Hiking in the White Mountains and Adirondacks

2012 Trip Reports

2012-01-30T20:16:00.000-05:00

Click on Mountain to view trip report...or click here to view pictures

2012	Mountains	Trails	Miles	Elevation Gain
1/7/12	Owl's Head	Lincoln Woods, Black Pond, Bushwhack, Lincoln Brook, Owl's Head Path	18.5	3,500 feet
1/8/12	North Kinsman & South Kinsman	Lonesome Lake, Fishin' Jimmy, Kinsman Ridge	10.0	3,800 feet
1/14/12	Osceola's & Hancock's	Greeley Ponds, Mount Osceola Trail / Hancock Notch, Cedar Brook, Hancock Loop	17.4	6,000 feet
1/15/12	Liberty & Flume	Bike Path, Basin Bushwhack, Liberty Spring, Franconia Ridge	8.8	4,050 feet
1/16/12	Jackson	Webster-Jackson	5.2	2,200 feet
1/21/12	Moriah	Carter-Moriah	9.0	3,550 feet
1/22/12	Monroe, Eisenhower, Pierce	Ammonoosuc Ravine, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop, Eisenhower Loop, Webster-Cliff	10.0	3,600 feet
1/28/12	Zealand	Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway	18.6	2,850 feet
1/29/12	Isolation	Rocky Branch, Engine Hill Bushwhack, Isolation Trail, Davis Path	12.8	3,350 feet
-	-	16 "Official" 4,000 footers	110.3	32,900

"Isolation Nation"

2012-01-30T17:30:00.001-05:00

Date of Hike: 1/29/12

Rocky Branch / Engine Hill Bushwhack / Isolation / Davis Path
12.8 miles (3,550 elevation gain)
Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- After beating myself on a solo hike of Zealand on Saturday it was time to join in with a big group (12 hikers and 3 dogs) and head over to Mount Isolation.
- Mount Isolation in the winter is shorter than in the summer, as the preferred route is a bushwhack through the Birch glades of Engine Hill. When broken out correctly the hike through the glades is one of the prettiest paths below treeline in the White Mountains.
- Today the snow conditions were a mixed bag, the hike up the Rocky Branch Trail was packed out and we all barebooted, once on the Engine Hill Bushwhack it was time for snowshoes, unfortunately a few us decided to not bring them so they were post-holing a lot. Randy didn't bring his and was post-holing more than anyone because he's taller and weighs more. He made it through but I can imagine what it must be like to be blind and post hole, but he's a strong hiker and made it through and was still his happy through it all.
- The bushwhack dumped us off onto the Isolation Trail a little earlier than we wanted but it was pretty much smooth sailing from here on out and we bypassed a few of the crossings only dealing with the final one. Sometimes there is a bushwhack off the Isolation Trail through a drainage that intersects the Davis Path saving a few hundred feet of elevation gain on both ends of the hike but today it wasn't broken all the way up so we stayed on the Isolation Trail through to the Davis Path.
- The weather was warm again, around freezing with light winds, views from the summit were ok but Mount Washington was in the clouds. We stayer don the summit about ten minutes before heading down.
- Alton and I went ahead but went a little to fast between where the drainage bushwhack would be and one of the crossings so when everyone caught up we just hiked with the group again.
- The hike back through the Engine Hill Bushwhack was much easier on the way out, no more post-holing after all the use that the path got throughout the day. However we did lose one of the dogs (Delilah a Black Lab). She was having so much fun running to the front and back of the line that one time she ran to back but just kept on wagging her tail all the way back to the Isolation Trail! Luckily we were only a few tenths of a mile up the bushwhack and Bob went back and found her.
- The sun started to set as we were going through the bushwhack and it was pitch black for a majority of the hike down the Rocky Branch Trail back to the car.
- It was a fun day on Mount Isolation, which is always adventerous and unlike most of the other below treeline hikes in the White Mountains Mount Isolation much like Owl's Head always presents a different experience like hikes above treeline.

Pictures: Click here for all Pictures

Hiking through the Birch Glades of the Engine Hill Bushwhack

Crossing a Snow Bridge over the Rocky Branch

Justin and Alton on Approaching Mount Isolation's Summit

Heading back through the Birch Glades

Engine Hill Bushwhack

Zealand Mountain

2012-01-28T20:56:00.004-05:00

Date of Hike: 1/28/12

Route 302 / Zealand Road: 6.1 miles
Zealand Trail / Twinway / Zealand Spur Trail: 6.4 miles
Route 302 / Zealand Road: 6.1 miles
Total Miles: 18.6 (2,850 elevation gain)
Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- Saturday's forecast was for high winds above treeline so I thought it would be fun to go for a long road walk along Zealand Road on my way to Zealand Mountain. Unfortunately the out-of-whack winter weather made for some exhausting snow conditions.
- Zealand Road had a single snowmobile track all the way to the end of the paved section, then there was an old ski track, and two bare boot tracks that were sinking into the newer snow. I put on my snowshoes and plodded my way past the Hale Brook Trail on my way to Zealand Trail and over to Zealand Falls Hut which took up more energy than I was expecting with some crusty snow and powder underneath.
- I took a quick break in the hut before I followed a broken out track to the Zeacliff Outlook on the Twinway were I ran into a group of five guys who had stayed at the hut the night before and were trying to make it to Guyot before coming back down.
- Once past them it was time to break 1.6 miles to the summit of Zealand. The snow was a real pain to deal with. The top inch to two inches was a crusted over, beneath that was powder, sometimes a couple of inches, sometimes a half foot, other times a foot and every so often I'd punch through to my knees. It was exhausting and I re-aggravated a muscle strain in my leg from two weeks ago. Still it was a lot of fun breaking trail and the clouds had lifted making for some awesome views.
- The descent was slow going as well, I expected to pick up lost time after I ran into the group of five again on my way down but the trail was still choppy and I now had a "hitch in my giddy up"
- I took a break at the Zeacliff Outlook on the Twinway to take in the views and felt better on my way to the hut.
- From the hut to Zealand Road I passed by about two dozen hikers heading in to spend the night at the hut. It was a boring hike back to the road but not as boring and excruciating as what was to come.
- I was hoping to see snowmobile tracks on the road so I could ditch the snowshoes but there were none and the snow on the road was in worse shape than in the morning. Conditions were a mix between ski tracks and bare boot tracks which chewed up the snow, no solid snowshoe track so each step was awkward and the pain in my leg became really annoying, so much so that every couple of minutes I would just sit in the snow for a break.
- When I reached the Hale Brook Trail a big group of ten had just finished hiking Mount Hale and were heading out, they seemed about as thrilled as me to have the road walk ahead of them, one of them was cursing the road. Most of the group were pulling sleds with their gear on them, I wondered if they had originally planned to head to Zealand Falls Hut after their Hale hike and just said the hell with it.
- I caught a second wind and speeded ahead of them until I almost broke down on the side of the road, now both legs were in pain so I stopped to refuel again and take a break and gather myself.
- Finally I was able to take off my snowshoes when I reached the snowmobile tracks where the paved section comes in, the conditions were still subpar but I couldn't hike any longer with the snowshoes on. I put on my microspikes, picked up the pace and went by the sled cavalry again and limped my way to Route 302 and back to the car.
- It was one hell of a hike, I really beat the crap out of myself and enjoyed the 9.5 hours on the trails!

Pictures: Click here for all Pictures

Zealand Falls Hut

Unbroken Twinway

Twinway

Blue sky and high clouds over Zealand Moutain

Presidential Range

Carrigain Notch and Mountain Range

Mount Monroe, Eisenhower, Pierce

2012-01-23T10:58:00.003-05:00

Date of Hike: 1/22/12

Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail: 2.6 miles
Mount Monroe Loop Trail: 0.7 Miles
Crawford Path: 1.4 miles
Mount Eisenhower Loop: 0.8 miles
Crawford Path / Webster-Cliff Trail: 4.5 miles
Total Miles: 10.0 Miles (3,600 elevation gain)
Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- It was an amazing day to head up above treeline, mostly clear skies, temps in the mid teens, and no wind!
- I joined in with a big group to hike the Southern Presidential Range, basically the same group as on Saturday and we had a great time. Once past the Gem Pool I went up ahead so I could take pictures of everyone.
- Once again I was amazed and very impressed on how well and fast Randy is able to hike, his guide dog Quinn is excellent at leading the way for him.
- Ammonoosuc Ravine trail in the winter is one of my favorites, it's a thousand times better in the snow whic covers the rocks, plus it's beautiful!
- The hike over Monroe and through to Pierce was one of my favorite hikes I have done that I can recall, the snow made for incredible hiking.
- The weather could not have been better, I hiked in a long sleeve tshirt the whole day without de or re-layering, which never happens in the winter for me.
- The hike down Crawford Path below treeline back to the car was even fun as we jogged a few sections which was pretty wild!
- It was a great day for a hike with great people! To read more about Randy and Quinn hiking click here

Pictures: Click here for all Pictures

Marshfield Station

Quinn guiding Randy

Crossing the Ammonoosuc Brook above the Falls

Hiking up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail

Lakes of the Clouds Hut

Hiking up the Mount Monroe Loop Trail with Lakes of the Clouds and Mount Washington

Mount Monroe and Washington

Avoiding Spruce Traps on the Crawford Path

Heading up to Mount Pierce

Mount Moriah

2012-01-21T19:28:00.000-05:00

Date of Hike: 1/21/12

Carter-Moriah Trail: 9.0 miles (3,550 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- Spent the day hiking with a big group of people (Bob, Geri, Dina, Justin, Randy, and Alton) along with two dogs (Quinn and Dusty)
- Quinn is a seeing eye dog for Randy who is blind and working on his winter 48 - 4,000 footers. Eventhough he's blind he hikes better than most people I've come across on the trail.
- The trail was broken the whole way with a few inches of fresh fluffy snow which made for easy hiking. It snowed the whole day and there was no wind making for a pleasant hike eventhough the views were mostly socked in.
- It was a great hike and at the end we even jogged down the trail at times, to do this Randy holds one hand out and lightly grips the snowshoes that are attached to Bob's backpack, it was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen and made for a great ending to a really fun hike!

Pictures

Randy and Quinn lead the way (Picture taken by Bob)

Hiking along the Carter-Moriah Trail

Up the steeps past Mount Surprise

Summit of Mount Moriah (Picture taken by Bob)

Mount Jackson

2012-01-16T18:58:00.001-05:00

Date of Hike: 1/16/12

Webster-Jackson Trail: 5.2 miles (2,200 elevation gain)
Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- Decided to do a quick hike before getting to work and heading back to Rhode Island. It was a balmy -14 at the Highland Center in Crawford Notch, however there was no wind and crystal clear visibility.
- Within ten minutes I was already warmed up and as usual my upper body was sweating but I felt much stronger than I did yesterday. The Webster-Jackson trail is all in the woods with a fun steep ledge the last one hundred feet up to the summit which was covered in styrofoam snow making it easy to get up in just microspikes.
- I stayed on the summit for about ten minutes staring at the Presidential Range and taking pictures before blitzing down the mountain were I finally ran into about nine hikers, a super friendly black lab, and a quiet husky type dog all along the last mile of the trail.

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Mount Jackson Summit

Presidential Range

Mount Willey, Field, Tom, and Avalon

View from Mount Jackson's Summit

Mount Carrigain and the Vose Spur

Mount Liberty & Flume Mountain

2012-01-15T19:56:00.001-05:00

Date of Hike: 1/15/12

Basin Bushwhack / Liberty Springs Trail: 2.9 miles
Franconia Ridge Trail: 3.0 miles
Basin Bushwhack / Liberty Springs Trail: 2.9 miles
- 8.8 miles (4,050 elevation gain)
Click here for Trail Descriptions

Trip Report:
- Sunday's forecast called for clear skies but extreme cold with wind chill values as low a -40 above treeline. After pushing myself on Saturday's hike I decided a quick trip up to Mount Liberty and over to Flume would be a great hike.
- It was -5 when I pulled into the Basin Parking lot at 8am where I started out on the bike bath for a few tenths of a mile before bushwhacking over to the old logging road from the Whitehouse Mill which soon hooked onto the Liberty Spring Trail. I started out in snowshoes but soon switched to microspikes until reaching Franconia Ridge
- It was freezing out but the wind was not a factor making for a pleasant hike, also it didn't matter that it was -5 out as I was working up a sweat by the time I reached the Liberty Spring Trail. It was slow going as I must have slightly pull a muscle near my groin on Saturday while slipping and sliding down off of Osceola.
- I changed into dry layers when I reached the Franconia Ridge and put my snowshoes on again and kept them on over Liberty and to Flume and back.
- The only time the wind was whipping was on Mount Liberty's summit area but then again it wasn't to bad at all.
- Views from both Liberty and Flume were phenomenal, there was undercast engulfing the Kinsman Ridge to the West and the Garfield Ridge and Twinway to the north.
- On the hike back I ran into to guys working on the grid who were doing a Franconia Ridge Traverse, a couple with a Golden Retriever named Ben who was knocking off his 33rd peak, and a group of three guys hiking Liberty in the afternoon.
- I got back to the car around 12:30, just in time for lunch!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Flume Mountain from Mount Liberty's Summit

Owl's Head and the Bonds

Hellgate Ravine and Bondcliff, Bond, and West Bond

Franconia Ridge (Liberty through Lafayette) from Flume Mountain

Pemigewasset Wilderness

Mount Liberty's Summit

Osceola's & Hancock's

2012-01-14T22:14:00.008-05:00

Breaking out the Osceola's for Breakfast....Hanging in the Hancock's for Lunch...Dinner time dismantling of Denver by the Patriots!

Date of Hike: 1/14/12

Greeley Ponds Trail / Mount Osceola Trail: 7.6 miles (3,300 elevation gain)
Hancock Notch / Cedar Brook / Hancock Loop Trail: 9.8 miles (2,700 elevation gain)
Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- Perfect day to stay well below treeline with the cold temperatures and wind gusts. Had to break out Greeley Ponds and Mount Osceola Trail but other than some gnarly snow drifts between Osceola East Peak and Osceola Main Peak it wasn't to bad and was fun, especially being the first to go up the small slide. Snowshoes the whole way, ran into two other guys on the ridge in snowshoes, one with a cool looking dog. Once coming down back off East Peak passed nine hikers all in microspikes having fun.
- Finished around 11:30am, changed, warmed up, refueled and headed right up the road to the hairpin turn to jump on the Hancock Notch Trail. All the trails were broken out perfectly by snowshoes so it was pretty easy going until the steep section up to North Peak drained me pretty good.
- As I hiked along the ridge from North to South Hancock the weather was probably around zero and the wind in places came zooming through so I just kept chugging along to stay as warm as I could. Views from both summit outlooks were excellent with high cloud formations hovering above the White Mountains.
- The best part of the hike was the steep 0.6 miles from South Hancock's Summit to the loop junction sign. It was perfect butt sliding snow where and easy to stay in control. As I was sliding down I came across one random snowshoe and then another. I picked them up as I slid by and kept going until I reached their righful owner who was with his two kids taking a break before the long walk out to the trailhead.
- The last two miles was a gutcheck, my hand-warmers that I broke out at 7am at the Greeley Ponds Trailhead finally stopped working and my hands froze up badly trying to get the next pair of hand-warmers to start working.
- Made it back to the car around four and blasted the heat on high for a good fifteen minutes to thaw out while taking in the views from the Hairpin Turn Outlook on the Kancamagus Highway.

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Greeley Ponds Trailhead Parking off the Kanc

Breaking out the Greeley Ponds Trail

Looking up the small slide on the Mount Osceola Trail

No Views from North and South Kinsman

2012-01-08T22:35:00.001-05:00

Date of Hike: 1/8/12

Lonesome Lake Trail: 1.6 miles
Fishin' Jimmy Trail: 2.0 miles
Kinsman Ridge Trail: 2.8 miles
Fishin' Jimmy Trail: 2.0 miles
Lonesome Lake Trail: 1.6 miles
Total Miles: 10.0 miles (elevation gain 3,800 feet)
Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- Sundays forecast called for snow showers under sunny skies with wind chill values in the negatives above 3,500 feet. There were flurries all morning, but no sun, no wind, and temps held in the mid teens to low twenty's making for an easy hike to the Kinsmans.
- My pace was slow as I was tired from yesterday's Owl's Head hike and I was hoping by taking it slow the skies would clear off for some good pictures across to Franconia Ridge, unfortunately views were socked in all during the hike.
- The snowshoes finally got some use as I used them on the Kinsman Ridge Trail but they weren't necessary, the other half dozen people I ran into were either bare-booting or using light traction (microspikes, yax-trax, or stabilizers).
- Eventhough there were no views the lightly falling snow, snow blanketed evergreens, and cloud cover made for a winter wonderland experience.
- This wasn't a thrilling hike but it sure does beat hours of training at the gym on a Sunday morning back in RI!

