried to park in the train depot again, no luck, not plowed. Then we tried Mt. Clinton road, no luck, ice skating in a car. So we went to the Highland Center and got permission to park even though we weren’t staying there.

We headed out with lots of layers on. It didn’t take too long before I needed to delayer. This time I was smarter and delayered sooner. The trail was a little icy but we decided to bare boot. We worked our way up the Webster-Jackson trail at a slow pace. When the trail split we went toward Mt. Jackson. We had wanted to do Jackson and Pierce today so we wanted to get right to goal #1. About halfway up I saw dad’s thermometer read 0 degrees, lovely. It was taking forever, I couldn’t figure out why, this was supposed to be one of the easier 4kers. It was interesting seeing the trees encased in a thin layer of ice. Maybe that should have been a hint to me that this was more difficult. We took our crampons and thinking back they might have been helpful. Now I have Yak-Trax, those would have been good too. It was a bit slippery and very cold. Minor details. Finally, there was a little opening in the trees and the clouds and we could see the summit. This was about the time that my face started to hurt because it was so cold. I put my goggles back on to help a little. There was a little steep section that took a little work but we got through and soon we were about to go above tree line. As we got closer to the top you could feel and hear the wind. Looking at dad’s thermometer reading –5 now I knew I was about to need ALL layers, including my Under Armor Facemask Hood. If it was –5 without the wind I didn’t want to know what it really felt like on my skin with the wind. I almost lost my balance at one point due to the wind. There was another man up there and he was crouched down next to a cairn for protection. It wasn’t giving him much. We asked if he knew which way to Mt Pierce and he pointed us in a direction. We went that way a little bit, found some better shelter and stopped for some hot chocolate.

I didn’t think the sent us in the right direction but at this point we weren’t going back after going down a steep snowy section. The clouds parted for about 30seconds and we saw Mt. Washington perfectly, beautifully. Neither of us had our cameras ready but we got to see it. This also reaffirmed my suspicions we were sent the wrong way. Oh well, the wrong way meant going toward Webster Cliffs and the way down. It didn’t take long for dad to also start to realize this was the “wrong” way. I think both of us were starting to be very tired and were ok with the “wrong” way. There didn’t appear to be any ice between Jackson and Webster so we had to strap on the snowshoes. I had my new MSR Denali’s but dad still was using his old, way too long, recreational Columbia’s. He kept losing a shoe and was getting very frustrated. At one point I felt almost hopeless. We had a long way to go, I was spent, and afraid we wouldn’t make it out before dark. I had my headlamp but I knew dark meant even colder temperatures. We started heading downward which made me happy. The trail wasn’t too bad until right before Silver Cascade. I think if you saw me I would have looked like Tom when Jerry got away. Angry, confused, eyes super wide open. I couldn’t believe I had to go down that steep hill and then back up on the other side. At least the cascade looked cool frozen over. Somehow we scrambled up and I realized we were at the Jackson Webster split. We were going to make it out before dark. I think we both got a little hop in our step because we knew the trail wasn’t bad from here down. We quickened the pace and made it out to the road as it was getting dark. Dad got back to the car sooner then me, I couldn’t move any quicker. We decided to go into the Highland Center to warm up some before heading back to Waterville. On the way home we stopped and took some pictures of Mt. Washington looking magnificent, with no clouds, at all.

Thoughts: I never knew how much the cold weather could take out of you. I had good layers and only felt cold right when I stopped before I could layer up and right at the top when I was exposed and standing to take pictures. So even though I didn’t feel cold, it was cold. My Camelbak tub froze last time so this time I put hot tap water in and blew the water out each time. This lasted longer then I thought. I also put hot tape water in a Nalgene, which then was in an insulated pouch. By the end it was icing but lasted the whole day. In the end I was happy we were sent the “wrong” way. It would have been a huge struggle if we had gone our intended route. So thank you to the man who sent us the wrong way. I ended up falling asleep at 7PM that night and slept a long time.

Mt Field and Tom

2009-05-30T05:42:00.000-07:00

Backtracking #8 and 9: Mt Field and Tom, NH
November 29, 2008

Our Waterville weekend dad was working an outage at work so I went up with Katie and Heather again. Heather’s ankle was still not 100% so we took to the trails in the valley below 3000ft. There are a ton so we weren’t bored. Only thing was that meant for 2 months we weren’t hiking a 4ker. I was in withdrawal. Dad hates outages, and had to work on Thanksgiving so when I suggested we go hike when he was done. He liked the idea. Online he found a cheap hotel just north of North Conway. I was about to get the best of both worlds, shopping the N. Conway outlets on Black Friday and doing 2 4kers.

