Thomas & Paul hike the New Hampshire 48s

Mt. Willey (#25) November 19, 2011

2011-11-28T21:56:00.000-08:00

Trails: Ethan Pond, Willey Range

Total distance: 5.4 miles Vertical gain: 2850'

As the days grow shorter, it's tougher to get out and do a big mileage hike. There are a few hikes like Mt. Willey that are not huge days by themselves, but are difficult to put together with another peak. And why waste a beautiful November weekend just because there are only 10 hrs. of daylight. So away we go........

It's 7am. Do you know where your kid is? Geared up and ready to hike; that's where!

It didn't take long to warm up. Our objective, through the trees.

This hike overall has quite a steep grade, although there are a few flats in the first mile or so. But once we started climbing, it became a stair-master. Literally.

Up and up we go. Through a 200' vertical steep rocky section, the trail turned into a ladder-master. Literally.

Section after section with turns and angles. Thomas loved it. Reminded him of the Precipice Trail in Acadia NP, which we hiked this past Labor Day weekend.

Above the ladders, starting to get views as we chew up the vertical.

Soaking up the sun on a great November day!

Negotiating some snowy rock up high.

Just before the summit, a short 40' side trail leads to great views East. The Presidential Range.

Looking across Crawford Notch to Crawford Cliffs. Mt. Washington in the upper left.

Maybe 100' past the East outlook is the summit cairn on Mt. Willey. Our summit pics.

Just past the summit, on the trail, are some tremendous views West.
Mt. Bond, rocky Bondcliff just to the left, and Franconia Ridge in the background right.

The hulking massif of Mt. Carrigain, with the Pemigewassett Wilderness area all around.

It was a little cooler and windier on the west side, so we decided to head back to the east outlook and take a snack break in the sun. Thomas getting the habanero cheese ready as he looks down Crawford Notch.

Table for 2 - window seating. The best seats in the house.

As we were snacking, 3 ladies came hiking up the trail. We talked with them for 10-15 minutes. They were also hiking the 48s. Nice folks.
Our food break done, we pack up and head down. Some sections look even steeper going down.

Like the ladder sections.

Whoa! Glad we're down that. Continuing down, some trail junctions we didn't catch on the way up.

An ice sword (eye-sored?) on a stick. :-)

Thomas, still full of energy, trying a couple of jump maneuvers.

As we arrive at the tracks just above the parking lot, we decide to walk across the trestle to the old foundation of the Willey House.

Love this shot. Our mountain conquered.

Thomas, hanging out under the trestle.

And we're back at the lot. Total time of roughly 5 hours with all the playing around down low and relaxing up high. But the views don't end with the hike. We still have to drive through Crawford Notch. Here are just a few of the sights in the notch. Enjoy!!

Couldn't have asked for a better day in the White Mountains for the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Today's hike was supposed to be the result of a lesson learned 2 years ago. Our very first hike was Mts. Tom and Field. Willey is just down the ridge a mile or so from Field. For some reason, we didn't have or couldn't take the time that day to head to Willey. So today was the make-up test. But a funny thing happened along the way. Thomas said he was glad we ended up not hiking Willey that first day. If we had, we wouldn't have climbed those cool ladder sections. And I agree.

It's nice to know that these challenges are not just a means to an end. We can appreciate and enjoy them while we're out sweating away (me anyway) on these hikes. And that IS kind of a good thing.

'Til next time....................

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North Twin (#21), South Twin (#22), Mt Galehead (#23), Garfield Mtn (#24) October 29, 2011

2011-11-03T00:30:00.000-07:00

Trails: North Twin, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Frost, Garfield Ridge, and Garfield

Total Distance: 15.6 miles Vertical Gain: 5,100'

This hike was originally going to be 2 days. So, of course, we enlisted the help of our friend, Jack Shirley, to join us. Jack was with us a year ago on an overnight of the Bonds and Zealand mtns. As this hike grew closer, so did an approaching Nor'easter getting ready to dump upwards of 20" of wet snow on various parts of New England. Hence the decision to go with lighter daypacks and try to condense our 2 days into 1 long day. And away we go......................

We carspotted our ending on the Gale River Loop road, then drove to the North Twin trailhead. Saw the sun rise enroute, and we were ready to go at 7:30am. Some shots from the trailhead.

Winter had already come to the mountains. Some warm layers and traction aids would be needed at various times today. Thomas, with a close-up view of the Little River.

Jack strolling along the riverbank.

Thought this was pretty cool. Icicle curls growing up from the ground on trail's edge.

Taking a breather before the steeps.

And a breather while in the steeps.

We finally get up on the shoulder of North Twin mtn. Along with the elevation gain comes cooler temps and a little more snow.

Starting to get views from the trail. Turn around, Jack!

Mt. Washington and the Presidential Range have a head start on winter. Wow!

More panoramics.

Thomas on top of North Twin. Lower right of pic is the summit cairn mostly covered in snow.

At the top a side trail leads west 100' or so to an open ledge w/ views. On the way, another small cairn buried in snow is beside the trail. Here's a pic with Thomas (just in case this is the true summit).

Looking west towards Franconia Ridge.

And south at our next objective, South Twin.

Back to the trail and junction with the North Twin Spur, which will take us over there.

The 1.3 miles goes quickly, and in no time we're approaching South Twin's rocky summit.

Another good look at Mt. Washington.

Topped out on #22, South Twin.

Looking back at the treed summit of North Twin.

Now we have a STEEP rocky scramble down 1100' of vertical in .8 miles on the Twinway Trail to the Galehead Hut, which is closed for the season. Good time for lunch.

The view of Galehead Mtn. from the deck of the hut.

It's a half mile from the hut to the top of Galehead.

No views enroute or on the summit. Once again, a snow covered cairn is our destination.

And just like that, we're at #23.

Jack, be nimble. Jack, be quick. Jack, jumping down the Frost Trail from Galehead to the hut.

Good trail name.

We're back at the hut and the junction w/ the Garfield Ridge Trail.

It's 2.7 miles to the campsite we were going to stay at, and 3.1 to the summit of Garfield. Our bailout on this trip was the Gale River Trail. If we knew then what we know now, we might have taken it. Things had gone fairly well up to now. The next 3+ miles across the ridge would change that. From our earlier vantage points on North and South Twin, we could see the whole ridgeline from the hut all the way to Garfield. Just a few small knobs to go over. No big deal. Well, this traverse was basically climbing a steep boulder field, up and down and up and down. It was like a rollercoaster ride. With the ice and snow, we slowed to a turtle's pace.

A shot of Garfield in the distance.

Thomas, always looking the mountain man.

Alright. Enough crabbing. We put our heads down and slowly bulled our way up the side of Garfield to the top. The temp was definitely dropping. Felt really cold up there. Also had the first harsh winds of the day. Arrived at 5pm. #24 in the books.