Pictures: Click here for all Pictures

Lonesome Lake Hut

Kinsman Ridge Trail at the North Kinsman Summit

South Kinsman Summit

Hiker approaching the South Kinsman Summit

Owl's Head

2012-01-08T19:47:00.002-05:00

Date of Hike 1/7/12

Lincoln Woods Trail: 2.6 miles
Black Pond Trail / Bushwhack / Backtrack: 3.4 miles
Lincoln Brook Trail: 2.5 miles
Owl's Head Path: 2.5 miles
Lincoln Brook Trail: 2.5 miles
Bushwhack / Black Pond Trail: 2.4 miles
Lincoln Woods Trail: 2.6 miles
Total Miles: Approx 18.5 (3,500 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- My initial plans this winter was to start hiking the winter Adirondack Forty-Sixers list, but with the lack of snowfall and overall generally crummy weather I've decided to wait until the snow falls and the weather is good for views making the five hour plus drive worth it. In the meantime it was time to head to the White's to hike everyone's favorite...Owl's Head!
- During the winter Owl's Head is most commonly hiked using the Black Pond Trail and bushwhack along with the Brutus Bushwhack. This route is used to avoid the major water crossings of the Lincoln brook and the steep snow drifted Owl's Head Slide. However with the lack of snow this winter Saturday was a perfect opportunity to tackle the Owl's Head Slide.
- I arrived at the Lincoln Woods Trailhead just after 7am, put on my microspikes and headed off on the Lincoln Woods Trail which was solid ice with a thin coat of fresh snow over it.
- The 2.6 miles to the Black Pond Trail went by fast and when I turned onto the trail I was happy to see a couple of fresh tracks in the snow meaning I would be able to just follow these past the end of the trail onto the Black Pond Bushwhack portion of the hike.
- There were decent views of Owl's Head and the Bonds from Black Pond and the pond was frozen over with an inch of fluffy snow on it. I noticed that the hikers tracks I was following walked out onto the pond about twenty feet where the letter F and U were drawn in the snow, I guess they were mad at the pond or something. Looking back now I should have seen this as a sign to just stay put and wait for other hikers instead of following the FU boys Black Pond Bushwhack!
- Last winter I found the Black Pond Bushwhack to be annoying, it went up to high and then steeply dropped to the Lincoln Brook trail. As I follwed the FU fellas bushwhack to nowhere I first was relieved since it wasn't going as high but soon was shaking my head because this path may drop me out well below where I needed to be, which was past the first two dicey crossings on the Lincoln Brook Trail.
- I soon realized FU Nation must be out in search of old logging roads, skidder roads, or some point of interest because it dumped me out at a tributary of Lincoln Brook with the Lincoln Brook about 100 yards away with remnants of Hurrican Irene right in my way.
- I knew I was close to the trail but decided it would be best to turn around and head a half mile back up and just start my own path in the snow similar to last years route.
- Luckily when I got back to the spot where I planned to go higher up there were fresh tracks going in that direction set by Marty, Dave, Nick, and their dog, and as an added bonus it didn't go to high up which avoided the steep decent down to the Lincoln Brook Trail.
- Once on the Lincoln Brook Trail I caught up with the guys and then zoomed along to the Owl's Head Path where the real fun began. I've hiked the slide route once before in the summer and found it steep but easy but with snow cover it's a lot more challenging. The snow was heavy and sticky and the previous tracks had been filled in with snow so I created my own route being careful in certain spots not to slide back and take a fall. However it was lots of fun and I never felt uncomfortable, unfortunately there were clouds above 4,500 feet so there were no good views.
- Once above the slide it was back into the woods and a steep slog up to the ridge and then another slog along the ridge to the true summit which is .25 miles north of the old summit. After a total of nine miles hiking into the middle of nowhere my journey to the summit ended at a small cairn with great views of trees!
- After taking pictures of trees I hurried back to the slide for some more fun. I decided to put on my crampons for better traction and carefully made my way down to the base of the slide. It was actually easier heading down then up because the snow was chewed up from ascending it and I knew where and where not to place each step.
- Once back on the Lincoln Brook Trail I relaxed and had lunch before the long mostly flat walk back to the car. On the way back I ran into two guys who were going to set up camp at the base of the slide before tackling Owl's Head in the morning.
- After passing them I picked up the pace the rest of the way and noticed that there were now other paths for the Black Pond Bushwhack, I decided to just stay on the path that the guys and the dog tracked and made great time by the Black Pond. From here it was a 3.6 mile flat walk back to the car making for an exhausting but great 18 mile day in the Pemigewasset Wilderness.

Pictures: Click here for all Pictures

Black Pond Trail

Owl's Head from Black Pond

Looking back up Owl's Head Slide

Bottom of Owl's Head Slide

"Frozen Starfish" formation in Lincoln Brook

NH 48 / ADK 46 - "94's" In 2011

2011-12-24T10:33:00.001-05:00

In 2011 I was lucky enough to be able to hike a round of the Adirondack 46 High Peaks in New York and the New Hampshire 48-4,000 Footers of the White Mountains. Originally my goal was to complete my first round of the ADK 46-R but as December approached I noticed I was only seven peaks away from also completing a round of the NH 48 so I decided it would be pretty cool to hike the "94's" in one year. Click below to view trip reports or click here to view image galleries

Date	Click below to view trip report	Miles	Elevation Gain	94's #
1/1	Moriah / Cannon	13.4	5,750	1-2
1/2	Cabot	9.6	3,000	3
1/3	Moosilauke	7.8	3,300	4
1/15	Whiteface / Passaconaway	11.9	3,850	5-6
1/22	Owl's Head	18.5	3,310	7
1/30	Garfield / Galehead / South Twin / North Twin	22.3	6,000	8-11
1/31	Carrigain	14.0	3,900	12
2/13	Isolation	13.0	3,400	13
2/16	Madison / Adams / Jefferson	15.0	6,500	14-16
2/20	Jackson	5.2	2,200	17
2/23	Pierce / Eisenhower	9.4	3,250	18-19
4/9	Bondcliff / Bond / West Bond	22.8	4,700	20-22
4/22	Monroe / Washington	7.5	4,100	23-24
5/15	Osceola / East Osceola	8.4	3,000	25-26
5/28	North Kinsman / South Kinsman	13.0	4,400	27-28
5/29	Middle Carter / South Carter / Carter Dome / Wildcat "A" / Wildcat "D"	20.0	8,150	29-33
5/30	Lafayette / Lincoln / Liberty / Flume	26.2	6,600	34-37
6/2	Nye / Street (ADK)	8.4	2,500	38-39
6/3	Wright / Algonquin / Iroquois / Marshall (ADK)	18.6	6,000	40-43
6/4	Marcy / Haystack / Basin / Saddleback / Gothics / Armstrong / Upper Wolfjaw / Lower Wolfjaw (ADK)	25.0	8,600	44-51
6/5	Cascade / Porter (ADK)	5.9	2,250	52-53
6/6	Dial / Nippletop / Colvin / Blake (ADK)	18.6	6,000	54-57
6/7	Macomb / South Dix / East Dix / Hough / Dix (ADK)	15.5	5,250	58-62
6/8	Phelps / Tabletop (ADK)	13.2	3,000	63-64
6/9	Redfield / Cliff (ADK)	13.0	4,500	65-66
6/10	Gray / Skylight (ADK)	18.2	4,500	67-68
6/26	Tecumseh	5.0	2,300	69
7/16	Santanoni / Couchsachraga / Panther (ADK)	15.8	4,100	70-72
7/17	Donaldson / Emmons / Seward / Seymour (ADK)	21.4	5,500	73-76
7/23	Middle Tripyramid / North Tripyramid	16.6	5,250	77-78
10/5	Giant / Rocky Peak Ridge (ADK)	8.4	4,000	79-80
10/6	Esther / Whiteface (ADK)	12.8	4,200	81-82
10/7	Colden (ADK)	18.6	5,200	83
10/8	Allen (ADK)	18.0	3,850	84
10/9	Big Slide / Sawteeth (ADK)	22.0	6,250	85-86
11/6	Zealand	11.4	2,300	87
12/18	Tom / Field / Willey / Waumbek	17.0	5,900	88-91
12/22	North Hancock / South Hancock / Hale	19.4	5,100	92-94
_	By Month: Jan (12) / Feb (7) / Apr (5) / May (13) / June (32) July (9) / Oct (8) / Nov (1) / Dec (7) By Season: Winter (22) / Spring (49) / Summer (10) / Fall (13)	560.8	171,960	94/94

Hancock's & Hale

2011-12-23T08:43:00.004-05:00

Date of Hike: 12/22/11

Hancock Notch/Cedar Brook/Hancock Loop: 9.8 miles (elevation gain 2,650)
Route 302/Zealand Road/Hale Brook Trail: 9.6 miles (elevation gain 2,500)
Total Miles: 19.4 (5,100 feet)
Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- On Thursday, December 22nd at 12:30am winter officially began and with it brings lots of enthusiastic hikers up to the White Mountains to hike in a winter wonderland. Unfortunately for hikers the full force of winter still hasn't showed up in the mountains where the ground is still bare with at most a few inches of snow above 3,000 feet.
- However I decided to head up for probably my last hike of the year to finish off hiking the New Hampshire 48 and Adirondack 46-R in 2011.
- My first hike of the day was an early morning hike of North and South Hancock. The first half mile I barebooted before putting my micro-spikes on as the footbed of the Hancock Notch Trail became ice filled.
- The first 2.5 miles over the Hancock Notch and Cedar Brook Trails is relatively flat over old logging roads where the most exciting part of the hike is the water crossings which were half frozen.
- Once on the Hancock Loop Trail you gradually start to gain elevation until you reach the North/South loop junction split. From here the trail becomes relentlessly step gaining 1,100 feet in just 0.7 miles. I always end up going clockwise because I feel the hike once gaining the ridge from North to South Hancock is easier this way.
- I missed out on the views as the clouds finally started to lift as I was descending South Hancock. The hike back went quickly and the only highlight was my boot falling through the ice and into the water on one of the crossings.
- Once back at the car I was treated with awesome views of the Osceola's from the outlook at the hairpin turn on the "Kanc" Kancamagus Highway (Route 112) where I changed into dry layer before heading north.
- In the winter Zealand Road is closed so you have to park about a tenth of a mile past the road off Route 302 and then hike 2.5 miles to the Hale Brook trailhead or 4.0 miles if heading to the Zealand trailhead.
- The hike on the road to the Hale Brook Trail wore me out, I felt like I was about to bonk so I decided once I reached the trailhead to scarf down my PB&J sandwich and chug some powerade before I began the actual hiking. This worked wonders and I immediately got my energy back as I started the 2.2 mile ascent to Mount Hale's summit.
- Last year on the second day of winter I broke trail all the way up to the summit, today I barebooted the first 0.8 miles before putting on my microspikes at the Hale Brook water crossing. I am not a big fan of the Hale Brook Trail, it's supposedly 2.2 miles but for some reason it feels as if that is off by about 0.3 miles. For the second year in a row the last few tenths to the summit had me cursing up a storm!
- I had no views from the summit but the sun did break through the clouds for a couple of minutes warming me up, after almost falling and smashing camera #2 up I climbed to the top of the rock pile to see if I could see the Twin Range but they were in the clouds.
- After putting on dry layers I zoomed down the mountain and kept my microspikes on even for the road walk as Zealand Road had a thin layer of ice in the middle of it and I didn't feel like walking on the uneven edges of the road where there was no ice.
- I got back to the car at 3:30 and relaxed before driving back to RI, it was a fun day in the mountains but I can't wait for the snow to arrive!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Crossing the Cedar Brook

Zealand Road (Last Year Dec. 23rd - This Year Dec. 22nd)

Hale Brook Trail

Mount Hale Summit

Rock Pile on Mount Hale Summit

Willey Range & Waumbek

2011-12-19T09:33:00.004-05:00

Date of Hike: 12/18/11

Avalon Trail: 1.3 miles
Mount Tom Spur: 1.0 miles
Willey Range Trail: 3.5 miles
Avalon Trail: 2.8 miles - Total Miles: 9.8 (3,250 elevation gain)
Starr King Trail: 7.2 miles (2,650 elevation gain)

Total Miles: 17.0 miles (5,900 elevation gain)
Click here for Trail descriptions

Trip Report:

- After looking over what mountains I had hiked this year I noticed that along with completing the Adirondack Forty-Sixer list I had also hiked 41 of the New Hampshire 48-4,000 footers. I figured it would be pretty cool to hike both lists within the year so with a clear day forecast for Sunday I decided to head to the Willey Range to hike Mount Tom, Field, and Willey in the morning and Mount Waumbek in the afternoon.
- I have hiked the Willey Range three times before in the clouds, rain, and snow so finally I would have a day with some views from the outlooks.
- When I arrived at the trailhead it was a balmy negative 2 degrees! Luckily there was no wind so it wouldn't be to bad but unfortunately even with the low temperature within the first twenty minutes I began to sweat so I would have to bed careful not to get chilled when I stopped.
- The hike through the Willey Range is wooded but there are some decent outlooks, one from the summit of Mount Tom over to Zealand Notch and the Twin Range, another from Mount Field Summit down to the Mount Washington Hotel and the Presidential Range, and two phenomenal views into Crawford Notch and the Presidential Range from and outlook just past the summit of Mount Willey and from Mount Avalon's summit.
- The trail was covered with a couple of inches of packed down snow, micro-spikes were perfect for the conditions and after one more snow storm snowshoes will be ideal. The two water crossings of Crawford Brook on the Avalon Trail were almost frozen over but were a little tricky and my boot did go through and got soaked on the first one, thank god for water-proof boots!
- I didn't see any hikers until descending the Avalon Trail. I was visited by Gray-Jays on every summit, they are making out really well with all the food hikers give them, they're nice and fat, really fat!
- When I got back to the car the weather warmed up to 12 degrees, I quickly changed into dry layers and warmed up on the drive over to the Starr King Trailhead on Mount Waumbek.
- There were five other cars at the trailhead when I arrived at noon. The Starr King Trail is really mellow with easy to moderate grades and good footing the whole way, although today there were some ice flows in the trail but with micro-spikes on it was still easy.
- I saw four hikers and two dogs on the way to Starr King and on the summit of Starr King there were five others including Big Earl and Sue who I've run into about a half dozen times now over the past couple of years.
- From Starr King over to Mount Waumbek's summit and back to the car I wouldn't see another person. When I reached the summit of Waumbek I changed into dry layers and my fingers froze up badly so I broke out the 7-hour heat packets and stuck them in my mittens, my hands finally started to warm up a mile later when I was back on Mount Starr King's summit.
- The hike back to the car was pretty fast a fun, one of my favorite parts is the last mile through the open woods on an old logging road which passes by a stone foundation. I also stopped by the water reservoir next to the trailhead to take some pictures before leaving.
- It was a great day for hiking and winter is definitely on its way!
- Willey Range - On trail at 7:15am, Tom 8:40am, Field 9:10am, Willey 10:10am, Avalon 10:45am, finished 11:15am...Mount Waumbek - On trail 12pm, Waumbek 1:40pm, finished 3:10pm

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Willey Range Trail

Crawford Notch

Gray Jay taking in the views (and handouts) from Mount Willey

Presidential Range from Mount Avalon

Crawford Notch Scenic Railroad at the Highland Center

Old cabin fireplace on Mount Starr King

Starr King Trail

A.M.C. White Mountain 48 - 4,000 Footers of New Hampshire

2011-12-06T23:40:00.001-05:00

Welcome to my White Mountain Four-Thousand Footers of New Hampshire blog. All mountains included on the A.M.C 4000-Footer list require a minimum prominence between each peak of at least 200 feet, that is it must rise 200 feet above the low point of its connecting ridge between peaks, which elimintates twenty four 4,000 foot peaks. Below are links to information and trip reports for each of the 48 - 4,000 footers. If you have any questions or comments please contact me (Chris) at cdailey@hpearce.com and click here for image gallery

Adams - 5,774	Bond - 4,698	Bondcliff - 4,265	West Bond - 4,540
Cabot - 4,170	Cannon - 4,100	Carrigain - 4,700	Carter Dome - 4,832
Middle Carter - 4,610	South Carter - 4,430	Eisenhower - 4,780	Field - 4,340
Flume - 4,328	Galehead - 4,024	Garfield - 4500	Hale - 4,054
Hancock - 4,420	South Hancock - 4,319	Isolation - 4,004	Jackson - 4,052
Jefferson - 5,712	North Kinsman - 4,293	South Kinsman - 4,358	Lafayette - 5,260
Liberty- 4,459	Lincoln - 5,089	Madison - 5,367	Moosilauke - 4,802
Monroe - 5,384	Moriah - 4,049	Osceola - 4,430	East Osceola - 4,156
Owl's Head - 4,025	Passaconaway - 4,043	Pierce - 4,310	Tecumseh - 4,003
Tom - 4,051	Middle Tripyramid - 4,140	North Tripyramid - 4,180	N. Twin - 4,761
S. Twin - 4,902	Washington - 6,288	Waumbek - 4,006	Whiteface - 4,020
Wildcat "A" - 4,422	Wildcat "D" - 4,050	Willey - 4,285	Zealand - 4,260

Barebooting Bondcliff, Bond, and West Bond...In December!!