We parked at the train depot right next to the Highland Center. A few cars were there already and the snow was packed down so parking wasn’t a problem. We crossed the railroad tracks and hit the trail. I was very excited because these would be my first 4kers in the snow. Unfortunately, we had left our snowshoes and my boots in our condo closet. Luckily, I found a pair of North Face winter boots on sale the night before at EMS. As for the snowshoes we were going to have to suck it up. At first this wasn’t a problem because the Avalon trail only had 3 or so inches of snow. Once we got to the junction with the A-Z trail the snow was getting deeper. We headed toward Mt. Avalon. Although not a 4ker I heard there are great views so we decided to take the spur to the top. There was one section that was somewhat difficult without the snowshoes because it was steep with deep snow. We did eventually get up and got to enjoy the view while snacking. This was also our first experience with the gray jays. Wow, they are friendly. After a short stay we headed north toward Mt. Field. The summit was not above tree line but there were some open views. It was a lot colder then I expected too. I was trying to get food out of my bag without my gloves on and it didn’t take long before they hurt from the cold. We had some more snacks and some hot chocolate but quickly headed down due to the cold and dwindling day light.

We headed along the Willey Ridge Trail toward Mt Tom. Now this is where the snowshoes would have been handy. We did plenty of post holing in well over a foot of snow. Although this part of the trail was easy it was taking a while because of the conditions. We finally got to the spur to Mt Tom and dad said we didn’t have time. We were going to run out of daylight. I tried to protest some but it didn’t work so we headed down the A-Z Trail. After a few yards dad changed his mind. If we went quickly we can do it. So we turned around and headed up the Spur Trail. I was very tired when we finally found the top. Clouds were rolling in so it wasn’t as nice of a view as it could have been. On our way back though we had a parting of the clouds and out popped Mt. Washington. What a view. No time to sit around and admire, we need to get out of here before it gets dark. Off we went at a rapid pace down to the car. The sun had gone down below the mountains when we got back but there was some light still so it wasn’t bad. I was drenched in sweat though. I couldn’t wait to change clothes.

Thoughts: I think I am going to really enjoy this winter hiking. Notes to self: Don’t leave the snowshoes in the condo closet. Learn to layer better and stop and delayer if you are getting real hot. Bring 3 pairs of gloves because your hands sweat a lot.

Mt. Monadnock, NH

2009-05-29T16:18:00.001-07:00

Backtracking: Mt. Monadnock, NH
Early Oct. ‘08

My niece’s 1st birthday was our Waterville weekend so I knew I wasn’t going to get a 4ker in. By this point I am becoming obsessed and needed to get a good hike in. I suggested Mt. Monadnock. Now you have to realize we live a solid 2.5 hours away from it along Long Island Sound in CT. On top of that I was meeting a friend at 3:30 to go out to dinner. Minor details. We set off early and made our way north. As we pulled in a ranger was meeting the cars to check if people were really prepared to hike. We were set so we parked and headed out.

I had read that the most popular trails were the white ones so we decided to go Cascade Link to Red Spot. This was a good choice. Not crowded and some fun climbing. Even some scrambling. When we got up near tree line there were some huge boulders with views. I swear I could see Boston from there. It was clear for miles and miles. As we got above tree line things got very windy and a bit chilly. I had packed layers so on went the wool hat, gloves, fleece, and vest. The summit was rather crowded with people mostly coming up the white trails. It was way too windy to really enjoy it though. Although I would have preferred less wind it was still awesome 360 views of the area. It was kind of weird being on this bald mountain that was only just over 3000feet with nothing close to as big nearby.

We found some protection from the wind, had some snacks and headed down. We were on a tight time schedule so we went down at a swift pace. We decided to go down the White Cross Trail and passed a whole ton of people coming up. We made our way down rapidly with no problems. Right at the beginning there were some steep sections but they were dry and didn’t cause any problems. We made it back to the car and home a little after 3:00.

Thoughts: Great sub 4ker. Fabulous 360 views from the top. I recommend going up Red Spot to avoid the masses going the two white trails. Going down them wasn’t bad.