There's a concrete foundation at the top probably 12' to 15' square. Must have been a building of some type vs. a firetower on steel legs. You can see some of it in this pic along w/ Franconia Ridge in the background.

The camera was put away and we focused immediately on getting down. Still had 5 miles of down-hiking and only 45 minutes of daylight left. The storm had arrived just as we got to the top, and was spitting icy sleet on us as we got set to descend. By 6pm, it was pitch-black in the woods and snowing hard. We had our headlamps, but our whole world was the 10' lit up directly in front of us. Coming down, we had 3 river crossings, and struggled to find the trail at times. Our feet and legs were sore, but when we finally came out at the trailhead and saw the vehicle, a lot of the pain went away. Pulled out the camera for one last joyous shot.

Yes, we actually took that pic in the lot. Came out of the woods at 7:15pm for a total trail time of 11:45. Whew!!! Still had to grab the other vehicle, and we stopped in the town of Twin Mountain for food and to rehydrate. With the storm still kicking. The most dangerous part may have been the drive back to Maine.

What do they say: All's well that ends well.

Once again, a big thank you to Jack. Without the carspot, we couldn't have done this loop. Jack has now been with us for our 2 longest hikes. He must be a glutton for punishment.

So we were able to do our 2 day hike in 1 day. Over 15 miles and big vert. Nice going, Thomas!

And, most importantly, Thomas and I have gotten to 24 peaks done. Halfway through. Woo-Hoo!!!

'Til next time...................

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Middle Carter (#18), South Carter (#19), Carter Dome (#20) August 13, 2011

2011-08-15T20:05:00.001-07:00

Trails: Rt. 16, Camp Dodge Road, Imp, North Carter, Carter-Moriah, Carter Dome, and Nineteen Mile Brook trails.

Total Distance: 13.5 miles Vertical Gain: 4550'

It had been 3 weeks since our last hike, and we had narrowed our choices to the Carters or Carter Dome. Another early start, we parked at the trailhead for Nineteen Mile Brook trail at 6:30am, and proceded to boot up. And then a weird twist of fate. Thomas was lacing up when a few cars down, a dog came into view. "Hey, it's Lauky." Sure enough, Ed comes around the vehicle. We exchange greetings and discussed itineraries. We planned on going up Nineteen Mile Brook and Carter Dome trails to Zeta Pass, and doing an out and back of the Carters. If we had enough gas, then shoot for Carter Dome. Ed says they're doing the same peaks, but doing a loop hike.
Thomas and I never want to just hook onto anyone, but Ed was planning a little bushwack. Could we tag along. Sure, he says.
Thomas, delivering our parking pass with a new 'do.

So north and down we head on Rt. 16 to AMC Camp Dodge, where a lot of the trail workers stay. We go through the camp, and with an easy little bushwack, we're on the south side of the Imp trail. Ed'N'Lauky on the trail.

Once we hit the Imp trail, Ed tells us to go ahead, he'll keep his own pace behind. We jump ahead, eager for this new loop! From our trailhead to the Imp is roughly the same as starting at the Imp trailhead, so we have to go a little over 3 miles to hit the North Carter trail. Temps were in the 50s to start, as we were on the shady, western side of the ridge. Thomas taking the lead.

We made the junction w/ North Carter trail in 1.5 hrs.

The climbing continues. We finally hit ridgeline, and the Carter-Moriah trail w/ its new sign.

And look who comes up behind us.

9:15am and we've gained over 3,000' in just over 4 miles and 2.5 hrs.

Heading south on the ridge, we walk across quite a few sections of bridges protecting soft areas and keeping our boots clean.

Most of today's hiking would be in the trees, but some tremendous views presented themselves here and there. Our first goal, Middle Carter, is the 2nd peak back.

Looking East towards Evans Notch and the Baldfaces.

The northern Pressies: Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. Hey, we just hiked those!!

We know we're close, and all of a sudden we start going down again. After 100' or so, we pull a u-turn. Did we miss it? Yes. A small rockpile on the side of the trail with no sign. Our summit pic.

And just off the trail, looking back north to the ridge we just came up.

Moving along down the ridge, came across some flats with majestic views. You know the Mtns.

This one has Washington on the left. The summit had just come out of the clouds.

Keep those feet moving, and we're on top of South Carter in 4 hours. You can just see the small summit cairn behind us in this photo.

Moving south and down the ridge, we hit the low spot, Zeta Pass. If Thomas and I had kept to our original trail plan, we would have hit the ridge here for our out and back. We also might have headed down as the ridge wouldn't have been fun doing it twice. But we felt good w/ the loop, and off we go to Carter Dome. From Zeta Pass 0.2 miles up, the trail splits.

We go left to Mt. Hight (4,675'), an unofficial 4,000 footer, but the best views of the day on an open, rocky summit. A perfect spot for lunch at 12:30. Thomas, with the Pressies and Ed'N'Lauky behind him.

We all take a relaxing break for food. Thomas gives the thumbs up for our last peak behind him, Carter Dome.

You can see the ridgeline and top, less that a mile away. Let's go! We put our heads down and bull away knowing the steep climbing is behind us. We're there before we know it. #20 in the books. It's all downhill from here.

There were a few people up top, and we said hello and talked some. Ed and I taking a picture of each other at the same time.

Clouds start to roll in.Time to go. We take in our last views from up high on the day.

The only thing between us and our sandals is 5 miles and 3300' of downhill vertical. Some quick pics on the way down. Still have a fascination w/ trail signs.

And we're down! The feet and knees are sore. We're out of water. We've been hiking all day. Why is this guy happy?

Total hike time was 8.5 hrs. Big thanks to Ed('N'Lauky). Without that different routing, we may not have gotten Carter Dome. Ed- We have to stop meeting like this! ;-)

One cool note about this hike is the fact that in doing the loop we did, out of 13.5 miles, we only backtracked on a 0.2 and 0.4 mile section. Both of them coming down from Carter Dome to Zeta Pass. Made it back to the Bethel area by 4pm, more than enough time to go hit Frenchman's Hole w/ the family, which we did. Another great day in the mountains. And 20 down. Woo-Hoo!!

And for those of you who are conspiracy theorists, and noticed that the date stamp on the pics are not all the same date, I noticed the date was wrong sometime in the morning and changed it. So there you go. :-b

'Til next time.............................................

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Jefferson (#15), Adams (#16), Madison (#17) July 23, 2011

2011-08-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

Trails: Caps Ridge, The Cornice, Gulfside, Mt. Jefferson Loop, Lowe's Path, Airline, Osgood, and Howker Ridge

Total Distance: 12.0 miles Vertical Gain: 4300'

I took a little bit before writing this trip report. Wanted to let it sink in with some reflection time.
After all, we had just travelled over 3 of the 5 highest peaks in the White Mtns.

Along with Thomas and me, our bespeckled friend Ted Wallace agreed to hike with us and bring his car, which made this whole 1-way hike possible. Also, another friend, Don Studley, he of the gray moustache, came along with his 2 sons, Kevin and Ryan. 6 of us total. It's on !!