2011-12-04T07:33:00.007-05:00

Date of Hike: 12/3/11

Lincoln Woods / Wilderness Trail: 4.7 miles
Bondcliff / West Bond Spur Trail: 12.2 miles
Lincoln Woods / wilderness Trail: 4.7 miles
Total Miles: 22.6 (4,700 Elevation Gain)
Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- Rarely do you ever get a day in December with trail conditions and weather quite like this, bright sunny skies, temperature in the mid 30's, no wind, and no ice or snow to deal with as Alton and I crushed the Bonds!
- We hiked at our usually blazing pace below treeline and then took in the phenomenal views along the ridge of Bondcliff, Bond, and West Bond.
- We were surprised to see only four other hikers having a great time on the Bonds (one lady, a guys with his doggy, and two guys from VFTT on Bondcliff who we had a nice conversation with about hiking) we thought there would be more because of the weather and the lack of snow and ice on trails.
- On the way out I went over to the old Black Brook railroad trestle to take pictures, the top of the trestle is old and battered but the foundation is a solidly built structure, it must have taken a beating recently during Hurricane Irene and is still holding up strong. The trestle lesser known as the J.E. Henry Railroad Trestle or Trestle 16 is around 100 years old.
- On Trail at 7:15am, Bondcliff 10:30am, Bond 11:15am, West Bond 11:45am, Bond 12:20pm, Bondcliff 12:55pm, LW/Wilderness Trail 2:25pm, finished 4:00pm
- This hike along with my out n' back of the Bonds in February, 2010 are probably two of the hikes in the Whites I've enjoyed the most!

Pictures (Click here for all pictures)

Alton on Bondcliff

Mount Garfield (right) to Mount Lafayette (left) and the Franconia Brook in the Pemigewasset Wilderness

Whitewall Mountain, Mount Tom, Field, Willey, and the Presidential Range

The Bondcliff Trail and Mount Bond in December with no snow or ice!

Owl''s Head and most of the Franconia Ridge

Black Brook Railroad Trestle

Old but very secure structure!

The Pemigewasset Wilderness Boundary

Zealand Mountain

2011-11-07T10:14:00.003-05:00

Date of Hike: 11/6/11

Zealand Trail: 2.5 miles (450 feet)
Twinway / Zealand Spur: 6.4 miles (1,850 feet)
Zealand Trail: 2.5 miles
Total Miles: 11.4 (2,300 elevation gain)
Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- After three weekends off I made my way back up to the White Mountains. My initial plan was an out n' back of the Bonds on Saturday and the meet up with Alton and her friends for a quick hike of Zealand on Sunday. However after last weeks Nor'easter my plans were delayed as I helped Johnny 5 clear massive blowdowns from his back yard on Saturday in Wethersfield CT then heading up to NH to do Zealand on Sunday.
- The weather was perfect for the hike, clear skies, temps in the mid to high 40's, and no wind.
- Zealand is a pretty easy mountain to hike, the first 2.5 miles is relatively flat over an old logging road until you hook onto the Twinway (A.T.) heading south past Zealand Falls Hut.
- There were six of us hiking today, Alton's friend Kat was hiking her 46th of the 48 - 4,000 footers with only Mount Cabot-"Patch" and Owl's Head "Owlie" left. We all took a nice long break at the hut in the sun and warmed up before the climbing finally began.
- The trail was a packed down couple of inches of snow, mixed rocks, and ice which was bare-bootable with care although once the micro-spikes came on you could fly through the trail.
- The Twinway outlook is one of the best viewpoints in all of the White Mountains, sitting high above Zealand Notch and Whitewall Mountain, views over to Carrigain Notch, and across to Mount Tom, Field, and Willey with the Presidential Range looming large in the distance.
- From the viewpoint the hike is back in the woods and not really exciting with a couple of very minor PUD's (pointless up and downs). There is one fun short steep section with a well placed ladder step to help hikers up and down.
- The summit of Zealand has the best summit sign in the White's but that's about it, the summit is in the woods and resembles what one finds on Galehead Mountain...just a small pile of rocks!
- After taking a break to refuel and relax we booked it back down to Zealand Falls Hut and took a nice long break in the sun talking to other hikers before heading back to the car.
- It was my eighth time on Zealand Mountain and amazingly my second strait year hiking it on November 6th! It's a cool little mountain, although it lacks views from its summit the A.T. runs right by it's 0.1 miles spur path, the Zealand Falls and its hut is only a few miles below it, and best of all it's with a short descent and ascent to Guyot where you get great views of the Pemi Wilderness and have the Bonds on one side and the Twin Range on the other.

Pictures: (Click here for all Pictures)

Boardwalk over beaver ponds on the Zealand Trail

Presidential Range from Twinway Outlook

Whitewall Mountain

Kat looking out to Mount Carrigain and the Hancocks

Zealand Summit Sign

Carrigain Notch from Zealand Falls Hut

Adirondacks: Hiking the Forty Six High Peaks

2011-10-11T01:54:00.018-04:00

One of my hiking goals in 2011 was to hike the 46 High Peaks in the Adirondacks Mountains. In the late spring, early summer, and early fall I took three trips and completed my goal. I took a week off in early June and hiked 31 of the high peaks just as the rainy and cold spring weather snapped and was rewarded with seven out of nine days hiking in incredible weather! It took a few days to get used to the muddy trail conditions and some narrow herd paths but all in all it was lots of fun. I did some amazing one day hikes of the Great Range, MacIntyre Range, Dix Range, where I got to experience some of the most phenomenal views I've ever had hiking. In July I came back to ADK's to hike the Western High Peaks (Santanoni and Seward Ranges), once again I lucked out with some great weather and was able to hike 7 more peaks for a total of 38, I really enjoyed the Santanoni Range and didn't think Couchsachraga was as bad as the rep it's given. Finally in October I came back to hike the final 8 remaining peaks on the list and was treated with peak foliage and perfect weather as I hiked all over the eastern, northern, and central high peaks. I had a blast hiking the remaining peaks and even really liked hiking Allen Mountain which has a reputation as being a slog. I finished my 45th and 46th peak in style on Sunday, October 9th by doing a Big Slide/Gothics/Sawteeth Loop and enjoyed every second of it taking in the killer views! I've now completed both the White Mountains and Adirondack 4,000 footers so you might ask which ones are "better" or "tougher," well who cares!!!...They're both awesome, let a bunch of dorks on some hiking forum argue over that and and go coo-coo bananas while I hike up Huntington Ravine in the White Mountains or enjoy the ridiculously steep slabs up to Gothics with my camera in hand!

Click the links below to view trip reports or click here to view image galleries

Date	Click below to view trip report	Miles	Elevation Gain	ADK 46-R #
6/2	Nye & Street Mountain	8.8	2,900	1 - 2
6/3	MacIntyre Range: Wright / Algonquin / Iroquois / Marshall	18.6	6,000	3 - 6
6/4	Great Range Traverse: Marcy / Haystack / Basin / Saddleback / Gothics / Armstrong / Upper Wolfjaw / Lower Wolfjaw / Hedgehog / Rooster Comb	25.0	8,500	7 - 14
6/5	Cascade & Porter Mountain	5.9	2,250	15 - 16
6/6	Dial Mountain / Nippletop / Mount Colvin / Blake Peak	18.6	6,000	17 - 20
6/7	Dix Range: Macomb Mountain / South Dix / East Dix / Hough Peak / Dix Mountain	15.5	5,250	21 - 25
6/8	Phelps & Table Top Mountain	13.2	3,000	26 - 27
6/9	Mount Redfield & Cliff Mountain	13.0	4,500	28 - 29
6/10	Gray Peak / Mount Skylight / Mount Marcy / Mount Haystack	18.2	4,500	30 - 31
7/16	Santanoni Range: Santanoni / Couchsachraga / Panther	16.0	4,100	32 - 34
7/17	Seward Range: Donaldson / Emmons / Seward / Seymour	21.4	5,500	35 - 38
10/5	Giant Mountain & Rocky Peak Ridge	8.4	4,000	39 - 40
10/6	Mount Esther & Whiteface Mountain	12.8	4,200	41 - 42
10/7	Mount Colden & Algonquin Peak	18.6	5,200	43
10/8	Allen Mountain	18.0	3,850	44
10/9	Big Slide Mountain / Gothics / Sawteeth	22.0	6,250	45 - 46
-	-	254.0	76,000	46 / 46

Hiking down from Wright Peak

Mount Colden from Algonquin Peak

Lake Colden, Flowed Lands, Allen Mountain from Algonquin Peak

Basin, Saddleback, and Gothics from Haystack Mountain

Gothics, Pyramids, Sawteeth from Haystack Mountain

AMR Gate at the beginning of the private Lake Road

Lower Ausable Lake from Mount Colvin

Basin and Saddleback Mountain from Mount Colvin

Blake Peak, Mount Colvin (foreground L to R) and the Upper Great Range (background)

Basin and Saddleback Mountains

Gothics and Armstrong Mountain

It's pronounced Kook-sa-KRA-ga or "Coochy or Cooch" for short

The Seward Range from Pather Peak

Saint Huberts from the Zander Scott Trail

The Central High Peaks from Giant Mountain

Keene Valley and the Great Range from Giant Mountain

Lake Placid from Whiteface Mountain

Iroquois, Algonquin, Wright Peak (L to R) from Mount Colden

Flowed Lands from Mount Colden

Mount Colden from Algonquin Peak

"Walking the submerged planks" across Lake Jimmy on the long path to Allen Mountain

"Panther Gorge" with Haystack Mountain from Allen Mountain

Haystack, Gothics, Sawteeth from Allen Mountain

Sawteeth (foreground) and Giant Mountain with Rocky Peak Ridge (background) from Allen Mountain

Great Range from the First Brother

Johns Brook Valley and the Great Range from the Brothers

Mount Marcy and Haystack from Big Slide Mountain

The Great Range from Big Slide Mountain

Upper Great Range from Big Slide Mountain

Big Slide Mountain from Gothics

Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge from Gothics

Basin Mountain slides from Pyramid Peak

Basin and Saddleback from Pyramid

Giant Mountain from the Ausable Club Golf Course

The Dix Range from Rocky Peak Ridge

Sawteeth and the Great Range from Giant Mountain

Lower Great Range from Giant Mountain

Giant Washbowl and the Great Range from the Zander Scott Trail

Central High Peaks from Whiteface Mountain

Mount Colden and the new slide formed during Hurricane Irene

Basin Mountain from Sawteeth

Marcy Dam before and after Hurricane Irene

"Trap Dike" before and after Hurricane Irene

Mount Colden slides and Trap Dike before and after Hurricane Irene

Mount Colden, pre and post Irene

Basin Mountain, pre and post Irene

Big Slide Mountain (#45) / Gothics / Sawteeth (#46)

2011-10-10T18:07:00.005-04:00

Date of Hike: 10/9/11

Johns Brook Lane: 1.6 miles
The Brothers Trail: 3.8 Miles
Slide Mountain Brook Trail: 2.2 miles
Orebed Brook Trail: 3.1 miles
ADK Range Trail: 0.7 miles
Pyramid/Gothics/Sawteeth Trail: 1.4 miles
Scenic Trail: 3.0 miles
Lake Road / St. Huberts Road: 4.0 miles
Route 73: 2.2 miles
Total Miles: 22.0 miles (6,250 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
-Entering Sunday I had two peaks left to finish off the Adirondack High Peaks and become a "Forty-Sixer." The two peaks I had left where Big Slide and Sawteeth which are not two mountains that are hiked in the same day. However with another day of perfect weather forecast I figured I'd do a huge loop hike that started with a traverse over the Brothers to Big Slide Mountain, a descent down to Johns Brook Valley before heading up and over one of my favorites peaks (Gothics) via the Orebed Brook Trail, followed by a hop over a spectacular non-official 4,000 footer (Pyramid Peak), on my way to my final peak of Sawteeth before heading down to Lower Ausable Lake for some road walking.
- Johns Brook Lane 6:30pm, The Garden 7am, Big Slide 8:50am, Orebed Brook Trail, 9:55am, Saddleback/Gothics Col 11:10am, Gothics 11:45am, Sawteeth 12:35pm, Lake Road 2:30pm, AMR Gate 3:20pm, finished 4:15pm, Home 9pm!
- The Garden parking lot was full so I parked in Keene Valley at a free overnight lot and started hiking at 6:30am up Johns Brook Lane. I wasn't to upset about having to walk the road eventhough it's uphill I figured it was best to get this out of the way now rather than at the end of my hike.
- I made it to the Garden Parking lot at 7am and started the hike up the Brothers Trail to Big Slide Mountain. The borthers trail passes over "The Brothers", three sub peaks of Big Slide Mountain, which have awesome views of the Great Range from the first two brothers. I passed by some overnight hikers who were just getting up, they were calling out for their dog who was up trail a few hundred feet on the ledges of the first brother sniffing around a hiker who was sound asleep in their sleeping bag in the middle of the trail.
- The hike over the brothers went by quickly and so did the ascent up to the summit of Big Slide Mountain. As I was hiking I saw some fresh bear prints in the mud but no bear was to be seen.
- Before heading down from Big Slide Mountain I took in all the terrific views, refueled, and relaxed before I started my next part of my hike.
- I was surprised about the easy the descent off of Big Slide Mountain down the Slide Mountain Brook Trail, it was never really steep and the footing was some of the best in the ADK's I've been on. I passed a couple of hikers near the bottom, one of which was with a dog carrying a huge branch in his mouth not phased at all and wagging his tail the whole way.
- When I reached Johns Brook Valley it was time to hook onto the Orebed Brook Trail and start the long climb to the Gothics/Saddleback Col.
- The Orebed Brook Trail trail has moderate grades until it passes near the Orebed Brook Slide where the trail has been damaged from Hurricane Irene and the slide has been widened from the storm and is filled with debris. The trail now climbs up the left of the slide and you have the option of skirting along the side or just hiking on the slide marked by huge yellow blazes. This was a fun part of the hike, it was steep, and the damage from Hurricane Irene can be see all around and in the slide, making for some pretty wild hiking.
- After leaving the slide the trail climbs steeply up to the col where I would get to hike on one of my favorite sections of trails anywhere up the rock slabs with the cables bolted into the rock to the summit of Gothics.
- Views while hiking along the cables are stunning and dramatic to say the least and the steepness really tires you out but the views make it worth it. I was able to hike up without using the cables, which is not hard if you're an experienced hiker, I was able to do it all while holding onto my trusty camera the whole time while being extra cautious.
- I took a nice break on the summit before the last part of my hike over to Sawteeth. Between Sawteeth and Gothics lies Pyramid Peak, to reach Pyramid you drop off Gothics and then shoot right back up to the summit of pyramid, it's very steep but only a half mile so it's not to bad. The views from Pyramid of the slides of Gothics, Saddleback, and Basin are in your face and phenomenal!
- After taking a bunch of pictures it was time to drop down to the Pyramid/Sawteeth col before heading up to Sawteeth to end my journey of hiking the High Peaks 46R's. It was about a mile but felt much longer, the drop off of Pyramid was steep and so was the ascent up to Sawteeth.
- When I reached the summit there were about ten people at the outlook, they all disappeared within a few minutes and then I stood atop my final peak taking in the view for a half hour or so to eat lunch and relax. The weather could not have been better and I enjoyed every second of it before starting the long nine mile walk back to my car.
- I still had some minor climbing to do here and there as the Scenic Trail down to Lower Ausable Lake heads down and up the "teeth" off Sawteeth, it was nothing to major but was not to fun to have to do. Once past the teeth it was downhill all the way with three awesome outlooks that sit high above Lower Ausable Lake with views of the Colvin Range and across to Indian Head and Fish Cliffs.
- The lower part of the scenic trail travels along the edges of the lake where the members of the private Ausuable Club were in canoes paddling around the lake.
- At the end of the trail I traveled on Lake Road for a few miles, passed by the golf course, and out to Route 73 where I made sure to not get run over on the final two mile plus road walk back to my car. My car was parked near the Noonmark Diner which has an ice cream stand where I celebrated with some refreshing ice cream before jumping in my car and heading back to RI.
- It was a long day hiking just as I like it and I could not have asked for a better hike to finish off my first spring/summer/fall hiking the Adirondack High Peaks!