Mt Moosilauke

2009-05-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

Backtracking #7: Mt Moosilauke, NH
September 20, 2008

So a few days after doing Mt. Washington I had my first, first day of school. I am a first year teacher so that was a little scary for me. Hey, if I can do Mt. Washington I can handle a room full of 10 year olds. Now I am writing this 15 school days until our last day. Dad decided Mt Moosilauke looked like a good one. This time we finally convinced others to go along with us too. Yay for Katie and Heather.

We headed out from WV and made our way toward the mountain. We got stuck behind a slow moving red truck and it seemed like it took forever to get to the dirt road to the Moosilauke Lodge. Soon enough we were there and unloading the car. Unfortunately dad left the spout on his Camelbak in the open position and red Gatorade/water mix was all over the trunk and his bag. Luckily the Lodge was open so he could go in and fill up with water. Once he was set we were on our way up Gorge Brook trail. This seemed like a piece of cake compared to a month before. We went at a nice easy pace and for the first time I was almost comfortable hiking. One of my favorite new things has got to be getting above tree line. It is like a whole other world. Since Katie is a geologist I used this opportunity to have her teach me a thing or two about rocks since in a few months time I had to teach them to my students. I was not a very good student, I was struggling to name the rocks around me. Oh well. That kept me entertained for a little while as we got closer to the summit. The summit was more crowded then I expected since the trail wasn’t very crowded. We found a comfortable place to sit and had some lunch. We stayed a little longer then normal to enjoy the beautiful day.

Dad likes loops so we took the Snapper Trail to the Carriage Road. Now this is a fairly easy trail, not too steep or rocky. Well maybe that was the problem. It was too easy and we weren’t paying as good of attention as we should. Heather fell and sprained her ankle. Ouch. She took it like a champ though. I offered up my poles, which she gladly accepted, and we took turns carrying her bag. Now we still had almost 3 miles to go to get back to the car. It took a while, but she made it and we only had to help her a few times. Before the way down on the hike I was thinking about getting hiking shoes to use on dry warm days instead of using boots. Those thoughts are long gone. I saw how an easy trail could lead to an injury. This also made me realize how injuries on a mountain are different then on flat land. If it was much worse how would we have gotten her down? I was also very happy that I had purchased the poles a few weeks ago.

Thoughts: All in all I enjoyed the hike. It was a decent hike but I didn’t feel like I was torturing myself. Maybe it was an easier trail or maybe I was starting to develop those slow twitch muscle fibers. Either way it was a good day for me.

Mount Washington

2009-05-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

Backtracking #6: Mount Washington
August 23, 2008

This hike (especially the way up) is a bit of a blur. I tend to daydream and sing to myself to block out what I really am doing. It helps me push through when my body wants to stop.

As usual we headed out from Waterville Valley and made our way to Pinkham Notch. Holy crowded! We had to park out on the road. We headed up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail with everyone else. Everyone said to bring layers; it’s cold up there. So I started with pants and a t-shirt, long sleeve layers in my Camelbak. It didn’t take long before I was hot and had to zip the legs off. I don’t remember too much about the walk toward Tux. Dad had read somewhere that Lion’s Head was less crowded so we headed that way. Sure enough there were a lot less people that way. By the time we hit tree line I was sweating and wondering when the cold would kick in. We took a break and talked on the phone to mom. After our short break we kept going up until we leveled off. Thank goodness. We took another break surround by a whole bunch of other people and then headed out a long the rim of Tux. The view was amazing. Soon enough we had to head up those big, lovely rocks, that those who hike up Mt. Washington know and love. My adrenaline kicked in at this point, dad on the other hand didn’t appear to have this same kick. The mass of humanity looked like a slow moving train both up and down. At one point I saw someone fall and literally tumble down a few rocks. The man popped right up, said he was ok, and continued on. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. No stopping now. I wanted the top. Oh yeah, the cold weather, well I was still waiting on it. I got to the parking lot before dad thus giving myself a chance to rest. Once he joined we headed up to the real top.