We got an early start to the trailhead in Jefferson Notch. Started up the Caps Ridge trail right at 7am.
Just on trail are me, Kevin, Ted, Thomas, Ryan, and Don.

It was cloudy, cool, and drizzling off and on driving over and starting up the trail. Perfect weather to gain over half of our vertical right away, considering the valleys were forecasted for 90 degrees plus and high humidity. 1 mile in, we come out on a ledge, giving us views of the 3 Caps and the summit of Jefferson.

Once we get to the Caps, some serious scrambling over damp rocks. Smile, boys.

As we gain altitude, more tremendous views present themselves. Looking south towards Monroe, Eisenhower, and Pierce. The southern Presidentials.

Ted, me, Thomas, and Don below Jefferson's false summit. Quite the rockpile.

And the junction with The Cornice.

At this junction, we managed to lose the Caps Ridge trail, and wound up on The Cornice, adding a 1/2 mile to the day. We finally gain the ridge, and the Gulfside Trail, with the cloud cover rising, and the wind howling.

Thomas, with Mt. Washington and the Great Gulf behind him. Hair just'a'blowin'!

Time for a quick snack and break. Jefferson's summit behind us on the left.

When we were heading up Caps Ridge, Thomas and I ran into someone we had met just a few months ago while doing Moosilauke. Ed, and his dog, "Lauke" from the hiking blog site "Views From The Top". Ed'n'Lauke on top of Jefferson.

Our summit photo.

Thought this plaque on top of Jefferson was a very cool thing to do for a friend who was missed. Hopefully you can zoom this to read the inscription.

Made the summit at 9:30am. Ryan and Kevin on top.

About this time, the clouds started lifting with patches of blue and spotty sunshine. Some days are just special.

Heading down to Edmunds Col with Adams, our next objective, looming in the background.

The steep walls of Jefferson Ravine are more striking the closer you get to them.

We were coming across quite a few hikers on the upper alpine zone. A couple heading towards us.

As the skies continued to clear, and the winds picked up even more, we noticed these Lenticular clouds stacking in the upper atmosphere.

Kevin and Don having a father / son moment 1 mile up. Seemed no matter where we were taking a pic, Mt. Adams kept showing up in them.

We finally hook up with Lowe's Path.

Time to scramble up some serious chunks of rock to the top.

Ted and Thomas on Adams, with Jefferson behind.

#16 in the books at 11:30am. Our summit pic, with the Great Gulf wrapping around Thomas.

From Adams' summit, we head down the Airline and once again hook up w/ the Gulfside Trail.

Very cool rock formations on the way down towards Madison Hut.

We were all getting hungry, and decided the "hut" would be our lunch spot. Here it comes into view, with Madison waiting beyond, later.

Thomas leading the way down.

Arrived at Madison Hut around 12:30. This hut just re-opened this past June. Very nice job of it. They had a kitchen inside cooking away, and all the drinkable water you want. We ate our own food, but a couple of us sampled these massive-caloried chocolate chip brownie squares. Should've got a pic of those.

It was such a relaxing 1/2 hour break, I didn't take 1 pic of inside the hut. I will amend and add a photo later if someone else got any.

Leaving the lodge was an exercise just getting the legs moving again. Basically 550' of vert straight up the rocks. Again! We hit the top in a raging wind at 1:30pm.

Here's Keith, Mick, Woodie, and Charlie atop Madison.

Ladies and gentlemen, The Rolling Stones! (Struck me as looking like a band photo!?!)
Top of the world, Ma!

Looking back at Adams.

Time to start the final descent towards Howker Ridge on the Osgood trail.

Just below the summit, we got into some more funky rock formations. Kevin, a Colorado guy now, showing us some fine bouldering techniques.

Reaching the junction w/ the Howker Ridge trail. Only 4.2 miles to freedom.

Partway down Howker Ridge, looking back up at Madison.

You could tell there's not a ton of foot traffic on this trail. It was suggested by a friend as an alternative with plenty of views up high while descending. A couple of the Howks waiting for us to hike over them. There were 3 or 4 of these knobs we negotiated on the way down.

A final view NW towards the Pliny Range, with Mts. Waumbek and Cabot in the distance. Thomas and I will be attacking those later.

And 1 final look up up at Madison.

We dropped into the trees and went without views for the final 2.5 miles or so. We did come across some beautiful waterfalls and gorges, and the last mile was relatively flat.

All down safe and sound. Still smiling, although I personally had some sore and painful knees coming down from Madison.

Once again, the gang: Me, Don, Thomas, Ryan, Ted, and Kevin.

We all felt great knowing what we had hiked. 12 miles is a good distance. But the big nut wasn't the 4300' vert up; it was the 6300' vert of down!! Whoa!! About 10.5 hours total hike time.

Once again, a big thank you to Ted, whom without this pt. to pt. hike not have been possible.

And to Don, Ryan, and Kevin. Thanks for tagging along and making this an event that was not to be missed.

Thomas just keeps getting stronger as we hike the 48s. I keep saying it; I'm proud of him.

We haven't done a big hike like this w/ that many people, and the camraderie and spirit were shared by all. So thank you all.

One last honorable mention has to go to the weather. Although windy most of the day (expected up high), what was a very hot day in the valleys was a beautiful, comfortable day in the mountains. Cool on our initial climb to ridgeline, then the sun came out and made this day one of the best in the mountains. Sometimes fate smiles upon you.

17 down - 31 to go.

'Til next time.................................

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Cannon Mountain (#14) April 23, 2011

2011-04-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

Trails: Lower and Middle Cannon, Vista Way, Upper Cannon

Total Miles: 4.2 Vertical Gain: 2100'

We got an early start today, with rain forecasted for most of the day, although the heavier rain was to be later in the day. We noticed the wind while we were driving over to Cannon Mtn. By the time we hit Franconia Notch, the weather had taken an unexpected turn. A raging blizzard was happening with 2-3" of snow already down on the highway. We witnessed a pick-up and an 18-wheeler both go fishtailing down I-93 South. We pulled off the highway and into Lot #2 at the Cannon ski area. Rock-Star parking, as only 1 other car was in the lot. I don't know the ski area well, having skied here only once about 25 years ago. But, Thomas and I were excited about the prospect of sliding down another 4000 footer.

We change up in the lot (windy) and go through the stairwell tunnel where, like a movie, the real wind begins. Out of the fog, 2 black labs come running at us, followed by their owners, who look damp and windblown. They were turning back, not having goggles to shield their eyes. That made us think for just a moment, but we were here, and had goggles, so decided to give it a go.

Starting up from the base lodge, we decide it's time for a picture. DOH! Batteries are dead. Thomas pulled out his phone (batteries dying) and we snap a picture of each other just above the base area.