Click here for all pictures

The Great Range

Giant Mountain and Rocky Peak Ridge

The Great Range

Orbed Brook Slide

Basin and Saddleback Mountains

Slides of Basin Mountain

Giant Mountain from Ausable Club

Allen Mountain (#44)

2011-10-10T16:43:00.006-04:00

Date of Hike: 10/8/11

East River Trail: 5.1 miles
Allen Herd Path: 7.8 miles
East Ricer Trail: 5.1 miles
Total Miles: 18.0 (3,850 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- Allen Mountain has a reputation of being a long slog over remote old logging and mining roads, lightly used herd paths with confusing twists and turns, and no good views, basically it is the Adirondacks version of.....wait for it....Owl's Head!
- I knew I had to do it at some point and was a confident I'd have no problems bagging it even with the bridge over the "Mighty" Hudson River destructed, the floating planks of Lake Jimmy submerged and floating auspiciously, and the bridge over the Opalescent River no longer there. However a couple of days before the hike I was given advice that it would take me over 13 hours, I would need water shoes, a compass, and the trails are difficult at best to follow which lead to a minor freak out! However I then remembered I had hiked every "trailess peak" in the ADK High Peaks so far with no issues and have bushwhacked up trails in the White Mountains that have been abandoned for over forty years, so I calmed down, sucked it up, and was on the trail at first light.
- On trail at 6:40am, summit 10:40am, finished 2:40pm, temps in the 50's rising fast to the 70's, clear skies, decent views along the logging roads, excellent views from the summit downlooks.
- Within the first minute I had to cross the Hudson River, the water was just over ankle deep and felt refreshing. I knew it was going to be a very warm day and that I'd be soaked from mud later on so I kept on my trail runners and just walked in the shallow water.
- Next up was the crossing of Lake Jimmy, the best way to describe this water crossing is a floating bridge where the wooden planks at both shores are submerged in the water and move around when you step on them, pretty intense but luckily the wooden planks in the middle of the lake are firm and not moving around, once again the water felt refreshing.
- The first five miles of this hike is on an official trail, the East River Trail, it was easy to follow with yellow trail marker discs here and there and everytime you came to a turn there was an arrow or a cairn easily spotted, no problems at all. The 5.1 miles is mostly over old logging/mining roads, it's pretty cool and mostly flat with a view of Allen Mountain off in the distance at times.
- The crossing of the Opalescent River was a non issue as well as I just rocked hopped near the location of the old bridge.
- I finally made the turn onto the Allen Herd path, marked with a huge wooden home-made sign nailed into a tree and was surprised to find the trail was now marked with home-made yellow discs until reaching an area of beaver ponds where I ran into Steven and Maria. I was initially going to hike with Maria from the start but could not meet up with her early enough.
- From here the three of us hiked together until we started the steep ascent up Allen Brook and over the slides before gaining the ridge. My favorite part was this section as it is slick with red and green slime up Allen Brook and the slide. The best part is where you have to cross the slide before heading back into the woods, it was steep, slippery, and fun!
- The last section is a steep climb in the woods until you gain the ridge, just like above Owl's Head Slide in the White Mountains. Once gaining the ridge I headed left and reached the summit where there were awesome downlooks with pretty killer views over to the back of the Central High and the Eastern High Peaks.
- I took a long break on the summit and chatted about hiking with Steve before heading back down where I ran into Maria making her way to the summit, then a guy with his dog, and about a dozen other people all taking advantage of a great day to be out in the middle of nowhere!
- The hike back out went quickly as usual, I took a gnarly fall on the steep descent and got scrapped up but loved every second of cautiously scurrying down the Allen Brook / Slide.
- I was happy I got on the trail at first light because it was getting very warm later in the day and the sun was strong as I hiked along the old logging roads. The water crossings were once again very refreshing and when I reached the "Mighty" Hudson, I took off my pack and walked around the river until I found a section deep enough where I could go right and float around and cool off before heading back to the car.

Click here for all pictures

"Walking the Planks" across Lake Jimmy

Allen Mountain Herd Path Sign

Allen Mountain Herd Path

East River Trail with Allen Mountain in the background

Abandoned Observer's Cabins

Lake Jimmy Crossing

Mount Colden (#43) & Algonquin Peak

2011-10-10T15:47:00.010-04:00

Date of Hike: 10/7/11

South Meadows Truck Trail: 2.6 miles
Avalanche Pass Trail: 0.8 miles
Lake Arnold to Feldspar Brook Trail: 1.5 miles
L. Morgan Porter Trail: 1.4 miles
Lake Colden to Mount Colden Trail: 1.4 miles
North Shore Lake Colden Trail: 0.9 miles
Lake Colden to Algonquin Peak Trail: 4.2 miles
North Shore Lake Colden Trail: 0.4 miles
Avalanche Pass Trail: 3.0 miles
South Meadows Truck Trail: 2.6 miles
Total Miles: 18.6 (5,200 elevation gain)

Trip Report:

- On Friday I headed to Mount Colden which commands some of the most dramatic views in the High Peaks. On trail at 8am, Colden summit 10:45am, Algonquin summit 1:30pm, finished 5:15pm

- Temps started off in the high 40's but warmed up very fast as I hiked along the South Meadows Truck Trail to Marcy Damn. I prefer the hike along the truck trail for a couple of reasons, one it is mostly flat and smooth, and two the trailhead has free parking!

- I made good time to the Marcy Dam where I got my first glimpse of the damage Hurricane Irene did to the Dam and the lake. The bridge across the dam is gone, the damn itself has been compromised, and the lake has been drained and is now mud flats.

- From the dam I took the Avalanche Pass Trail for about a mile before hooking onto the Lake Arnold to Feldspar Brook Trail which had easy to moderate grades and was in pretty good shape up until I turned off on the L. Morgan Porter Trail to start the ascent up to Mount Colden.

- I was surprised at how easy of a hike it was up to the summit, unlike the trail up Mount Colden from Lake Colden the trail from Lake Arnold was never steep and went by fast as I first hiked up to a sub summit where the views where incredible before dropping down to a col and topping out on the summit of Colden.

- The true summit is a pile of rocks off the side of the trail in the scrub as trail runs above the many slides of Mount Colden. Hurricane Irene created a new slide which runs into the famous Trap Dike (a huge gash in the middle of the mountain). From the trail you can see all the way down the slides which drop to Avalanche Lake and across the lake to the Hitch-Up Maltidas (bridges bolted into cliffs above the lake). Across the way Algonquin Peak rises high above along with Wright and Iroquois Peaks of the MacIntyre Range on each side of it.

- I decided to descend the steep trail to Lake Colden, before dropping below treeline I had great views of Marcy, Gray, Redfield, Cliff, Skylight, down to Flowed Lands, and over to the MacIntyre, Santanoni, and Seward Ranges.

- The hike down to Lake Colden was fast as the trail is relentlessly steep but luckily the warm temps melted any ice higher on the trail making it a little less tricky to navigate. It was still early enough that I figured why not head around Lake Colden and hike up to the summit of Algonquin Peak!

- The trail up to Algonquin is a mirror image of the one that heads up from Lake Colden to Mount Colden, it's just as steep in places but easier below treeline because of less steep slab sections. The views as you ascend the trail across to Mount Colden get better and better as you gain the ridge and pop up above treeline.

- The final half mile or so is up rock slab where views become phenomenal, especially of the slides and the Trap Dike below on Mount Colden. I was very interested to see what the new slide and the Trap Dike looked like since Hurricane Irene came through. The new slide is bright white and the Trap Dike has been cleaned out, all the small trees and plants are gone as the new slide rushed right through the dike and spilled into Avalanche Lake, pretty amazing stuff.

- There were more that a dozen people on the summit enjoying the 360 degree views on a perfect fall day. I took a half hour break and took tons pf pictures before heading back down to Lake Colden.

- The hike along the Avalanche Pass Trail was fun as I got to walk over the Hitch-Up Matildas and got a close up view of the bottom of the Trap Dike from across Avalanche Lake.

- The hike back to Marcy Damn and then to my car along South Meadows Truck Trail was fine but I was tired, luckily the truck trail is easy on the feet so it wasn't to bad after a long day of awesome hiking!

Click here for all pictures

South Meadow Truck Trail

Mud pit above Marcy Dam

Lake Colden and Flowed Lands

Iroquois, Algonquin, and Wright Peak (L to R)

Lake Colden and Flowed Lands with Allen Mountain in the background

Mount Colden with the new slide from Hurricane Irene

The Trap Dike

Mount Esther & Whiteface Mountain (#41 & #42)

2011-10-06T18:57:00.003-04:00

Date of Hike: 10/5/11

Wilmington Trail: 3.5 miles
Esther Herd Path: 2.4 miles
Wilmington Trail: 6.9 miles
Total Miles: 12.8 (4,200 Elevation Gain)

Trip Report:
- The weather called for clear and sunny skies, unfortunately that didn't help much as the temperatures plummeted overnight into the 20's and the wind picked up above 4,000 feet making for one cold but beautiful hike up the northern-most of the Forty Sixers, Whiteface Mountain and Mount Esther.
- On trail at 7:45am, Esther 9:55am, Whiteface 11:20am, finished 1:30pm. Temps in the 30's to 50's, wind 20 to 30 mph.
- The first 2.5 miles is a great hike with soft footing through birch and maple trees with vivid red, orange, and bright yellow colors everywhere you look. Once past the junction for Marble Mountain the trail becomes wet and muddy, the usual for Adirondack trails.
- There are no views along the way to the Esther herd path so it was tough to get myself going. The herd path was one of the more annoying ones I've been on with lots of mud and standing water. The herd path lacks any really good views except for a couple over to Whiteface's summit. I didn't stay long at the no thrills summit before heading back to the main trail. Along with Street and Nye, Esther is my least favorite of the 46r's.
- The trail continued to be a muddy wet mess until reaching the bottom of a huge rock foundation wall which the Whiteface Memorial Highway sits above. The trail skits the wall and pops up next to the road before rising above it through some scrub until coming out onto an open ridge about a half miles from the summit.
- It was very windy up on the exposed ridge but the views were spectacular and they kept getting better once to the summit where I could see most of all the high peaks off in the distance and Lake Placid down in the valley.
- The Summit has a tower and a wrap around observation deck. After taking pictures I went inside and warmed up and had lunch. Whiteface Mountain is the Adirondacks version of Mount Washington where you hike up, look like hell, and get funny looks from the people who drive the cars up!
- Once I was warmed up I headed back down the open ridge taking in the views until I dropped back into the woods where I quickly hiked down passing by a few hikers heading up who were all smarter than me as they waited for the temps to warm up before hiking.
- Finally around 3,000 feet I was able to take off the last of my cold weather clothes and was back in a tshirt for the last couple of miles which flew by.
- It was a cold but fun hike, unless I do the ADK's in the winter I never see myself hiking Esther again but I definitely will hike Whiteface from the other side which I've been told is a much nicer hike.

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Wilmington Trail

Esther Mountain on the left

View from the open ledges below the summit

High Peaks from Whiteface Mountain's summit

Lake Placid

Wilmington Trail

Giant Mountain & Rocky Peak Ridge (#39 & #40)

2011-10-05T18:52:00.003-04:00

Date of Hike: 10/5/11

Zander Scott / East Trail: 8.4 miles (4,000 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- After a few months of hiking in the White Mountains it was time to head to New York and visit the Adirondack High Peaks to continue hiking the Forty-Sixers.
- Initially I had planned to head to the ADK's Labor Day weekend but Hurricane Irene ripped through the High Peaks Wilderness in late August and devastated the town of Keene and all trails in the Eastern High Peaks remained closed for a few weeks there-after.
- Once the trails opened I zeroed in on early October to take in some prime foliage while trying to finish off the remaining eight peaks on the list.
- I decided to hike Giant Mountain and Rocky Peak Ridge and as luck would have it the weather which had been rainy and dreary on and off for the past week broke just I started my hike!
- The Zander Scott Trail was in great shape, it's the first trail in the Adirondacks that I've been on that has switchbacks and waterbars keeping the trail firm rather than the muddy goo I've been accustomed to in the Adirondacks.
- The first mile of the trail is the usual in the woods stuff but the second mile is up on a ridge with incredible views down to Keene Valley and across to the Dix Range all the way to the Great Range. After a mile of fun hiking the last mile is back in the woods but it went by fast and made it to the summit quickly as the clouds kept clearing off and the sun came out for good.
- I ran into about a half dozen hikers on the ascent all going to Giant and then over to Rocky Peak while enjoying the perfect hiking weather.
- From Giant over to Rocky Peak Ridge you take the East Trail which drops quickly to the col before moderately making it's way up to the Summit of Rocky Peak Ridge.
- Views from Rocky Peak Ridge were phenomenal and I can't wait to go back there and keep hiking past the summit on the East Trail over the open ridge.
- I took a bunch of pictures, got out of the wind which was whipping at 20-25 mph, refueled and relayered before heading back over to Giant and down to the car.
- The hike back up Giant is a minor annoyance, it's kind of steep and the trail is wet but the hike between Giant and Rocky and back wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.
- On the way back I re-summited Giant (it's a tenth mile off the trail) because the views were even better then when I was there earlier. The Great Range from Giant's summit in autumn is spectacular!
- The hike back to the car was uneventful and went quickly as I passed by some hikers I ran into earlier all thrilled about the weather being so perfect.
- It was a great hike with greater views and alot of fun... I started out in a tshirt, then layered up including hat and gloves, and ended in a tshirt, typical fall hiking weather.

Pictures (Click here for all pictures)

Ausable Club in Keene Valley

Rocky Peak Ridge

Great Range

Keene Valley / Great Range

Dix Range

Sawteeth / Gothics

Big Slide Mountain

Great Range

Giant Washbowl

From Subpar to Super Views

2011-09-26T10:38:00.006-04:00

Date of Hikes: 9/24/11 & 9/25/11

Pemi East Side Trail & Lincoln Woods Trails: 6.0 miles
Hancock Notch/Cedar Brook/Hancock Loop Trails: 8.0 miles (2,000 elevation gain)
Click here for Trail Descriptions

Trip Report:
- Saturday's weather forecast was kind of crummy so I decided to check out the Pemi East Side Trail to see what Storm Irene did to it. It was heavily eroded and had some wash outs including one section where a huge water flow pipe washed away (click link below to see picture).
- When I reached the Wilderness boundary I went down to the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River and decided to cross the river. I took off my boots and waded across where there was one ten foot spot where I was up to my waist but the current was slow so I just had to make sure I had good footing.
- I headed back to the car and then went to the hairpin turn on the Kanc to meet up with Alton and her friend Mike for a late afternoon hike in over the Hancock's.
- We got on the trail at 4:45pm, Alton and Mike had just biked the Kanc East to West then back, so they were exhausted! To make things worse the weather was still sub-par for views and with all the recent rain we had to stick to the trails and bypass the Arrow Slide.
- We made it close to the summit of North Hancock and decided to turn back which was fine with me.
- The Cedar Brook Trail is eroded from Storm Irene and sand has been deposited in heavy amounts in other spots from the brook breaking its banks, pretty wild stuff.
- Once back at the car I headed to the Woodstock Inn Brewery for dinner and a drink before heading to Haystack Road where I crashed in my tent for a good nights sleep before Sunday's hike in the Presidential Range.