Now I really wanted a picture with the summit sign. Unfortunately all those people who drove or cogged up were in line to get pictures. I was way too tired to wait in line. We headed in to get food and Gatorade. I have to say I did really enjoy having real food (chili dog!). I went downstairs to the Observatory Store and dad followed. The “This Body Climbed Mt. Washington” t-shirts were calling our names. I also got a hoody. I had to carabineer the bag to my Camelbak because it couldn’t fit in. We refreshed our water and headed out to the deck for more pictures. Finally I put on a long sleeve dri-fit shirt. Turns out it was 70degrees at the summit. A record high for that day and near the overall record. There was some wind, hence the reason for long sleeves. After a little while we headed down. I was intimidated looking at Tux the way down. It was hard for me to imagine we were going to hike down that, it seems so steep. I was a little scared because the trail was steep and wet at times. About half way down dad slipped and fell. Luckily he fell on one of the larger rocks so he didn’t keep going down, just some scrapes and a little blood. I was much more comfortable when we got into the bottom of the bowl. From here on out the hike seemed easy. This is a good thing because with about a mile left my legs were rubber. I was going on autopilot. We were very happy to not only see the car but also see there was no ticket since we were parked in the road.

Final thoughts: DO IT! You will feel so accomplished. I recommend doing some smaller ones first. Some friends who have done it and didn’t do other hikes were hurting big time afterward. I was sore but it wasn’t too bad. Now I really want to take on the rock pile in the winter.

Mts. Lincoln and Lafayette

2009-05-25T06:29:00.000-07:00

Backtracking 4 and 5: Lincoln and Lafayette Franconia Notch, NH
July 26, 2008

After researching some we didn’t feel ready to do the Tripyramids yet so we needed to branch outside of the Valley. We still wanted something not far away so our sights were set on the Franconia Notch area. While there were some easier hikes there we decided to dive right in and hit up some 5000fts. Hey, the view from Franconia Ridge was suppose to be fantastic, we like views.

We headed out from Waterville and were to the trailhead by 9am. Our plan was to go counterclockwise up Falling Waters to Little Haystack, along Franconia Ridge, and then down to the Greenleaf Hut and Old Bridle Path. The beginning of Falling Waters was very pleasant and we commented that mom might enjoy it with some nice waterfalls. Soon enough we got to a big waterfall and started heading up. This is where things started getting crowded too. At one point, as we were walking right along the stream, a girl in front of me slipped and fell back landing on my feet. She was ok, but her group let us go past. I have to admit this trail gave me a serious butt whipping. I was riding my bike between hikes but not doing much else to work on those slow twitch, endurance muscles. I struggled mightily, so I truthfully don’t remember much of the way up besides the waterfalls, a few water crossings that weren’t difficult, and a whole slew of French-Canadians. Being a former DI athlete I had put my body through a lot in college so I didn’t (refused to maybe is a better way to put it) give up. I needed some frequent, short stops but powered through. Finally we hit tree line. The excitement and adrenaline made me forget the pain I was in and I quickly got to the top of Little Haystack. Wow, what a view! There were some high level, fair weather clouds but otherwise it was fantastic. The 360 views were terrific. It was a bit intimidating seeing where we still had to go though. We took a break, had some snacks, and headed out.

The Franconia Ridge walk was awesome. We got stuck behind a group on the way to Lincoln but that was ok because they were going at a comfortable pace. I felt very accomplished to reach the top of Lincoln, my first 5ker. Again we took some pictures but then carried on to the real destination, Lafayette. Now for some reason I thought Lafayette was a mile high so I was a bit disappointed when I found out he is only 5260, 20 feet short. Right before the summit it got a little steep but again I have this adrenaline when I am up top and got up much quicker than dad. Maybe when I am standing on that old foundation, if I jump up with my hands up, my hands can touch a mile high. Eh, not so much, no mile high for me today. The top was crowded which didn’t bother me, but it was buggy!?!? What in the world, the Ridge wasn’t, nor were Lincoln and Haystack. Way to ruin it for me. We didn’t stay too long because of the bugs. Got our pictures and headed down.

We stopped in and visited Greenleaf Hut. Thank goodness it was there because we both had run out of water. It was a hot day, we were exposed for a good 2miles and didn’t have anything besides a 70oz Camelbak. We bought some lemonade and ate more snacks. I also bought a patch from the hut. We then headed down Old Bridle Path. This was much less crowded. There was a couple from the Boston area that we were following for a while but otherwise not many other people. There were a few steep sections but nothing too bad, even a few views looking back to the Ridge. Along the way there was a AMC trail maintenance crew working and moving some big rocks, impressive. We got back out to the trailhead but still had to go under the highway to get to Lafayette Place where we parked. I was exhausted. Spent. Tired. But wow, amazed with the awesome views, and proud of myself for doing two 5000kers as my 4th and 5th climbs.