The snow was coming at us sideways, with the wind feeling a constant 25-35 mph, and frequent higher gusts. Not knowing the mountain, we stayed on blue trails for the ascent. Both Thomas and I were almost knocked over by the wind a few times, and it was certainly a struggle going against it on the way up. One encouraging sign was the snow, which was piling up in a nice, thick cover. With just a couple of short breaks, we made it to the upper tram station in an hour and a half. We shuffled over to the building to get a break from the wind, and drop our skis and snowboard. We head over to the top of the Cannonball lift, and past that, it's a short hike to the summit with its observation deck and communications tower. Just approaching the tower, the wind sounded like a runaway freight train, and felt like a constant 50 mph slap to the face. The snow was feeling like pellets on the face, too.

Once on top, we hiked around a bit to find the Kinsman Ridge and Rim trails. We came back to the top and got on the observation deck, but no views were to be had. Visibility was down to 50', and the air was cold. After trying to get Thomas's phone to turn on a couple of times, we were finally able to snap a quick summit photo of us on the tower stairs.

Having gotten our pic, we head back to the tram, pack ascent items, and pull out descent items. Thomas's hands got really cold while changing, so had to get that situation under control, which took a few minutes. Finally, we grab the skis and board and head over to Upper Cannon. Not knowing the mountain combined with low vis. made us stick to an easier way down, take our time, and stay together. As soon as we started down, we were treated to 4-6" of creamy powder. We knew this was going to be great, and the wind just went away in our minds as we focused on the downhill sliding. We're doing something familiar, and loving it. Stretching out the descent, it still only took 15 minutes or so to get down to the bottom. Through the fog, the base area came into view. To tell the truth, we were a little sad to see it. The skiing and riding was really that good.

Total trip time was just over 3 hours, with at least an hour up top wandering around. The wind and fog made us feel very isolated in our little world on the way up. We had a blast on the way down. All's well that ends well. 'Til next time.............

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Mt. Moosilauke (#13) April 9, 2011

2011-04-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

Trails: Lodge Road, Gorge Brook, Carriage Road, and Snapper

Total Miles: 10.7 Vertical gain: 2950'

This trip had a couple of firsts. It's the first 4K hike of 2011, and the first peak we tried to descend by skiing and riding. Now, some people may say that it doesn't count if you don't hike down. But if we haul an extra 30-35 lbs. of gear each to do it, and use our leg muscles to get down, it counts to us. Enough said. On to the trip report.

'Twas a beautiful day to be in the mountains. Temps in the mid-40s to start at 8:30am, and were expected to rise throughout the day.

All geared up at the start of the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge Road.

It's a mellow 400' vertical and 1.5 miles to the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, and the road, though plowed, had enough snow on it.

We had never been here before, so when the road forked, we took a little longer way to the actual trailhead. Enroute, what we thought was the Lodge.

Looking down to the bridge and trailhead.

Here comes Thomas crossing the bridge.

The trailhead sign across the bridge.

An hour or so into the hike, we take a snack break beside Gorge Brook.

Halfway up, Thomas was a little tired, so we traded the helmets for his snowboard.

As we start to traverse towards the top of Jobildunk Ravine, the woods start to open up and the sun just shines on.

We start to get some views.

SouthEast:

And East:

Finally, we see the snowfields off the summit ridge.

Looking back down at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge and the road in/out.

We climb the upper snowfield and get our 1st glimpse of the summit.

Looking East towards Franconia Ridge (center left) and Mt. Washington (back right).

There used to be a cabin on top called Moosilauke Summit Camp. This may be the foundation for that camp or an outbuilding of the camp.

Our final objective.

And #13 in the books!

We really didn't feel much wind at all on the way up.Did get a couple of good gusts once on top, so we put on our shells, had lunch, and got ready for the ride down.

It's .8 miles towards the South summit on the Carriage Road and the split with the Glencliff trail. Though we had slid? and hiked over that .8 miles through various ups and downs, now the Carriage Road turns into an alpine descent.This 1st video is us starting our descent from the split.

After that beginning section, the trail widens to 10-15 feet and is quite fun in the sunny conditions.

Here's a couple of pics of Thomas on the descent before turning onto the Snapper Trail.

Once we got on the Snapper Trail, we quickly realized there would be no more open trail to turn on. It's really a low angle, tight, traversing hiking trail to get us back to the Gorge Brook Trail.

We end up down at the trailhead and bridge, which we cross and go right instead of left. Lo and behold, the "real" Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. BIG !!

And out we go on the road.

Total trip time was about 7 hours. We took a good 45 minutes on the summit eating, resting, and talking with people (and ourselves). A couple of snack breaks and stopping to enjoy some views on the way up and down. Also, when we started from the road, we met Ed and his dog, Lauke (Ed'n'Lauke of "Views from the Top"), who answered our many questions and is a very genuine guy. Thanks, Ed.

We tried to make this hike an interesting loop. But if we were to do it again, we would probably park down at the bottom of the Carriage Road, take it to the top, and ride all the way down to the car. Just sayin'.

I say this alot, but I can't wait for the next one, especially if we can turn it into a sliding experience, too. 'Til next time...........

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Mt. Moriah (#12) November 13, 2010

2010-11-15T18:21:00.000-08:00

Trail: Carter - Moriah

Total Distance: 9.0 miles Vertical Gain: 3400'

It was a brisk 30F at 7:30am as we got ready to hike at the trailhead. Call us silly, but we start off w/ hunter orange hats during hunting season. Never know, right? And, the hats put a smile on the day.

I had talked to 2 different people about this hike. The re-occurring themes were beautiful views and plenty of false summits. The trail starts off with a moderate grade for the first 1.5 miles.

The trail is easy to follow, and so are the hats!

The trail starts in Gorham, NH, and is NW of Moriah. The sun won't hit us for a little bit. Here it's starting to peek through the trees.

We came across this tree with many fungi shelves. Thought they were pretty cool.

Looks like the Starship Enterprise from the bottom.

After hiking about 1.5 hrs., we came upon this little island oasis of green. Seemed out of place, and very noticeable in its contrast with the bare trees and brown leaves.

2 hours into the hike, we hit some open ledges, which is a minor summit named Mt. Surprise. We couldn't decide if it was named for the views that hit you suddenly, or as you keep going to Moriah, each false summit you reach says "Surprise" to you when you realize that you're not there yet. So let the views begin. Here, looking L to R, are Mts. Washington, Clay, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. The northern Presidentials.

And up ahead, we see a high knob. Is it the top of Moriah? When we get there, we see the answer is NO. But, more good views. You can tell by the pics that there's not a cloud in the sky. Temps have climbed into the upper 40s, and there's absolutely no wind. What a beautiful, rare hiking day for November. The northern Pressies, from higher up on the trail.

And looking NW past Gorham, NH towards the Pliny and Pilot ranges.

Time for a break and a snack. Not a bad seat in the house.