- Click Here for Pictures

-Sunday-

Trail	Miles	.	.	.	.	.	.
Jewell	3.7	Gulfside	0.9	Sphinx	2.2	Gulfside	0.1
Mount Clay Loop	1.2	Gulfside	1.1	Crawford Path	1.5	Camel Trail	1.4
Mount Monroe Loop	0.6	Ammonoosuc Ravine	3.1	.	.	.	.
Total Miles	15.8	.	.	.	.	.	.
Elevation Gain	6,550	.	.	.	.-	.-	.-

Trip Report:
- Sunday's weather broke just right as the fog and clouds cleared off the higher elevations by 8am and I was rewarded with great early morning views on the Jewell Trail.
- The Jewell Trail is a very easy trail in good weather and has excellent views into Burt's Ravine across to the Cog Tracks. As soon as I broke above treeline the Cog Train was slowly moving up the tracks to the Halfway House before crawling up and over Jacob's Ladder. I followed it and took several picture as I hiked up to the Gulfside Trail.
- Once on the Gulfside Trail I headed north and dropped down to the Sphinx Col. It was mid morning by the time I reached the Sphinx Trail and with unseasonably warm temps I wished I had brought my sunscreen as I knew I would get some sun burn later as I headed up to Mount Washington.
- I headed down the Sphinx Trail to see how far up the landslide from Irene damaged the trail. To my surprise it had been cleared out by the Forest Service Trail Crew. There was about 200 feet of the trail where they removed some pretty nasty blowdowns, it was and incredible job done and the trail underneath held up pretty well and is still easy to follow.
- When I reached the bottom of the Sphinx Trail I turned around and hiked back up and did some minor clipping back of the trail where it needed to be brushed back above the landslide until the broken ledge with the running water just below treeline.
- Back on the Gulfside Trail I quickly turned onto the Mount Clay Loop Trail over Clay and then up to Mount Washington where I refilled my water and headed down to Lakes of the clouds drafting and older guy who turned off onto the Tuckerman Crossover Trail.
- Right before the hut I turned onto the Camel Trail to try and locate an old emergency shelter that used to be at the height of Land on the Camel Trail where the original Crawford Path ran across. As I reached a flat grassy section I noticed off to my right a rock about twenty feet off trail with two iron rods sticking out of it, I walked over and sure enough it was the location of the old shelter, I looked around in the general vacinity of the rods and found lots of old rusted nails and some old shell casings for a gun, pretty wild stuff!
- I then hiked the rest of the Camel Trail to Davis Path and ran back into the older guy who earlier had turned off on Tuckerman Crossover, we chatted for a few minutes about how great the weather and this section of trail are before heading our separate ways.
- At the Davis Path Trail junction I turned back around and hiked the Camel Trail back to Lakes of the Clouds.
- On the way back as I neared the site of the old shelter I noticed a depression in the grass running towards the rock and remembered the original Crawford Path ran through here, I then looked to the north and noticed the depression heading past the Camel Trail so I followed it for a few hundred feet, it's barely noticeable but if you look pay attention you can keep following it. I'll head back here again to see how much of it I can follow in the future.
- Once back at the hut I headed over to the summit of Mount Monroe and took a nice long break to eat a late lunch before heading down the Ammoosuc Ravine Trail where I turned on my radio just in time to hear the Pats lose, son-of-a....
- It was one of the best days in the White Mountains I've had this year, the weather was perfect and the views were awesome!

Click here for all pictures

Outlook at the Hancock Notch Trailhead

The Cog, Lakes of the Clouds Hut, and Mount Monroe

Mount Eisenhower in a wave of clouds

Brook crossing on the Sphinx Trail

The Great Gulf Wilderness

Cog and Mount Jefferson

Lakes of the Clouds and Mount Monroe

Lakes of the Clouds Hut

Site of an early twentieth century emegency shelter

In and Above the Great Gulf Wilderness

2011-09-11T17:58:00.005-04:00

Great Gulf Trail: 4.5 miles
Six Husbands Trail: 2.3 miles
Mount Jefferson Loop / Gulfside Trail: 3.1 miles
Osgood / Great Gulf Trail: 5.6 miles
Total Miles: 15.5 (5,500 elevation gain)
Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- Day two of Diaz hiking with me in the White Mountains called for even better weather so it was off to the Great Gulf Wilderness to one of the wildest and steepest trails around, the Six Husbands Trail.
- To get to the Six Husbands Trail one has to hike 4.5 miles deep into the Great Gulf which gets wilder and more remote once passing the Bluff tentsite. There were not many people on the trails in here, we only saw five other hikers in the morning, three heading up the Great Gulf trail all the way to Mount Washington's summit and two others on the Six Husbands Trail.
- The Six Husbands Trail was was in great shape with no blowdowns and they also added a new ladder right after the short scramble under the overhanging rock. The section right before, during, and after the ladders is one of the best sections of hiking in the Whites, it's steep, rough, a little dicey, and very exciting.
- Once passed this section you head into the Alpine Zone and have incredible views into the Great Gulf, Jefferson Ravine, and across to the Wildcat-Carter-Moriah Range.
- The final push up to the summit into the wind drained the energy out of Diaz but he rebounded after we took a long half hour break at the summit and chatted it up with a guy who just completed his 36th - 4,000 foot summit.
- After lunch we quickly dropped down to Edmands Col, made great time over to Thunderstorm Junction, and enjoyed the stroll along the sidewalk section of the Gulfside Trail before the last short steep descent to Madison Springs Hut enjoying the perfect weather.
- At the hut we took a quick break and decided instead of heading down the Madison Gulf Trail to spend more time above treeline and head over the summit of Mount Madison and take the Osgood Trail back down to the Great Gulf Trail.
- The hike up to the summit went without a hitch and the hike down the Osgood Ridge was excellent with crystal clear 360 degree views.
- Once below treeline the hike become a mini-slog but we still made good time and made it back to camp Dodge just in time for the BBQ!
- It was an awesome two days in the White Mountains and Diaz had alot of fun and has now hiked all of the official 5,000 foot summits int he White Mountains! Can't wait to next year!

Click here for all pictures

Ladder Steps on the Six Husbands Trail

Scrambling up the Six Husbands Trail

Hiking above treeline

Mount Washington

Thunderstorm Junction

Hiking down to Madison Springs Hut

Another Classic Franconia Ridge Loop

2011-09-11T17:25:00.004-04:00

Falling Waters Trail: 3.4 miles
Franconia Ridge Trail: 1.7 miles
Greenleaf Trail: 3.4 miles
Pemi Bike Bath: 2.0 miles
Total Miles: 10.5 (3,900 elevation gain)
Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- My friend from my days at the "College of the Quinnipiac University" Tom Diaz came up for his second annual two day hiking trip in the White Mountains.
- With great weather forecast for the weekend it was the perfect opportunity to do one of the best hikes in the White Mountains, the classic Franconia Ridge Traverse!
- We got on the trail early to beat the crowds and had a fun hike up the always fun Falling Waters Trail with a pit stop along the way to check out Shining Rock.
- Once breaking above treeline we were greeted with some pretty gusty winds that were a blast to hike in and knocked us off balance on top of Lincoln for a few seconds.
- As we approached the summit of Mount Lafayette a pretty cool undercast came rushing in making for some pretty killer views.
- On the summit of Lafayette we got out of the wind and took a nice long break to have had lunch while a group of teenages above us set up a tarp, played some music, had an inflatable pool float, and some had pajamas on. Don't know what they were up to but they were having a fun time!
- The hike down to Greenleaf Hut went pretty fast and as we descended towards the undercast it passed through and everything was clear below us again, perfect timing!
- At the hut we decided to continue along the Greenleaf Trail instead of Old Bridle Path. Greenleaf Trail is lightly used compared to Old Bridle Path so it's a quieter hike but other than a small section that passes under Eagle Cliff there are no views.
- With about a half mile to go on the Greenleaf Trail we left the trail and dropped down to the bike path to cut off about a mile worth of hiking and then enjoyed the nice smooth walk back to the car along the Pemi Bike/Walking Trail.

Click here for all pictures

Stairs Falls

Diaz holding onto his hat in the high wind

Classic Franconia Ridge shot!

Mount Lafayette Summit

Water World

2011-09-04T12:36:00.003-04:00

Date of Hike: 9/2/11 & 9/3/11

Lunch

Lincoln Woods Trail: 5.8 miles

Dinner

Falling Waters Trail: 3.2 miles

Franconia Ridge: 1.7 miles

Greenleaf Trail / Old Bridle Path: 4.0 miles

Breakfast

Great Gulf / Sphinx Trail: 11.7 miles

Trip Report:

Lunch

- After two weeks off to heal it was time to head back up north to go hiking. Originally I was going to head up to the Adirondacks to finish off the Forty-Six High Peaks but Hurricane Irene came through and all trails to six of the eight remaining peaks I have left are closed so I headed up to the White Mountains instead.

- I got up to New Hampshire early in the morning on Friday to beat the holiday weekend traffic and I spent the morning working. On my lunch break I headed over to Lincoln Woods to check out some of the damage along everyone's favorite trail, the Lincoln Woods Trail!

- There were some washouts along the trails, some major erosion creating steep cliffs dropping off into the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River, but overall the section up until the wilderness boundary is still the same as it ever was....kind of boring!

- After my lunch break it was back to work until 5pm where I headed to Franconia Notch to catch sunset on the Franconia Ridge.

Click here for all pictures

Erosion from high water flow during the storm

Trail washout

Washout near a foot bridge on the Lincoln Woods Trail

Dinner

- The start of the trail up until the Old Bridle Path / Falling Waters Trail split is heavily eroded (couple of feet deep trench), the footing is awful with loose rocks and tree roots exposed from the Walker Brook jumping its banks during the storm.

- The weather was perfect while hiking up the Falling Waters Trail, and the mist drifting from Stairs Falls, Swiftwater Falls, and Cloudland Falls felt very refreshing while working up a sweat ascending.

- Along the way I came across about a dozen hikers all descending back to Lafayette Place. A few were concerned that I was hiking to late but I assured them I had meant to get a late start.

- I was thrilled about catching a great sunset on the Franconia Ridge and I could not wait to get above treeline on Little Haystack to look out at the big views with Franconia Notch on one side and the Pemigewasset Wilderness on the other.

- Unfortunately as soon as I reached Little Haystack clouds came out of nowhere and would ruin the sunset. The weather forecast called for clear skies through the early evening, well not on the ridge, I was socked in! I waited for a few minutes hoping for a quick clearing of the skies but started to get chilled so I booked it over to Lafayette in thirty minutes.

- There wasn't anyone on the ridge, but there were a group of three guys huddled up out of the wind where the old foundation ison Mount Lafayette. I chatted it up with them for a few minutes, they where doing Semi-Pemi-Loop over three days and taking a break to warm up and refuel before heading along the ridge to spend the night at Liberty Spring Campsite.

- I quickly hiked down the Greenleaf Trail towards the hut hoping to descend below the clouds to catch some sunset but I was in the clouds the whole way. It was a bummer but the good news is my ACL/MCL and ankle issues from the past two hikes were holding up great!

- At the hut I went inside to refill my water before stepping back outside where I had my dinner while sitting on the steps before heading back to the car. One guy thought I was Coo-Coo Bananas for hiking at night, I thought he was going to call me an idiot!

- The rest of the way back to the car went fast, I wanted to test out my knee and ankle so I jogged down most of the way, everything felt fine.

Click here for all pictures

Waterfall along the Falling Waters Trail

Clouds coming up from Franconia Notch on Little Haystack

Hiking along the Franconia Ridge

Breakfast

- On Saturday I woke up to thunderstorms and heavy rain, I had wanted to hike up the Jewell Trail and over the the Sphinx Trail to do trail work but I ended up heading over to the Great Gulf Trailhead and waiting for the rain to pass and then I started the long 5.6 mile hike into the Great Gulf Wilderness to the Sphinx Trail.

- The Great Gulf Trail is boring until one reaches the "Bluff" 2.5 miles in. Over the next three miles the trail becomes more and more secluded as it travels closely by the West Branch, passes by the site where the Great Gulf Shelters used to be, and then past beautiful cascades as the trail become rougher. the trails was pretty water-logged in spots but the brook crossings where still pretty easy.

- I finally reached the Sphinx trail and immediately rain into small blowdowns which where easy to clear. I also trimmed back branches that where hanging in the trail. The trail had seen lots of water from the Hurricane Irene but the going was fine, nothing major as I crossed the brook once, and then twice. I kept clearing the minor blowdowns and trimming back branches as I approached the third crossing of the brook where the cascades would start to begin.

- At this point I looked up and saw ahead of me there was a wall of downed trees blocking access to the crossing, it looked bad, then as i got closer it got really bad. When I was finally able to look over the wall of downed trees I could see the brook was now clogged with uprooted trees, rock, and gravel. The steep bank above the brook a few hundred feet up had given out causing a small landslide and whiping out the trail.

- I bushwhacked into the destruction, took a couple of pictures and got the hell out of there because I didn't feel safe. I couldn't find where the trail went, but it's definitely destroyed for at least a few hundred feet and maybe more. If it hadn't rained in the morning I would have taken more of a risk to see more of the damage but I played it safe and turned around and started to hike out.

- I ran into a bunch of people backpacking and hiking on the way out, I let them know what I ran into, however no one was heading to the Sphinx...it's such a lightly traveled trail, which under normal circumstance is to bad because it's a spectacular trail.

Click here for all pictures

View up to The Presidential Range from the West Branch

Hiking along The Great Gulf Trail

Cascade along the Great Gulf Trail

24 Hour Hut to Hut Traverse Attempt

2011-08-14T13:58:00.091-04:00

Date of Hike: August 12th and 13th, 2011

Trail	Miles	.	.	.	.	.	.
Nineteen Mile Brook	7.6	Route 16	0.5	Great Gulf	1.8	Osgood	2.8
Parapet	1.1	Gulfside	5.0	Westside	0.9	Crawford Path	4.8
Webster Cliff	0.9	Mizpah Cutoff	0.7	Crawford Path	1.9	Avalon	1.3
A-Z	3.7	Zealand	0.2	Twinway	7.2	Garfield Ridge	6.6
Greenleaf	1.1	Old Bridle Path	2.9	-	-	-	-

Total Miles: 51.0

Elevation Gain: 16,100 feet

Trip Report:

- When I was younger every so often one of the hut croo kids would come flying by us while hauling 60 plus lbs of food and equipment to the huts which I thought was incredible. My dad would then tell me something that a few of them do that was even more incredible...Hiking the hut system in under 24 hours, starting at Carter Notch Hut then over to Madison Springs - Lakes of the Clouds - Mizpah Spring - Zealand Falls - Galehead - Greenleaf - and ending at Lonesome Lake.

- Most people start at midnight and try to complete it in one calendar day, but with a full moon and a forecast of clear skies overnight I thought it would be awesome to start in the afternoon and hit Madison Springs Hut at sunset and then enjoy a full moon traverse above treeline in the Presidential Range.

- Joining me on this long hike was Alton and we started out slowly walking to the Carter Notch Hut to save our energy before we "officially" began the traverse. The Nineteen-Mile Brook Trail was buzzing with hikers heading up to the hut to spend the night.

- We arrived at the hut around 4pm relaxed for a few minutes and left at 4:10pm back to Route 16. It was easy hiking and my knee and ankle issue from MMD was not a problem as we made good time back to the trailhead and then quickly walked up the road to the Great Gulf Trail. We ran into a few hikers on the Great Gulf Trail around the wilderness boundary all heading back to their cars after a day out hiking.

- Next we turned onto the Osgood Trail and headed up to the southeast ridge of Mount Madison. We were making great time, passed a few thru-hikers heading to the Osgood tent site, and all was well except the clearing forecast wasn't clearing as the summits were socked in.

- We broke above treeline and the wind (constant 20+ mph) hit us pretty hard, so we went from hiking in t-shirts to long sleeves, wind breaker, hat, gloves. We were in the clear but above 5,000 feet was still blanketed with clouds and fog and it just would not clear. Luckily the cloud cover wasn't lowering so we had no issues as we reached Osgood Junction and hooked onto the Parapet Trail and views below us and over to the Moriah-Carter-Wildcat Range were great.

- Up until this point we were averaging three miles an hour, but the Parapet slowed us down a little bit as Alton does not like the rock hopping of the Presidential Range.

- We arrived at Madison Spring Hut at 8:10pm and took a break to warm up and eat before it was back into the wind across the range.