Altogether it was 9miles from the car, a little under 4000feet in elevation gain and I don’t remember how long it took us. If you have a decent endurance base (or don’t mind torturing yourself) you need to go do it. I really want to go back in winter and do it again when there are no bugs to ruin the summit.

Note: Some of you may be confused that I tend to wear LSU stuff when I hike but I went to UNC. Well one of my good friends is the track coach at LSU and has gotten me some gear that is excellent Dri Fit so it is very comfortable to hike in.

Mts. Osceola and East Osceola

2009-05-24T09:41:00.000-07:00

Backtracking #2 and 3: Osceola and East Osceola Waterville Valley, NH
June 28, 2008

It is nice to have a few 4kers in the valley. We can be close to home and still get in a good hike. We had Gary drive us up and drop us off at the trailhead on Tripoli Rd. We encountered and passed a group of boy scouts along the way. This hike was a bit nicer because there were switchbacks so it wasn’t as steep. I had my first GU experience and have been a fan ever since. Chocolate Outrage is my favorite, tastes like chocolate syrup. Easy to take down (drink water with it) and in between 15-30min I feel like I have more energy. So I think there were some views along the way but I wouldn’t know, we were in the clouds. Right before the summit it got very foggy/cloudy and you couldn’t see very far in front of you. We got to the top and saw the remnants of an old fire tower. It appeared that on a clear day there would be a fabulous view of the valley below but I couldn’t see more than 10feet. We didn’t stay long because it was wet and cloud.

Soon enough the trail got rougher. There were some steep downhill sections but nothing too bad. The ridge between the two mountains I think had views, but all I could do was hear the Kangamangus Highway. The ridge wasn’t a bad walk and soon enough we were at East Osceola. We took a break and then headed down toward the Greeley Ponds. This was steeper then the way up and we came upon a small rockslide. It was more technical then we thought but nothing we couldn’t handle. Once we got to the ponds we followed the trail to Livermore Road. From there we walked back into the valley and to our condo.

It was about 12miles altogether, 2 4kers, and me power walking the last few to get to a real bathroom. (Note: There is one at the Snows Mtn. lift.)

Mt. Tecumseh

2009-05-24T06:09:00.000-07:00

Backtracking.
I am going to, as time permits, go back and add trip reports from the first 4kers we have done. So here is the one that started it all, Tecumseh.

For years my family and the Komosky’s have been going to Waterville Valley, NH for a week in the summer. I fell in love with the place the first time and have enjoyed seeing mountains ever since. Because we went in the summer I would always look at the green slopes of Tecumseh and wonder what it was like. We got to go up Cannon and Loon because they had summer gondola rides. In the valley it was only Snows Mtn that had the summer lift, and even that was a few years into our visits. Finally, the weekend of my birthday in 2008, I got to take on Tecumseh. I went skiing, second time ever. I had dreamed about this day since the first time I laid eyes on the mountain some 20 years earlier. The morning was great, although I fell many a time; I still had a ton of fun. The afternoon, not so much, I fell but the pole was stuck in the ground. I dislocated and fractured my shoulder. Alas, I will come back and conquer you.

Flash forward to June 1, 2008. We have a quarter share with the Komosky’s and go up monthly. In the winter dad and I started snowshoeing (except for that one skiing incident). I have finally convinced someone to try hiking Tecumseh and we get my Uncle Mikey and cousin Alex to come along.

We head up via car to the skiing parking lot where the trailhead is. The runs parallel to the ski slopes for a while before heading over to the true summit, which is not the top of the ski runs. At the beginning we are walking along a nice stream where all 4 of us take pictures. Alex and Mikey both do long distance running so they are in much better shape then us. As a thrower I also tended to work out my fast twitch muscles and not my slow ones so this I know is going to be hard on me. It was pretty much straight up, no switchbacks. At one point it appeared the trail crossed the stream and went one way, but my map said it was suppose to go out to the ski slope. We decided to follow the map, which was out of date. It was all good because we got some nice views on the slope and eventually found the trail again.

As we neared the top it started to get my windy and a little bit more technical. My aching legs seemed to not hurt as much with the thought of my first 4k summit nearby. We reached the top and got pictures. There were a few small views but it is a wooded summit so nothing that great. After a short snack we headed over to the top of the ski slope. Now we got some awesome views. We headed down the ski slopes, which were steep. Mikey and Alex decided to do some running down, my knees didn’t like that. We then went down the infamous Oblivion trail, which beat me a few months earlier. We stopped at the spot of my fall and I recreated it for the boys since they weren’t there. We continued down Valley Run, my more successful skiing trail. As we were going we noticed an increase in bugs. Not just any bugs, the dreaded black fly…ahhhh. They didn’t stop Alex and me from playing in the snow remaining at the half pipe. We climbed up it and slid down, wet bottoms but hey we got to go “sledding” in June. The flies were starting to really annoy us so we headed quickly to the car.