After a nice break, we continue on through the thickening woods.

Thomas spotted this weird circle etched into a rock, looking like an eye. After staring at it a bit, we decided it looked very much like the head of a dinosaur or bird.

A little further up the trail, we found a fallen tree whose base used to be across the trail. Literally picked up every piece of dirt off the trail, leaving only bedrock.

After another false summit or two, we came across a bog section approx. 50' or so long that had some very rough wooden bridges. They were old and rotted in most places. Even down to 1 broken piece in some places. Also, the bog had frozen around the logs. I'll let the video tell the rest of the story.

And for those without video capabilities, here's a still pic.

All in all, cold, wet, and squishy. But what are you going to do? Continue on, of course. And we can see (hopefully) the true summit through the trees.

Upwards we go, as we cross the snow line.

Again, each knob was approached from the north, so anything steep was shaded and cooler. Finally, no more false summits. Here's the short spur path to the top.

And we're here!! Already on top is a very nice fellow by the name of Bob, and his dog, Chelsea.

We made it at 11:30am, about 4 hours. Not the quickest of times, but a great day to enjoy a hike. On top, still no clouds, no wind, and the temps have climbed into the low 50s. Bob offers to take our picture. Absolutely, and Thank You.

We get a full 360 degrees of views. Here are a few of them.

We eat and rest for a half hour, then it's time to head down. We get more of the same awesome views going down, but decided to descend faster than we'd come up, with few stops. Made it down by 2:30pm, for a total trip time of 7 hours, counting lunch and breaks. Just a great day to be in the mountains, and couldn't ask for better weather for the time of year.

We saw the sun rise, and we saw the sun set as we rolled home for supper. The time change makes for early starts as it gets dark by 4-4:40pm in the woods. We're learning to plan accordingly.

Also, #12 for us means we are a quarter of the way through. Woo-Hoo!! Maybe we CAN finish this by Thomas's graduation in 2015.

One last note. It was nice to have daypacks on again after our hike of the Bonds a few weeks ago. But even going lighter, the mountains will always throw you a few curves.

'Til next time........................ PL

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Zealand (#8), West Bond (#9), Bond (#10), Bondcliff (#11) October 23-24, 2010

2010-10-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

Trails: Zealand, Twinway, Bondcliff, West Bond Spur

Total Distance: 20.9 miles Vertical Gain: 5500'

Well, I knew this was going to be one big undertaking, so I enlisted the help of a friend of ours, Jack Shirley, to accompany Thomas and I on this trek. This trip was one that warranted having 3 people vs 2. We knew we'd be trying some big mileage, just didn't know we'd be getting full winter conditions up high. Planning to overnight, the packs grew by quite a bit, also. And away we go............

Here's Thomas and Jack as we're leaving the Zealand Falls trailhead at 8:50 am.

The opening 2.5 miles are relatively flat, as we see our first dusting of the year on one of the many bridges enroute to Zealand Falls Hut.

We are definitely feeling the weight on our backs as we arrive at Zealand Falls and the hut. Thomas, taking a break at the lower falls.

Now the real climbing begins. The Twinway gains roughly 1000' of vertical in 1.2 miles, plateauing out at Zeacliff. It was quite cool on Sat., with a stiff breeze all around.

Here's Thomas, looking every bit the mountain man.

And coming out on the point at Zeacliff.

The cliffs of Whitewall Mtn. with Mt. Willey behind them.

After taking a snack break, and donning traction aides, we continue up at a more moderate angletowards the top of Zealand Mtn. Finally, the spur sign.

We follow the trail to a little hollow with a small cairn. No views to admire, but #8 in the books at 1:30 pm. Summit pic for Thomas and I.

And Jack.

Continuing on, we drop sharply from Zealand and begin a gradual ascent to Mt. Guyot, an unofficial 4Ker. As we crest Guyot, we get hit with a wind like you read about. Our estimates were a constant 50 mph, and gusting to 60-70 mph. It was hard to keep your balance, and we were all blown off the trail a few times.But we were also struck by the beauty of being in the high alpine with full winter conditions in effect.

Looking NW towards South Twin Mtn.

And continuing towards the Bonds on the way to the Guyot campsite.

Once we made it to the cover of the trees, we basically put our heads down and bulled our way to the campsite. Arriving at 3:45pm, we were spent. It took us almost 7 hours to reach the shelter, and we were concerned about daylight remaining and the wind. After resting and discussing options, we decided to attempt West Bond.

From the shelter, it would be roughly a 2 mile out and back, without the weight of the big packs on our backs. Jack and I assembled 2 light packs, and the 3 of us headed out, feeling better after the rest. Just below the summit of West Bond, we start to get views through the treetops.

This is looking back at the summit snowfields of Guyot, with a very white Mt. Washington peeking through in the distance.

Thomas on the summit of West Bond.

Looking over to Bondcliff.

And Mt. Bond.

This gave us some perspective on what we were going to try in the morning. With that knowledge, we headed back to camp for a well deserved rest and some hot food. Yeah!

We made the shelter by 6pm, just as the sun was setting, and we were sharing the smallish shelter with 4 other people. While eating, we chatted for a while, but as darkness and cold settled in, we decided to, also.

Thomas, Jack, and I had the lower level, with the other 4 taking the upper level. Here we are getting nestled in.

One thing that made the night a bit more pleasant was a tarp the others had brought. We were able to (roughly) seal up the front of the open air shelter with said tarp, and the temp actually stayed steady in the 29-32F range most of the night. I must say I was proud of Thomas, who had never done any cold weather camping before. He said more than once, "This is so cool". We also had a mouse or two running around the shelter. They seemed to know the place better than we did.

All in all, we slept OK. I was cramping in my legs off and on, and Jack was cold most of the night. Thomas slept peacefully with a slight grin on his face. Go figure.

And night turns to morning. Sunrise at the Guyot campsite.

Our abobe for the night.

We packed up camp, and headed back up to the Bondcliff trail, where we dropped our big packs and again went with 2 light packs. Our plan was to summit Bond, and continue down to Bondcliff, where, after summiting, we would reverse direction and re-hike up Mt. Bond and down to the campsite spur.

Once on the trail, we noticed immediately that it was warmer than yesterday, with much less wind overall. Getting to Mt. Bond through the trees was a beautiful walk, and we were on top before we knew it. Thomas on Mt. Bond, with Mt. Washington in the background.

Thomas and I on top, with Bondcliff's rocky ridgeline in the background.

As we drop off the backside, we get a closer view of the ridge we have to traverse over.

I didn't spend a lot of time on pics between the summits. All of the Bond summits have spectacular views, so most pics are from there. Thomas on Bondcliff, with Franconia Ridge behind him.

Jack and I on Top. Who needs a shave more?

And now for the money shots!!! Thomas, with the scars of West Bond behind him.

And yours truly, with same.

With Bondcliff under our belts, we started back on the long journey home. Thomas caught Jack and I coming off the summit.