- I kept hoping the weather would clear up as below us in the valley everything was clear but luck was not on our side, when we ascended past the trail junction for the Airline visibility became a real issue, with and without the headlamps, it was night-time now but when I turned on my headlamp it bounced off the fog and made it impossible to see the next cairn so I had mine off, Alton kept hers on hiking behind me which showed just enough light beneath my feet so I could see where to step but didn't block out anything in front of me so I could locate the next cairn. I wasn't to worried to Thunderstorm Junction because that part of the trail is a sidewalk and only had trouble finding one or two cairns.

- At Thunderstorm Junction I just needed to get us past the first couple of cairns heading towards Mount Jefferson, it was pretty terrifying for a few seconds. I've read Not Without Peril to many times to know not to mess around up here even in middle of summer. I know this section extremely well but I was very close (maybe a foot less of visibility) to turning us around to head back to the hut and wait until the clouds/fog finally cleared off.

- We slowly made our towards Edmands Col losing our footing on numerous occassions over slippery rocks while hiking cairn to cairn but staying on the trail the whole time. Right before we dropped down the last section into Edmands Col everything cleared off for about five minutes and it was an incredible site as the full moon lit up the rocks and the summit cone of Mount Jefferson with the stars behind it in the sky.

- As we hit Edmands Col and started to climb we were stuck back in the clouds and patchy fog all the way to just before Lakes of the Clouds. It took us 3 hour and 30 minutes to get to Lakes of the Clouds from Madison Springs Hut, it was now 11:30pm, if the weather was better I think we could have blazed though this section in under 3 hours but those are the breaks!

- We stopped in at Lakes to de/relayer and warm up before heading out, we had to be extra quiet and watch where we stepped as there were about a half dozen thru-hikers on the floor.

- Now it was onto Mizpah Hut, as we hiked around Mount Monroe my knee started to act up, it wasn't to bad so I still was not worried.

- Closing in on Mount Franklin everything finally cleared off for good and the hiking was phenomenal under the full moon. Between Franklin and Pierce we ran into a couple of hikers enjoying the now great weather heading up to Washington.

- Unfortunately our time over to Mizpah Spring Hut and down to the Highland Center was slower than what I had hopped for and Alton didn't seem to be having as much fun as me, she really doesn't like the footing in the Presi's and seemed out of it from lack of sleep. It took us 11 hours to get to the Highland Center (3:10am). We entered the Highland Center where a lonely AMC worker was vacuuming and washing the floors. He let us into the gear room to grab a pack we had stashed with food and clothes. We ditched our wet clothes, changed into dry ones, ate some food and took a half hour break.

- We made our way over to the Avalon Trail to begin phase two of our hike, which is more difficult than the first part, although the footing would be much better there would be more elevation gain and the PUD's (pointless up and downs) on the Garfield Ridge Trail!

- Hiking up the Avalon and A-Z Trail my ACL and MCL problem finally failed, every so often out of nowhere I'd take a step and a sharp pain would shoot through them and it would become so weak that I had to take all pressure off my knee, I'd then rub the area for about a half minute and continue on. It would happen about every five to ten minutes for the next hour and I have know idea when it would happen. To make things worse my bizarre ankle injury from running down the Polecat Ski Trail during the MMD was creeping back when descending.

- We were still making ok time until we both bonked descending into Zealand Notch. I felt light-headed but was able to quickly recover after stopping for a minute and eating more food. Alton said her vision was bothering her and she still seemed to be going through the motions. I started to worry that she wasn't going to be ok and took a break at the Zealand Trail junction.

- I told her let's head to the hut, I'll check the shuttle schedule, and she can relax and take a nap if she wanted to and decide what to do depending on how she feels.

- We reached Zealand Falls Hut at 6:15am, I checked the shuttle schedule and we both relaxed on the outside steps and chatted it up with the over-nighters before they went in for breakfast. Alton said she wasn't a quitter and said she'd feel better once she knew where she was and was back on familiar trails.

- It was just before seven before we took off up the Twinway. At this point the under 24 hours for me was almost out of the question because of my two nagging injuries but as I looked around me I didn't feel bad because the weather was absolutely perfect and there would be great views of the Pemi Wilderness along the way.

- At the Bondcliff / Twinway Trail junction we enjoyed the views before heading over to South Twin where there were even better views. Alton finally seemed to snap out of her funk as she told me she now knew where she was and where she was going and then proceeded to want to head over to North Twin!

- I told her I would test my ankle rock hopping at my usual pace on the steep descent of the Twinway and if it held up we could still try for the under 24...not a chance! Within a tenth of a mile my ankle was flowing with awful pain and it was time for me to throttle back down to a comfortable safe pace and enjoy the hike.
- We arrived at Galehead Hut at 10:50 and took a break and enjoyed the yummy chocolate fudge squares they had before hooking onto the dreaded Garfield Ridge Trail.

- The Garfield Ridge Trail was the same as it every was, in the woods, no views until the north shoulder of Mount Lafayette, up and and downs and boring! We didn't see as many people as I thought we would as we made our way over to Mount Garfield.

- Somewhere shortly after the Franconia Brook Trail Junction Alton decided to run and and go for under 24 hours. I was a little bummed out because I was now hiking alone and bored until I reached treeline on the Garfield Ridge below Mount Lafayette where I enjoyed awesome views for the next two miles! I took my time taking lots of pictures heading up to the summit of Lafayette.

- From Lafayette to the Greenleaf Hut there were tons of people hiking up and down and lots of dogs, one was a giant poodle that had stylish booties on, they looked like doggy trail runners!

- I reached the hut shortly at 3pm and read the old hut log books which turned into a half hour or so break before heading down at 3:45 and arriving back at the trailhead shortly after 5pm. I was hoping to head up to Lonesome Lake Hut but Alton had already gotten back from there and was waiting for me, she finished 3 minutes before 24 hours.

- Eventhough I didn't complete the hike in under 24 hours, I was happy that the weather for the second portion of the hike turned out great and it was pretty awesome hiking the hut system. Unfortunately because of the nagging injuries when I needed to I could not make up lost time for the slow pace through the presi's and the unexpected stops.

- I will definitely try again next year but I'll make sure that I am 100% before going into the hike, hopefully a little R&R will heal my MMD pains and I'll be back to my normal hiking self for September!

Times:

Nineteen-Mile Brook Trailhead 2:40pm, Carter Notch Hut 4:00pm, official start of H2H 4:10pm, Great Gulf Trailhead 5:30pm, Osgood Trail 6:05pm, Parapet Trail 7:35pm, Madison Springs Hut 8:10pm, Lakes of the Clouds Hut 11:40pm, Mizpah Spring Hut 2:00am, Highland Center 3:10-3:45am, Zealand Falls Hut 6:15am, Twinway/Bondcliff Trail Junction 9:05am, South Twin Summit 10:00am, Galehead Hut 10:50am, Mount Garfield Summit 12:40pm, Mount Lafayette Summit 2:40pm, Greenleaf Hut 3:10-3:45pm, Finished 5:10pm

...After a couple of days and having time to reflect I wish this hike turned out differently, it's the only hike where I didn't thoroughly enjoy myself from beginning to end. The reason why I hike is to enjoy the trails whether they be wet, muddy, soft, steep, rocky, etc., and to enjoy the views and the people I run into while hiking. I had waited over two years to attempt this hike and I felt like I sacrificed alot to help my friend on the first section of this hike because that's what hikers do they stick together and make the best out of sub-par conditions. It meant alot to me to hike a sub 24 hour time but meant even more to stick it out with my friend and felt disappointed when I had to hike alone. When I get healthy again I will come back and rock the 24 hour H2H solo and enjoy every second of it with a huge smile on my face with my camera in hand...even while cursing out the Garfield Ridge Trail!!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Nineteen-Mile Brook Trail

Looking back at the Northeast Shoulder of Mount Madison (Osgood Trail) from the Parapet Trail

Madison Springs Hut

Mizpah Spring Hut

Carrigain Notch

Mount Guyot

Owl's Head and the Franconia Ridge

Skookumchuck trail Junction

Greenleaf Hut and Cannon Mountain

Greenleaf Hut

MMD 2011

2011-07-31T15:59:00.014-04:00

"More and More Difficult"

Date of Hike: 7/30/11

Trail	Miles	.	.	.	.	.	.
Dolly Copp Road	0.5	Route 16	1.0	North Imp	3.1	North Carter	1.2
Carter-Moriah	5.5	Wildcat Ridge	2.5	Pole Cat Ski Trail	2.5	Crew Cut	0.5
Liebeskind's Loop	0.5	George's Gorge	0.3	Old Jackson Road	0.8	Tuckerman Ravine	2.2
Lion Head	1.6	Tuckerman Ravine	0.4	Gulfside	1.1	Clay Loop	1.2
Gulfside	0.7	Jefferson Loop	0.7	Gulfside	1.4	Isreal Ridge	0.3
Star Lake	1.0	Osgood	1.1	Daniel Webster-Scout	3.5	Road Walk	1.0

Total Miles: Around 34.5

Elevation Gain: 14,000 feet

Trip Report:

- Last year I read a trip report about a trail run in the White Mountains called MMD and thought it was one of the coolest runs I've ever heard of. Basically it was a Pinkham Notch Loop and I figured this year I'd go and hike it on my own on a nice summer day. However about a month ago I received an email from Alton asking if I'd want to do MMD 2011, I said count me in eventhough I would just be hiking and not running it.

- This was actually the ninth year for MMD and it stands for more and more difficult, meaning each year the course gets tougher. This year the run started at 12:01am from Barnes Field and was over 50K. The fastest runners do it in twelve to fourteen hours so I figured it would take me seventeen hours if I could average 2 mph hiking.

- I was excited the whole day leading up to the race but unfortunately the weather was really awful as it was rainy and humid. The rain did stop about a half hour before the start but everything was soaking wet, luckily the temps were still warm so that was a plus. Usually MMD has around two dozen people but this year there were only ten participating. The race director told us because of all the rain we would be heading up Lion Head and not Huntington Ravine Trail on our way up Mount Washington to avoid the dangerous rock slabs.

- The race was about to start and I was dressed in my usual gear; Under Armour tshirt, North Face hiking pants with close to a dozen rips sewn up, my $75 timberland hiking boots with about 500 miles on them, and my REI Lookout 40 oz day pack filled with 100 ounces of water, 32 ounces of Gatorade, extra shirts, windbreaker, first aid kit, hat, gloves, etc, weighing in at about 15 lbs...like I said the usual! Now everyone else around me had shorts, kick ass trail runner sneakers, and cool looking ultra-light packs so they were built for speed!

- 12:01 am and we're off! Hold on a second where is Alton...she's in the bathroom! 12:03am - now we're off! I mentioned earlier I would not be running however to catch up we did run the mile and a half down the Dolly Copp Road and Route 16 to the North Imp Trailhead to catch up. From here we would be hiking at our usual quick pace. It was very odd hiking at this hour knowing we would be on the trail for the next seventeen hours.

- It was very warm and I kept drinking lots of water and eating banana chips to stay energized. We made great time up to The Carter-Moriah Trail making it there in two hours. At the junction we ran into Rob and two other young guys taking a break before they went back to running over the Carters.

- On the ridge we were blanketed in the fog making visibility very low at about ten feet at times. We made sure on the descents over any rock slabs to be careful and booked it on the flat and ascent sections blitzing through Middle Carter and South Carter to Zeta Pass. I was able to find South Carter's summit marker but could not find Middle Carter's, maybe because it was so dark out!

- We hit Zeta Pass at 3am and were off to Mount Hight, I hit a wall up the steep section of Mount Hight but with Alton leading the way it made me suck it up and continue hiking. Winds on top of Mount Hight were whipping up pretty good and with the low visibility it took us a few minutes to find the cairns leading to the right into the woods off the summit.

- Next stop was the easy hike over to Carter Dome, we arrived there at 3:45am and took another quick break before heading down to Carter Notch. The hike to Carter Notch starts off gradual but then gets very steep over awful footing as it gets drops to Carter Notch Lake. Those awesome views from the rocks on the side of the trail down to Carter Notch and across to Wildcat "A" Peak during the day are pitch black scary drop-offs at 4am!

- We made it to Carter Notch at 4:20 am and headed over to the hut to refill on water, where I fell into the water trying to rock hop but I kept my trusty camera dry! At the hut there were two guys sleeping on the benches, I figure they must be A.T. thru-hikers.

- Next up...the relentless 0.7 mile 1,000 foot plus elevation gain up to Wildcat A Peak. Trust me it's just as awful at 4:30 am as is it during the day! Along the way we passed a lady doing her sixth MMD, we had been leap-frogging her ever since the Carter-Moriah Trail junction, everytime we'd stop she's motor past us and we'd then see her later on down the trail.

- We reached Wildcat "A" at 5am and then booked it over B-C-D Peaks as day broke making it to Wildcat "D" at 5:50am. Views across to the Presi's were in and out of the clouds making for a promising day, or so we thought!

- We headed down the easy grades of the Polecat Ski Trail. I told Alton it should take us around an hour to get to the parking lot, however she convinced me to jog/run down (which I would regret later)...it took us twenty-five minutes to get to the parking lot where the race directors and Alton's friend Luis were hanging out making breakfast for all the participants. I had some yummy French Toast and we took a about a ten minute break. It was around 6:30 and the first two guys and Rob came through around 5:30!

- Now it was part two of the hike up to Mount Washington and the Northern Presidential Range but before we'd start up Washington we had to go up to Lila's Ledge then hook onto Old Jackson Road via Crew Cut, Liebeskind's Loop, and George's Gorge trails. The view from Lila's ledge over to Wildcat and Pinkham Notch was fantastic in the early morning however Alton did not share in my enthusiasm as she hit her first mini breaking point "Why would we go this way, why not just run the road back to Pinkham!!!!"

- When we reached PNVC (7:30am) we changed out of our soaked clothes and shoes into dry ones before heading up Tuckerman's to the Lion Head Trail. It was a zoo at PNVC with hundreds of people getting ready to head up Washington so we made sure to get ahead of them to avoid the traffic on the trail.

- Joining us on our hike up to Washington was Alton's friend Luis who is an ultra-runner having just ran the VT 100 mile run two weeks ago.

- It was a slog to say the least getting up Washington and to make thing worse clouds came in and blanketed all views above treeline and there was a steady 30mph plus wind all the way up to the summit where gusts were between 40-55mph on the observation deck.

- We made it to the summit of Washington at 10:05am and took a 45 minute break in the cafeteria to get warm as we were all soaked and cold. In the caff were Rob and the two young guys contemplating whether they should continue on or not. They made it to the summit at 8:30am and were cold and trying to dry off and get warm. They decided at 10:30 to continue on although Rob would be the only one to finish as the two younger guys had to bail out.

- I was cold to but lucky for me I had one last change of dry clothes for the trip over the northern presi's which I know like the back of my hand. Alton was shivering so I was concerned, I gave her my neck warmer and a long sleeve t-shirt and a nice lady gave her a fleece to warm herself up before we continued on.

- We set off for Mount Clay in hat, gloves windbreaker, etc. at 10:50am, the wind beat us up pretty good down to the junction for the Mount Clay Loop but from here until heading up Adams we weren't battered from the winds to bad and actually were able to hike in just long sleeves. Heading up Mount Clay the ligaments around my left knee were starting to get strained/stresses but I dealt with the pain and just sucked it up.

- We arrived on Mount Clay at 11:30am with no views and just kept trudging along, we still had a long way to go and knew the footing until the lower part of the Daniel Webster-Scout Trail was just going to be awful.

- On our way up Mount Jefferson we passed the lady who we had been leap frogging over the Carter and Moriah earlier. She was smart she didn't stop at the summit of Washington so she didn't get chilled.

- We hit Mount Jefferson at 12:15pm, it's now the afternoon and no views, just clouds and wind!

- The hike between Jefferson and Adams was business as usual other than Alton almost going off trail up to the Adams V summit, visibility was low and I was out in front, I disappeared and she had to call out my name so I went and found her and then we continued on.

- At 1:30pm we were on the top of Mount Adams and getting beat up by the wind. At the time I was happy to go down the Star Lake Trail because it would be out of the wind until the final 0.2 miles between Star Lake and Madison Springs Hut. However this is where our progress would slow to a crawl. I felt a pain in my right ankle which hurt every step, it wasn't a sprain just overuse and stresses. We both reached our breaking points soon enough coming of Adams. For me there is a mini scramble where some shaggy looking guy planted himself right at the bottom of the steep part in the middle of the trail reading a book and would not move so we had to go around him. For Alton she lost it a little past that and cursed the trail out, I was going to joke that if she didn't stop I was going to put her in a "time out" then send her down the Valley Way Trail but I think she would have pushed me off the mountain if I said a word!