Our first 4ker done. Although the shortest, it is a straight up hike that makes it a little more difficult then we thought. Great views from the ski slopes. Mental note: Deep woods OFF is not enough to handle black flies, get better bug stuff.

Smarts Mtn

2009-05-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

Trip Report!

On June 1, 2008 dad and I did our first New Hampshire 4000footer. We soon became addicted, and when we can't get to a 4ker we do what we can. In less than a year we have done 16 4kers in NH and a bunch of other 3kers around New England.

Here is my first trip report. Smarts Mtn, Lyme, NH 5/23/09
I wanted to do Killington (a VT 4ker) but couldn't figure out if the trails had opened from mud season yet. While reading a NE hiking book I came across Smarts. It was only 3200ft but they said that the elevation gain was 2100ft. Little mountain, decent hike. While researching I also found out that it was part of a string of ancient volcanic islands millions of years ago and there was some good geological features. (I just taught geology and volcanoes to my 4th graders this winter!) So we headed up to my uncle's house in Brattleboro, VT Friday night.

We were up and out of my uncle’s at 7:30am. Grabbed some breakfast at a little bakery in Brattleboro and headed north. It was a little less than an hour and a half drive to the trailhead. Getting there was really easy. As we pulled in I could see a ton of bugs, urg. Upon getting out of the car I felt like killer mosquitoes were attacking me. I got my 40% DEET cream out of my bag and lathered up. Right away the swarms started moving farther away. Excellent. Dad sprayed his bug stuff on and we headed up Lambert’s Ridge Trail which is part of the Appalachian Trail. Right away we started heading up but it wasn’t too bad. About 30min. in we can to some open views. It was rather windy but otherwise the trails were pretty dry and very few bugs. Along the ridge we had multiple vistas with views mostly to the east and south including to Dartmouth Skiway.

Dad and I walked along the ridge for about an hour. Our last vista gave us a view of our destination, Smarts Mtn. After that we dropped into the woods and went down for a while. Finally we leveled out for a while before the final assault to the summit. We had about a mile uphill hiking to go now. About half way up we saw the junction of the Ranger’s Trail, our way down. There were some wet rock sections but they didn’t give us a problem on the way up. Finally, after 3 hours we reached the top. There was a privy, an old ranger’s cabin, and a fire tower. There was a mother and daughter at the tower. The mother was at the bottom and the daughter was at the top so I headed up. I got about halfway and my fear of steep, open, exposed areas got the best of me. It didn’t help that it was very windy and I wasn’t feeling steady.
I headed back down and let dad go to the top. I dropped my bag, grabbed the camera and told myself I had to get a few pictures, even if it was only from halfway.

After snacking we headed back down. The wet rocks were more of a challenge this time. I slid along at one point but managed to keep my balance. Dad picked the other side of the rock and still slipped along. The way back we took the Ranger’s Trail so that we could do a loop. The top part of the trail was rather rocky but not bad. Part way down we crossed a stream and saw the old ranger’s garage. Up to this point the hike had been pleasant. It all went downhill after that. Suddenly there was a lot of mud to contend with. Now normally this doesn’t bother me but when there is mud this late in the spring there are mosquitoes, lots and lots of them. (Man I miss the winter with snow covering rocks and roots and NO BUGS). At one point I contemplated running, maybe I could outrun the buggers. I defiantly quickened my pace and I don’t think dad minded this time. I was almost afraid if I stopped to put more bug stuff on I would be attacked and eaten alive. Ah the joy when I saw the car, which was still surrounded by the killer mosquitoes. We literally threw our stuff in and closed the door. Still a bunch of those buzzers got in the car and we worked on killing them. We went down the road a little and then pulled into Dartmouth Skiway to take our boots off and switch pants. No bugs, yay.

All and all it was a decent hike. It was about 7.5 miles in 5 hours. It was a nice workout and there were some good views along the way. I would recommend staying away from the Ranger’s Trail until things dry up more. Get rid of the mud and mosquitoes. Maybe one day I will overcome my fear of heights and go back to go up the fire tower.