And Thomas, heading back up Mt. Bond.

We climbed up and over Mt. Bond again, and made it back to our big packs around 11:15am. Time for lunch. This little loop was roughly 4 miles and took 3 hours. Not fast, but savouring the views. Now it was time to load up and try to beat the 7 hours it took us to get to the shelter. We decided on the way back to take summit photos on Mt. Guyot. At 4580', it's high enough, but doesn't drop enough vertically before going up towards Bond. Hence, it's not on the list; an unofficial 4Ker.

Top of Guyot for Jack...

And Thomas.

From Guyot, we go back over Zealand Mtn. towards Zeacliff. On the way down, this rock formation struck us as very prehistoric looking.

Finally, we make it to the Zealand Falls Hut. Thomas taking a well deserved break on a bench.

From the hut, it's 2.5 flat miles back to the road. We're tired, hungry, thirsty, and oddly excited. I think this video says it all.

We made it down at 5pm. Campsite to lot was 5.5 hours, but it was 9 hours hiking for the day, same as yesterday.Let me state again how big a weekend it was. 21 miles, 18 hours of hiking, with 5500' of vertical gain. WWOOWW!!

So many thoughts on this hike.

I'm so proud of Thomas for doing this. There were alot of unknowns for him, and he carried a much bigger load than he was used to. We were all hurting at times, but chins were held high. He was a real trooper along with being a great hiker, and a great son!

A very big thank you to Jack Shirley for taking on the challenge and helping us out. Jack, we loved having you with us, and hope you can join us again.

The Bonds are one of the most remote spots in the White Mountains. There is no sign of civilization from any of the summits. You are looking at and into pure wilderness. Quite a feeling to be out there in it. I hope Thomas can look back on this trip as fondly as I do.

Thomas has asked to take a little break from hiking. Don't blame him as we're both sore after this. But the real reason is that winter is back in the mountains, and he'd rather spend his weekends snowboarding than hiking. (So would I. Skiing, that is. :-) He's promised he'll do more backcountry with me this winter, and maybe a day or two will be peaks on the list, like Moosilauke or Washington. Can't wait to see what we do next. "Til next time.................

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Mount Hale (#7) August 7, 2010

2010-08-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

Trail: Hale Brook Trail

Total distance: 4.6 miles Vertical gain: 2300'

Wow! After taking 8 1/2 months off, we've done 2 hikes in 3 weeks. The cool thing about this hike was, well, it was cool. Literally. On the drive over, in which we saw a moose (no pics), temps were in the mid-50s and stayed there even though we didn't start hiking until 9:20ish on a crisp, clear Saturday morning. Here's Thomas at the trailhead.

But wait! There's more! We actually had 2 of our family join us for this excursion. My wife, Darcy, and daughter, Josie. After talking about getting them out for almost a year, they finally agreed to join us on a 4K jaunt. They were a little concerned about the distance and vertical gain, being more than what they normally hike. How would they fair? Josie had a little stomach ache that morning, but thought she'd give it a go. Tough, happy kid, and a good sport to boot.

Oh, why not a group shot. Having them with us today made me snap a ton of pics, so there are more pics than normal in this trail report.

Here's Thomas and Josie starting up the trail.

Happy hiker mom, Darcy, enjoying that fresh mountain air.

The beginning of the hike was really at a lower angle, with no struggles or complaints from the crew. Having 4K newbies and Josie's take on things really lent a festive air to the hike. What the world looks like through young eyes helps you discover and see things that you might not give a 2nd look to normally. Here's Josie having fun crossing a tiny brook on a log bridge. She had better balance than I did!

Here's Thomas looking back at me, giving me the"Whatchya doin?" stare.

After a ways more, Josie was ready for a little break for water and a bite. She had also worked enough to dump the sweatshirt. Once fueled up, she gives the "Let's rock and roll, Daddy!" all good, 2 thumbs up sign.

A ways up, the shenanigans continue on the trail. Where's Waldo? Or Peek-a-boo. We'd have lost her if not for the bright pink sweatshirt around the waist.

Not counting various small flows across the trail, there were 2 bigger "stream" crossings. Here's Josie, trying to keep her sneakers dry while making it across the first crossing.

And taking a break at the second crossing, with a nice little set of falls coming down through.

After the 2nd crossing, the trail does steepen quite a bit as it switchbacks up a high angle section of 600-700 vertical feet, trying to gain one of the shoulders that run down from the summit. A bit of work, but everyone's still smiling. Josie, feeling on top of the world.

As we were cresting the ridgeline, we noticed a couple of cool things. First was this small mushroom in a moss or fern bed. It seemed a delicate setting in the middle of the trail. Darcy's boots give you some perspective.

Once we got out of the ravine's shadow and onto the ridge, the sun decided to come out and gave us some warmth. Out of nowhere this butterfly flies right through all of us and lands on a tree beside the trail. It lets me pull out the camera, snap a couple of pics, and then goes on its merry way.

Aproaching the peak from the Northeast kept us out of the not-too-bad winds most of the way, but as we made the final push, you could feel the coolness in those slight winds. Not too far away now, can see blue skies low on the horizon.

Finally, we break through the trees into a clearing, where a VERY large summit cairn sits on top.
Thomas stops just shy to take a pic by the top sign for the Hale Brook Trail.

Here is our summit pic, #7 in the books for us, and #1 for Josie and Darcy. Not that they're starting a list of the 48s. (I'm starting one for them.) Never know what might get into them later on in life.

Some quality family time!!

We got to the top at 11:30 am, and it took about 2hrs 10mins to reach the top. Time for lunch!!

It's hard to smile with a mouthful of food.

You can see the remnants of the old summit firetower, including pieces of concrete and the lag bolts sticking up from the ground.

Looking around the top, you realize that there is not much for views from ground level. Mt. Hale used to be a fairly bald top, but like a few of the summits in the Whites, treeline has started to creep higher and higher thanks to global warming. But with a 5-6' high summit cairn to stand on, certain views can still be had. This is looking SE, towards from L to R, Mts. Tom, Field, and Willey.

And looking SW, towards North and South Twin mountains.

When we got to the top, 2 people and a dog headed out down the Lend-A-Hand trail towards the Zealand hut. We had the summit to ourselves the whole time, and after eating lunch, decided to head down. We had heard there were some nice views just a little ways down the Lend-A-Hand trail, but the girls wanted to start heading down, as we were all a little chilled. Just as we start back down the trail , here come a few people to enjoy their own private summit. Maybe we had all reserved different times?

On the way down, some views came to us that had not been apparent on the way up or from the top. Here's a great view of Mount Washington through the trees just below the summit of Hale.

Josie took this picture of a family of mushrooms, again in a light moss or fern bed, on a Birch tree trunk. The pole tip lends perspective.

Here we are at the upper stream crossing, with Thomas and Josie still smiling.

And another break at the lower stream crossing.