- We finally made it to the hut and took a five minute break so we wouldn't get chilled but I did get chilled so I put on my hats gloves, wind breaker, pulled to hood over my face, people must have thought I was a nut case! One guy said "Looks like you're getting ready for snow"

- Finally it was off to our last summit of the day, Mount Madison, 0.5 miles via Osgood Trail. I was in pain left knee - right ankle, the ankle was worse so the knee was the foot to put the pressure on and we made it to the summit at 2:40pm. No views just wind so we kept on slogging.

- Now it was all down hill, 0.6 miles on the Osgood Trail, 3.5 on the Daniel Webster-Scout Trail, and a 1.0 mile road walk out of Dolly Copp Campground to Barnes Field Campground.

- The descent was worse on my ankle and knee than the ascents. Luckily views opened up on the Daniel Webster-Scout Trail above treeline across to the Carter-Moriah Range making the slow-going enjoyable.

- I stayed with Alton until below treeline but not being able to rock hop at my usual pace made me slower than I have ever been. Below treeline I stopped to refuel and finally get back into a tshirt and Alton sped ahead of me. I slowly made my way down the trail until the grades and footing eased up and finally I was able to get back to a 2mph pace and made it to the trailhead at 4:50 pm and back to the start of the course at 5:07 pm. It took me 17 hours just I had thought it would!

- I was beat up but other than the annoying knee and ankle pain I felt great and was thrilled to have finished. Eventhough the weather was sub-par making for some slow going it was a kick-A$$ adventure and so much fun. I can't wait to do it again next year but will definitely be walking the whole thing, no running or jogging so I can be able to finish the final stretch at my usual pace without pain!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Shortly after midnight on the North Imp Trail

Early morning view of the Northern Presi's from the Wildcat Ridge Trail

Heading down the Polecat Ski Trail

Wildcat Ski Area from Lila's Ledge

Luis and Alton heading up Tuckerman Ravine Trail

Hiking down the Jefferson Loop Trail

Osgood Junction

Mount Carrigain

2011-07-25T16:14:00.003-04:00

Date of Hike: 7/24/11

Signal Ridge Trail: 5.0 miles

Desolation Trail: 1.9 miles

Carrigain Notch Trail: 4.9 miles

Signal Ridge Trail: 1.7 miles

Total Miles: 13.5 (3,750 elevation gain)

Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:

- On Sunday I was invited to hike along with Scott and Chris as they completed their 48 - 4,000 footers. Click here for their trip report. Also joining in on the hike was Bill Marcotte (Grid Finisher), Erik, and also finishing their 48 was Heather and her dog Kali.

- I met them all at the trailhead and on the way while driving I saw two moose crossing Route 16 a half mile north of Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center and a beer wondering along the Crawford Notch Scenic Railway at the eastern end of Route 302!

- The hot weather and humidity from the day before was long gone as temps were very comfortable with some pretty good wind gusts on Signal Ridge and on top of the observation tower from the summit. I actually had a long sleeve shirt on for a few minutes, what a difference a day makes!

- While taking a break on the Signal Ridge we all noticed a big gash across the way below Mount Lowell to the right of the slides and cliffs. This cravese looks like it could be the White Mountain's equivalent of the Adirondack's "Trap Dike" click here for pic.

- Views were great as the haze from the day before was almost all gone and you could see around 40 of the 48 - 4,000 footers from the summit. Scott, Chris, Heather, and Kali the hiking dog picked a great day to finish!

- From the top of the summit Scott, Chris, Bill and myself headed down the Desolation Trail which loses elevation quickly before joining in with an old logging road as it heads down to the Carrigain notch trail. Bill spotted an old telephone wire that followed along on the ground on the right edge of the trail.

- Once on the Carrigain Notch Trail grades were flat with an easy up and down reaching the height of land in the Carrigain Notch. The hiking is very secluded back there, some sections are beautiful, others are kind of boring but following along the old railroad bead from the days of early twentieth century is pretty unique. There was one 0.1 mile stretch of trail bed I've never experienced before - pebble stones - exactly like the ones in fish tanks!

- It was a great hike out over two trails I've never been on, we tried to peak through the trees to find that "Trap Dike" at times and had some constructed views, it looks vertical deep in there. Also I tried to find the herd path or the rock signaling for the Vose Spur turnoff but to no avail, although I didn't look to hard.

- Once back on the Signal Ridge Trail we booked it back to the trailhead. Mount Carrigain is a great mountain with some of the best views and today was no exception.

- Congrats to Scott, Chris, Heather and Kali the hiking dog on a great accomplishment!

Pics: Click here for all pictures

The Osceola's - East Peak, Osceola, Osceola III, and West Peak (left to right)

Mount Washington in the distance

Wave of Clouds high above the White Mountains

Pemigewasset Wilderness

The Bonds - Bondcliff, West Bond, Bond (left to right) with Mount Garfield way in the back

Scott and Chris congratulate each other on the Summit of Mount Carrigain for their 48 - 4,000 finish

Sandwich Range Traverse

2011-07-25T13:03:00.002-04:00

Passaconaway, Whiteface, Sleepers, and Tripyramids

Date of hike: 7/23/11

Downes Brook Trail: 2.3 miles

Downes Brook Slide Trail: 2.0 miles

Dicey's Mill Trail: 0.8 miles

Rollins Trail: 2.5 miles

Kate Sleeper Trail: 3.3 miles

Mount Tripyramid Trail: 1.4 miles

Pine Bend Brook Trail: 4.0 miles

Total Miles: 16.3 miles (5,250 elevation gain)

Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:

- Met up with Alton at 8am and spotted a car at the Pine Bend Brook Trailhead and then headed over to the Downes Brook Trailhead for sixteen miles in the sweltering heat!

- The hike along the Downes Brook Trail went fast mostly because of the annoying bugs and mosquito's. It was very humid out and temps were already in the 80's as we made our way to the gravel outwash about 2.3 miles in and took a left and hooked onto the long-abandoned Downes Brook Slide Trail (Passaconaway Slide). Within a couple of hundred feet we reached the sign warning us that any blazing in unlawful and will be prosecuted.

- We followed the herd path and popped out on the slide and hiked up it with ease with good views behind us. The slide was mostly dry and the illegal blazes which at one point were attempted to be removed by washing them off the rocks and painted over are faintly visible on the slide and easily seen on the trees from what looks like black acid burns on all trees where the blazes once were.

- The path follows the open rock slabs for awhile then ducks under over hanging trees and a small pool below a ledge then pops out into the open back over rock slabs before heading into the woods for the remaining relentless climb to the outlook about 0.3 miles from the summit of Passaconaway.

- Unfortunately my camera went crazy again in the high heat and humidity so my pics were useless until I used my apple phone. For pics of slide see previous hike from September 2010.

- We really booked it up the slide and were exhausted as we took a break from the outlook before heading up to the summit.

- Between Passaconaway and Whiteface we finally ran into a few people on the Rollins Trail and on then on the outlook near the summit of Whiteface and relaxed and took a break and took in the views before heading over to the Tripyramids.

- To connect to the Mount Tripyramid Trail you hike along the Kate Sleeper Trail over two 3,500 footers. The Trail had very soft footing and was maintained excellently. Eventhough it was a picturesque trail it was a bit of a slog up both Sleepers because it's all in the woods with no views.

- Finally we reached the South Slide and had about 0.2 miles and a few hundred feet up the steep slide to the summit of South Tripyramid. Views from the slide were great as usual and luckily there was a breeze, which was a hot breeze but better than nothing.

- The hike from South-Middle-North Tripyramid is one of the easier ridge walks int he Whites with decent footing and nothing steep. Middle Tripyramid has good views but there were people lounging on the rocks so we just kept hiking and stopped once on North Tripyramid before our final descent down to the car.

- The descent was fast and furious, Alton need to be done hiking by 3pm so we didn't stop and made it back to the car at 2:45.

- We really super-hiked this one doing it in 6 hours and 30 minutes, and eventhough it was brutally hot out we kept hydrated and had a blast. I'll be going back to the Passaconaway Slide in the fall to just lounge around on the slide and see how far I can hike up it instead of following the old burnt off blazes which leaves it off up into the woods, that part kind of is a bummer...and steep!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Tripyramids from Outlook above Downes Brook - Passaconaway Slide

Mount Tecumseh - Waterville Valley from South Tripyramid Slide

Birch Glades on the Pine Bend Brook trail

Back to the Daks...

2011-07-18T16:41:00.002-04:00

After a month away from the Adirondacks it was time to head back to the rough, wild, muddy trails, and narrow scratchy herd paths in the Western High Peaks for some summer hiking fun! Click here for all Adirondack Trip Reports

Date	Click below to view trip report	Miles	Elevation Gain
Saturday, July 16th	Santanoni Range: Santanoni / Couchsachraga / Panther	16.0	4,100
Sunday, July 17th	Seward Range: Donaldson / Emmons / Seward / Seymour	21.4	5,500

Foot bridge over Santanoni Brook

Couchsachraga Peak

Panther Peak

Coolest summit sign yet

Seward Range

Mount Emmons, Donaldson, Seward

Santanoni Peak

Beaver Pond at the beginning of the Panther Brook Herd Path

Seward Mountain

Mount Emmons, Donaldson, Seward from Seymour Mountain summit

Ward Brook Lean-to

Donaldson, Emmons, Seward, Seymour (#35, #36, #37, #38)

2011-07-18T09:37:00.004-04:00

Date of Hike: 7/17/11

Ward Brook / Calkins Brook Truck Trails: 3.3 miles
Calkins Brook Herd Path: 3.0 miles
Seward Range Heard Path: 4.0 miles
Ward Brook Herd Path: 2.5 miles
Ward Brook Truck Trail: 0.7 miles
Seymour Herd Path: 2.5 miles
Ward Brook Truck Trail: 5.4 miles
Total Miles: Around 21.4 miles (5,500 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- After a good nights sleep I felt refreshed and strong and got an early start to beat the heat to tackle all four of the Seward Range peaks.
- On Trail 6am, Donaldson 8:25am, Emmons 8:55am, Seward 10:05am, Seymour 12:25pm, finished 3:25pm. Temps where in the 80's, hot and humid, hazy views, wind was picking up in the afternoon up to 25 mph gusts above 4,000 feet.
- The Seward Range is usually done in two separate hikes, hitting the three peaks of Donaldson, Emmons, and Sward all along a ridge in one day and then Seymour by itself on another day, but I decided it would be a pretty challenging hike to knock off all four in a day. I decided to head up to do the three peaks first and drop down, head over, and up and down the steep ascent up Seymour last.
- The hike to the Calkins Brook herd path was very easy over old truck roads. The start of the heard path is marked by a cairn with and old rusted bucket on top of it.
- The herd path was easy to follow and was never steep as it gains the ridge just below the summit of Donaldson Mountain where there are terrific views.
- The hike over and back to Emmons is in the woods and other than a few minor mud pits is easy going, there are limited views from the summit of Emmons where I didn't spend much time and quickly headed back to Donaldson and took a break before heading to Seward.
- I was surprised that the herd path to the peak of Seward didn't go along the ridge the whole way, it drops down a little before climbing steeply back up to the ridge a few tenths of a mile from the summit. This steep climb up was the highlight of the hike up into a gully with some ledges providing excellent views back to Donaldson and Emmons.
- I was hoping for a nice outlook from the summit of Seward but it was in the trees so I refueled and headed down the steep and eroded herd path to the Ward Brook Trail. I actually enjoyed this trail, it has went rock slabs, rough rocks, mud, then levels off and follows the picturesque brook for the last part over soft level footing with just a couple mud spots in places until reaching the Ward Brook Truck Trail.
- Now it was off past the Ward Brook Lean-to to the herd path up to Seymour. The herd path was easy to spot, about a tenth of a mile past the lean-to marked by a small cairn.
- The path up to Seymour is steep, a few tenths of a miles in the path parallels a slide for awhile. I was really bummed the herd path didn't go strait up the slide, I would have liked that (I think at one time it did). Once past the slide I finally "bonked" out and hit a wall a few tenths of a mile from the summit. I knew I was close but it was so friggan hot and humid. I just kept chugging water and chugging my way to the summit where it became very breezy while taking a break on the ledgey outlook just below the true summit.
- After relaxing for a half hour enjoying the breeze, views, and my lunch it was time for the long descent back to the car. The hike back to the Ward Brook Truck trail went quickly, the hike back to the car was not as fun as once again I had an annoying fly buzzing around my head for most of the final five miles along the mostly flat trail.
- I ran into a group of eight heading into the lean-to's along the way, about two dozen toads hopping along the trail, and well over one hundred "Posted" private property signs every couple of hundred feet nailed to trees right off the trail.
- Back at the car I changed up and drank up all the fluids I could find before checking the weather report to see if Monday's forecast was promising, unfortunately it wasn't so I decided to head back to RI.
- This ended a great two day adventure in the Adirondack High Peaks, I'm getting closer to finishing the "Forty-Sixers." So far it has been fun, I really like the area alot, the trails are pretty wild and rugged and I will never ever complain again about the trail conditions in the White Mountains...trust me you've never seen mud like this!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Calkins Brook

Seward Mountain

Donaldson and Mount Emmons

Blueberry Lean-to

Private Property Boundary - Ward / Calkins Brook Truck Trail

Santanoni, Couchsachraga, Panther (#32, #33, #34)

2011-07-18T08:18:00.004-04:00

Date of Hike: 7/16/11

Santanoni Road / Bradley Pond Trail: 3.4 miles
New/ Old Santanoni Express Herd Path: 1.8 miles
Santanoni / Couchsachraga / Panther Herd Paths: 4.5 miles
Panther Brook Herd Path: 1.8 miles
Bradley Pond Trail / Santanoni Road: 4.3 miles
Total Miles: Around 15.8 miles (4,100 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- After hiking 31 of the 46 High Peaks in nine days in early June it was time to head back to the Adirondacks to knock off a few more peaks. I decided to head to the Santanoni Range up to Santanoni "Santa", over to my last sub 4,000 footer Couchsachraga (pronounced kook-sa-kra-ga, or called "Cooch" for short), then finish up on Panther and enjoy the views from the summit ledges.
- Bradley Pond Trailhead 6am, Santanoni 8:30am, Couchsachraga 10am, Panther 11:20am, finished 2:15am. Temps started out around 50 and skyrocketed to about 80 degrees, no wind, clear skies, hazy but very good views.
- I drove up late the night before and crashed in my car, I got an early start but felt sluggish and my fingers were very cold hiking along the Santanoni Road. Temps warmed up really fast and I finally felt good once on the Bradley Pond Trail.
- On the way to the herd path up to Santanoni I passed a father and daughter hiking up to Couchsachraga, they had hiked Panther and Santa in June and were off to finish up the Range.
- The herd path for the New/Old Trail was well marked by a cairn and the trail crosses Santanoni Brook and skirts around a beaver pond and heads up a well defined herd path all the way up to the ridge. The highlight of the hike up was ripping a hole in my pants above my knee and a steep rock ledge with a rope to help assist you up safely. I played around going up and down a few times and found that I could hike up and down the ledge without the rope if careful.
- Once gaining the ridge it was a quick five minute hike over to the summit of Santanoni where I enjoyed some pretty stellar views.
- The hike over to the herd path to Coochy was pretty easy but narrow in places which wreaked havoc on the hole in my pants which kept getting bigger and bigger! I made it to the three way junction called "Times Square" where I took a break and ran into the father and daughter heading over to Coochy.
- After refueling I headed over to the long out n' back to Couchsachcraga. I ran into a couple of hikers and a dog along the way all enjoying the great weather. the herd path to Coochy is known for its world famous mud bog in the col, where one miss-step sends you knee deep into soupy mud, luckily I did pretty well only falling in to my shins while taking pictures.
- The top of Couchsacraga had decent views and the summit sign was the coolest one I've seen yet. After a few minutes of rest and trying to repair the huge foot long gash on my hiking pants I started the long hike back to times square happy to be done with my last sub 4,000 foot peak on the list.
- I made good time back to the junction of Times Square and then made the minute hike over to the three way junction called "Herald Square" from here I took the short herd path to the summit of Panther where I relaxed on the open summit ledges for a half hour before heading back to Herald Square and down the Panther Brook herd path.
- The descent back to the Bradley Pond Trail went quickly, the lower section passes under some steep cliffs in the woods which was pretty cool to look at and I noticed there were yellow paint blazes on the trees on the last section of the trail, since all of the marked trail have disks and this is an unofficial trail I'm wondering if it was illegally blazed a long time ago.
- The hike back to the car once on the Bradley Pond Trail was slow going to the New/Old herd path cairn because of some awful muddy sections. From here the hike back to the car was fast and mostly dry, I cooled off in the brook at the crooked bridge crossing and was joined for the last forty minutes or so of my hike by an annoying fly buzzing around my head!
- Once back at the car I changed into clean clothes, took a nice scenic drive through Newcomb, Tupper Lake and over to Saranac Lake, where I relaxed, had some dinner, watched an orchestra play at and outside pavilion on the water before heading to Corey's Road to set up my tent and pass out to get some rest for my next days hike in the Seward Range.