Close to the bottom, Josie still is making us do silly things, as this video shows. A hiker was coming down behind us, and had no problem keeping the conga line going.

Alls well that ends well. The girls thought the hike was easier that they had anticipated, or expected. Took a break at the car for 15mins, and headed out for the drive home. Once we got to Rte 2 East by Jefferson, NH, we were rewarded with tremendous views of the northern Presidentials. From L to R, the peaks of Mts. Madison, Adams, and Jefferson.

And lastly, Mt. Jefferson with the rocky walls of Castle Ravine in the forefront. To think Thomas and I will be on top of that some day. Woo-hoo!!

The trip down took us 2hrs, almost as long as the trip up. Josie was very happy to have done a 4Ker, and the fact of hiking 4 and a half miles. Opens hers eyes to possibilities. And the temps stayed in the mid-50s to lower 60s all day, which is perfect weather for hiking.

And Thomas and I were glad to have had some of the family join us on a hike. We look forward to them and others joining us on some other hikes.

I can see Thomas getting stronger hiking-wise as he gets older, and am really looking forward to some of the longer hikes and more dramatic peaks we have yet to add to our list.

'Til next time ........... PL

South Hancock (#5) and Hancock (#6) July 18, 2010

2010-07-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

Trails: Hancock Notch, Cedar Brook, and Hancock Loop Trails

Total Distance: 9.8 miles Vertical Gain: 2700'

And so it begins again. It's been 8 1/2 months since Thomas and I have done a 4K hike. Sweet anticipation on the drive over. As always, the views from both sides of the Kancamangus highway were striking. It was supposed to be a warm day in the valleys, but was barely 70 degrees when we started hiking at 7:45 am. Here's Thomas at the trailhead.

As soon as we got into the woods, it cooled down to the mid 60s and stayed there most of the day. This was our first of many stream crossings on the day just 15 minutes in.

The first 3.6 miles of this hike are relatively flat, only gaining 1300' or so of elevation in that distance, but crossing various brooks and streams at least 6 or 7 times, it seemed. Overall, a very wet hike. Glad we went during a dry spell!

In case you haven't noticed, I tend to take pics of trail junctions, mainly to prove we were there, but also because we have not seen any of these signs before, and think they're cool.

Before we knew it, we were at the fork of the Hancock Loop trail. But which way to go?

We decided to head up the South Peak trail, after studying the map and figuring that it was a little steeper looking, although not by much, on the map. More on that later. So up we go on the stairmaster that is the Hancock Loop trail. Towards the top, we start to get some views through openings on the trail.

Thankfully, the temps stayed cool, and a nice breeze kept the bugs away higher up. This was a classic short, fast and furious scramble to the top. Didn't really round off much until we were at the top. Here's Thomas at the top of South Hancock. #5!

We made the South Peak summit at 10:15 am in 2 1/2 hrs. It was a little early for lunch, so we just took a 15 minute break for water and a snack, and went to check the outlook behind and below Thomas in the picture. We left our packs on top, so no pic there.

The views from the top of South Hancock are mainly to the S and SE, so we didn't get our first glimpse of (North) Hancock until we started down towards the ridge that connects the two. Must have been one heck of a slide on the side of it!

The trail to North Peak has everything from steep little ups and downs, some beautiful woods, puddles and slabs, and a couple of bog crossings. Here's one bog crossing on video.

After making it across the ridge and up again, we were on top of Hancock proper. We couldn't find a summit cairn, but some people came through and told us the sign is the top. I hope it is, or that the summit is somewhere on the trail, so we've got our bases covered. Thomas on top of #6 for us.

We were at the top at 11:30 am, and figured it was time for lunch, so we headed to the North Peak outlook. WOW !! The view was spectacular! This is looking over at the Osceolas and Scar Ridge. We'll be climbing those peaks one day.

Looking back at South Hancock, with Passaconaway, Whiteface, and the Tripyramids in the distance.

Two different groups just HAD to take our picture as we ate our lunch. Two peas in a pod, or the apple not falling far from the tree? Either way, life is good.

Finally it was time to head down the North Peak trail. The less steep trail. The easier of the two trails. HA! Remember when we were debating which trail to go up. Heading down the North peak trail was like sliding down a steep, rocky ski slope. The whole trail was a loose rock scree field with drops and logs here and there to catch the rocks. It felt like a narrower version of the slide on the side of the mountain. Did I mention it was steep. OK, enough crying. We made it down fine, but were too occupied to snap any pics on the way down. Once we hit the fork in the Hancock Loop trail, we knew we were good. Just 3.6 lazy miles to trip you up on the way out, with all those stream crossings to boot. Here is a semi-dry stretch.

I must say, flat or not, 9.8 miles had us ready for our sandals and a Diet Coke. Thomas, looking a little weary, but still smiling.

Another great day and great hike. Was too long since our last one. Hopefully we can get out once a month towards the goal of the 48s. We have done some family hiking in between, but life ebbs and flows. We may have gotten back into the flow. :-)

Back at the parking lot at 2:15 pm, for a 6 1/2 hour total hike time, with about an hour of breaks total along the way. Pretty close to book time, and I think we are average hikers speed-wise. Not too fast, not too slow. Until next report.........

Mt. Jackson (#3) and Mt. Pierce (#4) November 1, 2009

2009-11-02T21:50:00.000-08:00

Trails: Webster - Jackson, Webster Cliff, Crawford Path

Total Distance: 8.5 miles 2900’ Vertical Gain

Note: Almost all of these pics will open when clicked on, but a few will not. Sorry. I don't know why.

Once again, we started out from Crawford Notch, hiking this time on the East side of the notch. We left the parking lot at 7:30am, with the wind blowing and cloudy skies above us. It felt warm, at around 45° or so. Had to walk a tenth of a mile or two down the road to hit the trailhead for the Webster - Jackson Trail. If you zoom on this first pic, you can see Elephant Head rock just past Saco Lake, with the summit of Mt. Webster behind it.

We came across this view about 20 minutes in, looking back at the Crawford Notch Visitor Center and Saco Lake.

We started up on a fairly steady grade, and crossed upper Flume Cascade 45 minutes into the hike.

More steady hiking, and hit the split for Jackson and Webster spurs. Mt. Webster (3910’) was not in our plans today, but we noticed on the map that the Webster spur crossed Silver Cascade just a short distance away (maybe 200 yds.), so we decided to check it out. Boy, we were glad we did! A beautiful 20’ waterfall horse-tailing down into a clear, cold pool. After taking too many pics, it was time to get back on track.

Back to the split, and we continued up toward Jackson at a steady pace. Now we could really feel the wind start to pick up, and could feel the temperature start to drop. Around 300 vertical feet below the summit, out came the hats, gloves, and an extra layer on the body. We prepared ourselves best we could for the wind as we came out of the trees and climbed up the rocky summit cone of Jackson. At the top at 10am, we tee into the Webster Cliff Trail, with a summit cairn by the trail sign. Even with the wind, had to take a minute to enjoy the views to the South and SE.

Looking West toward Mts. Willey and Field.

Time to get out of the wind, so we start to head towards Mt. Pierce. But 50’ or so away around a corner, was another summit cairn with a view to the north. Dig out the camera for another summit pic, check out our next peak in the distance, and can see the Mizpah hut low on the side of Pierce. Ok, let’s get out of the wind!

Our summit pics for Jackson. One of them is the highpoint.

Once we scramble down the rocky top of Jackson, the next mile and a half or so is actually pretty flat, with a lot of walking bridges over some boggy parts of the ridge. Someone has done some great work here.

.................. Gorilla Man !!!!!!!!! ..................

Just past Pierce, Mt. Eisenhower comes out of the clouds.

This sign tells us that we're at the hut.

And what a hut it is. This thing is HUGE. It must sleep 60 people. Closed for the season, though.

We arrive about 11:00am, and decide to take a relaxing lunch break with minimal wind. Break out the sandwiches, Jalapeno cheese, and trail mix.

Our lunch break ends up being about 45 minutes, as 3 separate hiking parties roll through and break for food, also. They all offered encouragement for Thomas (and I) for this grand adventure we've embarked on. We finally pack up and get ready for a steep little section up to Mt. Pierce's summit ridge, where we're told has some excellent views from the South Ledges. Wow, they weren't kidding! Looking back at Mts. Jackson and Webster and beyond.

And West toward Mt. Willey.

Now that we're on the summit ridge, it's an easy jaunt to the summit of Pierce. We arrive at 12:30pm. #4 in the books. And the wind is still howling.

Just down the other side of Pierce is the junction with the Crawford Path. Decision time. We had talked about maybe adding Eisenhower as an out and back, which would add about 3 miles and 1.5 to 2 hours. We decided no for a number of reasons. Felt OK, but a little tired as we were both fighting colds; as the first day of daylight savings, would probably put us back at the parking lot around dark; the top of Eisenhower is wide open, was snowing off and on, and although we had some extra layers, we were not ready for full winter conditions battling the wind and cold. This is a great shot of Thomas with Mt. Eisenhower in the background. Looks tame, no?

So it's 3.1 miles downhill to end our day with Thomas leading the way. He left a bootprint that struck me as very cool.

Very close to the end of the hike, we came across this waterfall, known as Gibbs Falls. We saw a lot of moving water today, and still this struck us as picture-perfect.

Back down at the road, this sign really tells the story for anyone starting up its way.

We hit the parking lot around 2:45pm. About 7+ hours total. Not the quickest of times, but today, that wasn't the point. All in all, another great day in the mountains. We really had a fun time today. We seemed to take our time hiking, took plenty of little breaks, and shot off our route a few times for little excursions just to see what we could see. Also, this day was very close to our first 4k hike in that we were not sure where the real top was to our first summit, Jackson, and the length and vertical gain over the whole loop were similar.

One of the points Thomas and I talked about is that, although this is a worth-while goal, we don't want to exclude the rest of our family, who have always hiked together over the years. So not every hike in the next couple of years will necessarily be toward this goal. But we do have a couple of 4Kers that we can do with the family, and look forward to them joining us on these mountains.

One last point. Today was my Dad's (and Thomas' Pepere's) birthday. He passed away earlier this year, so we dedicated today's hike to him. Wished him a Happy Birthday on each top. And although he's in our thoughts always, today was special for us.

Mt. Tom (#1) and Mt. Field (#2) October 12, 2009

2009-10-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

Trails: Avalon, A-Z, Mt. Tom Spur, Willey Range

Total Distance: 7.2 miles

Vertical Gain: 2800'

Starting the 48’s fairly late in the season. What a morning to begin. Temps were around 38° when we left the Crawford Notch Visitor Center at around 8:00am. Needed an extra layer to start on our upper half, and hats came out within 10 minutes. The first leg on the Avalon trail up to the fork w/ the A-Z trail was pleasant, with some nice cascades showing themselves as we crossed Crawford Brook about 6 or so times on the way up.

Once we turned onto the A-Z trail, we went down a steep little gully to the brook again, then proceeded to climb rather steeply toward the col between Tom and Field. About halfway to the col, we finally started to get hit by the sun, which really helped to warm us at times. Finally we topped out , and as soon as it flattens out, the Mt. Tom spur comes in on the right. So off we go toward Mt. Tom, where we met a guy coming down. Talked for a bit, ends up he just started the NH 48’s in Sept. He was doing Mt. Willey also in his loop, but we didn’t have the time today.

Hit the top around 10am, where 2 view paths split. We thought this was the top, so took a couple of pics here, as the guy had said there was no sign. Even though it was clear above us, there were some light flurries coming down. Very Cool! We then took the right path East, and were able to look right down the Notch, with the cliffs and slides glowing in the morning sun.

We then went back and took the left path West, and we were glad we did. The summit cairn appeared at the end of this path, or so we think.

Confident we had hit all potential high spots, we made our way back down the Mt. Tom spur to the A-Z trail, where we turned right for 100 yards to where the Willey Range trail came in on the left. From the top of Tom, Mt. Field looked like quite a distance with some white coloring to the trees up high, but we covered the 1.5 miles in about 45 minutes.

Mt. Field is just past the junction with the Avalon trail, and as we went up the last 100 yards or so, it felt like winter. A cold wind was blowing, some more of those flurries were coming down, only these were sticking a bit to the ground.

Took our summit pics just before 11am, then ski-daddled down to get out of the wind.
Now, we had hit a little ice on the rocks and mud so far, but heading down the Avalon trail from Mt. Field turned out to be a very dicey affair, indeed. It felt like we had to slow to a crawl to negotiate what turned out to be very steep, slick , shiny rock. So what could we do but take our time, knowing that we had done our first 2 of 48 peaks. We were getting hungry, but thought we could make Mt. Avalon (3442’) on the way down. But in the end, hunger won out, and we stopped to eat at a nice little stop with a view of the ledges on Avalon. With the boost of energy in us, we headed down with increasing temps and a beautiful day behind and ahead of us. Made the parking lot around 12:45 with roughly 2800’ of vertical gain all told.

A couple of notes: 1. Mt. Washington was shrouded in clouds ’til noon, and as they lifted , Big George showed himself off in all his glory with a white sheen that was awe inspiring. 2. As the temps went hot/cold and back and forth, it was a reminder to be prepared for anything up in the mountains. We had much more than we needed, but am glad we had what we needed.
　

Goal of this blog

2009-09-22T00:42:00.000-07:00

My son Thomas, 12, and I are going to attempt to hike all 48 peaks in New Hampshire over 4000'. We'll try some of these in cold weather, hoping to maybe ski/ board down some of them. This blog is a way to keep track and maybe do trip reports with pics. Paul