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Santanoni Brook

Panther Peak

Santanoni Peak

Seward Range from Panther Peak

Beaver Pond at the beginning of the Panther Brook Herd Path

Pemi Loop (Clockwise)

2011-07-04T20:45:00.008-04:00

Date of Hike: 7/2/11

Lincoln Woods Trail 1.4 miles	Osseo Trail 4.1 miles	Franconia Ridge Trail 5.0 miles
Garfield Ridge Trail 6.6 miles	Twinway 2.8 miles	Bondcliff Trail 0.4 miles
West Bond Spur 1.0 miles	Bondcliff Trail 6.5 miles	Lincoln woods / Wilderness Trail 4.7 miles
32.5 miles	.	9,500 elevation gain

Trip Report:
- With excellent weather forecast it was time to head to the Pemigewasset Wilderness and do a one day Pemi Loop. Originally I was going to go counter-clockwise but having done half a pemi loop on Memorial Day in that direction I decided on a clockwise loop (with a stop at West Bond of course!) like I did last year.
- The weather was warm from the beginning but luckily I beat the heat as I traveled along the Lincoln Woods Trail and up the Osseo Trail to Mount Flume. On my way up I passed a group of three hikers and saw another four hanging around Flume's summit all attempting a Pemi Loop as well.
- The views were great with all of the summits in the clear with some passing clouds around Cannon Mountain and Washington could be seen to the north but it was hazy and in and out of the clouds.
- The hike along the Franconia Ridge between Little Haystack and Lafayette was great as usual and it was still early enough that the swarms of hikers had not arrived for the the day yet.
- I took a fifteen minute break at the summit of Lafayette before heading down the dreaded Garfield Ridge Trail. I have been kicking it's butt recently but that all changed today as once I dropped below treeline the trail was still wet and the rocks were not drying off with the humidity making for some slips along the way as I just couldn't get a good pace going.
- On the final approach to the summit of Mount Garfield I took a gnarly fall and cut up my leg a little bit and busted the view finder on my rebuilt camera that I fixed after last weeks fall during the double Presi Traverse! Luckily the view finder was only cracked but the camera still worked fine.
- I took a much need rest on top of Mount Garfield and took in the awesome views of the Pemi Wilderness below me with everyone's favorite Owl's Head in the middle looking like a big lump.
- Now it was off to the Galehead Hut, footing was a little better on this section of the Garfield Ridge and I now was running into swarms of people hiking to and from the hut. Along the way I ran I ran into a few hikers I knew (one of which was Pat who I hiked with him and Alton over the Carter and Cats in late May)who were doing a counter-clockwise Pemi Loop.
- I ran out of water within steps of the hut, where I relaxed and filled up on water before heading up the Twinway to South Twin.
- From here on out I made excellent time, as I always try to bust my A$$ up the steep section of the Twinway (0.8 miles, 1,150 feet elevation gain) to the South Twin summit.
- Eventhough the trail is rough and rugged the footing was much better for quick hiking as the rocks weren't saturated and slippery.
- On top of South Twin I stopped and had lunch and relaxed for about fifteen minutes until the little bugs started bothering me.
- Back on the Twinway I had two miles until hooking onto the Bondcliff Trail, this section is tame and is in the woods with good footing until you pop out above treeline just before the Bondcliff Trail junction.
- Views from here and then up and over Mount Guyot were fantastic!
- A little later I headed to West Bond but unfortunately as soon as I got to the summit I was chased off by those big A$$ bee's so I only took a few pics while dodging them then headed down off the summit and relaxed on a rock where there were great views over to the Twin Range.
- The hike from West Bond to Bond and then down and up to Bondcliff was great, I ran into a few hikers along the way but not many. Some were heading to Guyot Tentsite, some over to the hut, all having a blast.
- On Boncliff I relaxed and refueled before dropping below treeline for the final long 9.5 miles back to the car.
- The hike down Bondcliff went faster than I expected but the final five miles along the Lincoln Woods / Wilderness Trail was boring as usual.
- I was really tired but kept a good pace along the mind-numbing flat section until I would stub my toes on the railroad ties which hurt like hell.
- When I finally made it back to the car I was amazed to see the parking lot full, there were a couple of hikers around but mainly tourists in jeans roaming around the bridge and what not.
- It was a long day but lots of fun, I think I was still a little sore from Monday's Double Presi Traverse but I hiked it forty-five minutes faster than last year but had more slips and near falls this year. Views of course were great which made for a perfect hike of the Pemi Loop!

- On trail at 5:20am, Flume 7:20am, Liberty 7:55am, Lincoln 9:15am, Lafayette 9:40am, Garfield 11:20am, Galehead Hut 1pm, South Twin 1:35pm, West Bond 2:55pm, Bond 3:25pm, Bondcliff 4pm, Wilderness Trail 5:40pm, finished 7:05pm.

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Mount Liberty and Flume from the Franconia Ridge Trail

Start of the Garfield Ridge Trail

Greenleaf Hut and Cannon Mountain

Galehead, South Twin, and North Twin Mountain

Mount Lafayette and Mount Lincoln

Owl's Head and the Franconia Ridge

Twin Range from West Bond

Bondcliff

Double Presidential Range Traverse

2011-06-28T14:34:00.009-04:00

Date of Hike: 6/27/11

Crawford Path 3.1	Webster Cliff 0.1	Crawford Path 1.2	Eisenhower Loop 0.8	Crawford Path 1.4
Monroe Loop 0.7	Crawford Path 1.6	Gulfside 1.1	Clay Loop 1.2	Gulfside 0.7
Jefferson Loop 0.7	Gulfside 1.4	Lowe's Path 0.3	Airline 0.6	Gulfside 0.4
Osgood 1.0	Gulfside 0.9	Lowe's Path 0.6	Gulfside 1.4	Jefferson Loop 0.7
Gulfside 0.7	Clay Loop 1.2	Gulfside 1.1	Crawford Path 1.6	Monroe Loop 0.7
Crawford Path 1.4	Eisenhower Loop 0.8	Crawford Path 1.2	Webster Cliff 0.1	Crawford Path 3.1
.	Total Miles 31.8	Elevation Gain	12,250 feet	.

- I told my old man if the weather was promising on Monday I was going to hike from Mount Pierce to Madison then turn around and do it again...his response "Don't be an idiot!" so with his blessing it was off to punish my body over the rough and rugged Presidential Range while taking in the views above treeline for twenty five strait miles!
- Detailed information below Pictures (Click here for all pictures)
- Click here for video from Mount Franklin, and click here for video from Mount Monroe

Mount Pierce summit at dawn

Mount Eisenhower summit in the fog

Sun trying to burn through along the Crawford Path

Clouds lifting off Mount Monroe from Mount Franklin

Last of the clouds passing by above 5,000 feet

Undercast below the Presidential Range

Looking back towards Mount Franklin with Eisenhower still in the clouds

Lakes of the Clouds and Mount Monroe

Northern Presidential Range from Observatory

Mount Jefferson Summit

Mount Adams from Mount Jefferson Loop Trail

Madison Springs Hut and Mount Madison

Monticello Lawn from Mount Jefferson Loop Trail

Cog Railroad

Mount Monroe from Mount Franklin

Crawford Path

Mount Eisenhower Summit

Presidential Range

Trip Report:

- On trail at 3:30am, Pierce 5:00 am, Eisenhower 5:45am, Franklin 6:25am, Monroe 6:45am, Washington 7:45am, Clay 8:35am, Jefferson 9:25am, Adams 10:30am, Madison 11:20am, Adams 12:25pm, Jefferson 1:25pm, Clay 2:15pm, Washington 3:00pm, Monroe 4:10pm, Franklin 4:30pm, Eisenhower 5:10pm, Pierce 5:50, Finished 6:15pm

- Temps were in the 60's below treeline before dawn, high 40's above treeline with high winds 30 plus mph until ascending Washington when winds died down. Temps rest of the day in 60's with light to variable wind with excellent visibility although hazy.

- Started out in t-shirt until treeline. Then put on long sleeves, wind breaker, hat and gloves from Eisenhower Loop until Clay Loop. T-shirt the rest of the day and lots of sun block.

- Thick fog and clouds until 6:30am when everything cleared off while standing on Mount Franklin.

- High winds from Eisenhower to Monroe summit but then quickly died down to nothing by mid morning.
- Passed Lakes of the Clouds Hut during breakfast, all the rocks outside the building had boots, socks, shirts, etc. laid across them to dry in the sun.

- Had the summit of Mount Washington to myself, only a cat was roaming around...In case you were wondering they do not serve hot dogs in the morning!

- Ran into first hiker of the day at Mount Jefferson summit, young guy doing his first North to South Presi Traverse to Pierce, he was having a blast and was kicking ass!

- Took a nasty fall on Gulfside Trail just past Adams V summit. Broke my camera (which I always hold in my left hand while hiking), had to use "apple phone" camera rest of the way.

- Started running into hikers near Thunderstorm Junction, would see well over one hundred the rest of the day. A few that stick out was a guy who had a great hike up the Airline and loved the smell of the pine needles in the early morning below treeline and a nice lady who I met as I started my trip back south who had a nice hike up Adams and wished me luck on my Double Presi Traverse.
- Once I hit Madison Summit I had lunch and looked across to Washington, needless to say a very long walk back to my car!
- Madison Springs Hut looks very nice inside after renovations, and had free Pumpkin Pancakes!

- Took Gulfside to Thunderstorm Junction and then decided to head back up to Adams and re-tag all the summits on the way out, hey you only live once! Eventhough a little longer it's much easier on the feet to head up Adams this way than up from the Airline junction.

- Nasty Swarming uber-wasps on Jefferson, Clay, Monroe, and Eisenhower on the way back out, they really liked my sun block and tried attacking me, I killed two, no stings, but had to run off Jefferson, Clay, and Monroe summit area!

- Final slog up to Washington I went along the tracks to save my feet. At summit I had a hot dog, PB&Strawberry Jamwich while chugging 32 ounces of Gatorade...got some really strange looks from the tourists.

- Amazing views all along the Southern Presidentials, especially the small hump to the almost level section just past Mount Franklin, it's pleasant on the feet, no one is ever on the trail compared to other spots, and it's beautiful in every direction!
- The section between Eisenhower and Pierce went easier than I thought it would eventhough I was dog-tired.

- Started talking to myself the last mile and a half but still not as bad as finishing the Pemi Loop along the Lincoln Woods/Wilderness Trail!

- Back at the car I just sat down on the pavement, then laid down and stared up at the blue sky, lots of cars in the parking lot but no one around, awesome ending to an epic hike!

- For the hike I drank about 6L of water, 64 ounces of Gatorade, ate about 10 granola bars, 4 snickers bars, 2 PB&J sandwiches, and a hot dog!
- I think I'm ready for the "24 Hour H2H" (24 Hour Hut to Hut traverse!)

Mount Tecumseh & Franconia Falls

2011-06-27T20:13:00.002-04:00

Date of Hike: 6/26/11

Mount Tecumseh Trail: 2.5 miles
Sosman Trail: 0.5 miles
Ski Trails (Scramble / Sun Run / No Grit / Oblivion / Upper Valley Run / Valley Run): 2.5 miles
Total Miles: 5.5 miles 2,300 (elevation gain)

Lincoln Woods / Franconia Falls Trail: 6.5 miles

Trip Report:
- With crummy weather forecast and not really motivated to get up early for a long drive followed by a hike with no views I decided I would hike up Mount Tecumseh in the morning and then head over to Lincoln Woods to check out Franconia Falls in the afternoon.
- There was only one car at the trailhead when I arrived at 10am, but when I finished at 12pm there were twenty cars.
- The Mount Tecumseh Trail is in great shape and was a breeze to hike, I ran into a couple at the last Tecumseh Brook crossing and then saw two guys painting the shed beneath the transmission tower.
- I hiked a variety of ski trails down and my pants got completely soaked from the grass. Hiking down ski trails is fun but really hurts your feet.
- I saw a deer on the lower part of the Valley Run Ski Trail.
- Back at the car I headed north and made my way to Lincoln Woods and started off towards the Franconia Falls Trail.
- Lincoln Woods Trail was so boring (as always) that I thought I was going to fall asleep while walking!
- I hooked onto the Franconia Falls Trail and walked past the old campsites as I made my way to the falls.
- The Falls weren't much, actually all I saw were large rocks with some water. really it's kind of a big let down but it's pretty back there.
- The trail abruptly end with a sign that says "End of Trail" from here the Fisherman's Herd Path continues for those heading to Owl's Head wanting to bypass the stream crossings on the Franconia and Liberty Brook Trail.
- The hike back went quickly and I packed up my car and headed north to set up camp and get a good nights sleep for the next day's "Double Presidential Range Traverse" attempt.

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Tecumseh Brook

Open Today??? I don't think so!

Deer checking me out

Nice swimming hole above Franconia Falls

Adirondack High Peaks

2011-06-11T21:17:00.009-04:00

One of my hiking goals this year is to hike the 46 Hike Peaks in the Adirondacks. Twenty years ago I hiked Mount Marcy with my parents, brother, and my dog Scarlet but I do not remember much about the trip other than watching people fly down this big ski jump and splashing into a pool near Lake Placid. So after spending the past few years completing the A.M.C. 48 4,000 footers in New Hampshire, doing them in the winter, and checking out almost every trail throughout the 48 - 4,000 footers it was time to head to New York and explore the ADK High Peaks. Patiently I waited for all the snow to melt and the rain to stop (for a few days anyway) and I hiked for a week in the mud over rough and rugged trails where I experienced awesome new views while putting lots of miles on my boots! Click links below to view trip reports or click here to view image galleries

Date	Click below to view trip report	Miles	Elevation Gain	ADK 46-R #
6/2	Nye & Street Mountain	8.4	2,500	1 - 2
6/3	MacIntyre Range: Wright / Algonquin / Iroquois / Marshall	18.6	6,000	3 - 6
6/4	Great Range Traverse: Marcy / Haystack / Basin / Saddleback / Gothics / Armstrong / Upper Wolfjaw / Lower Wolfjaw / Hedgehog / Rooster Comb	25.0	8,500	7 - 14
6/5	Cascade & Porter Mountain	5.9	2,250	15 - 16
6/6	Dial Mountain / Nippletop / Mount Colvin / Blake Peak	18.6	6,000	17 - 20
6/7	Dix Range: Macomb Mountain / South Dix / East Dix / Hough Peak / Dix Mountain	15.5	5,250	21 - 25
6/8	Phelps & Table Top Mountain	13.2	3,000	26 - 27
6/9	Mount Redfield & Cliff Mountain	13.0	4,500	28 - 29
6/10	Gray Peak / Mount Skylight / Mount Marcy / Mount Haystack	18.2	4,500	30 - 31
-	-	136.4	42,500	31 / 46

Flowed Lands and Lake Colden

Lower Ausable Lake

Basin and Saddleback Mountains

Giant Mountain

Elk Lake

Upper Great Range

Gothics and Pyramid

Deep in the High Peaks with the Diaz Brothers! (#28, #29, #30, #31)

2011-06-10T16:53:00.003-04:00

Mount Redfield, Cliff Mountain, Gray Peak, Mount Skylight

Date of Hike: 6/9/11 & 6/10/11

Day 1
South Meadow Truck Trail: 2.8 miles
Van Hovenburg Trail: 2.0 miles
Indian Falls - Lake Arnold Crossover: 0.8
Lake Arnold Trail: 2.2 miles
Calamity Brook Trail: 0.5 miles
Redfield Herd Path: 3.0 Miles
Cliff Herd Path: 1.7 miles
Total Miles: 13.0 miles (4,500 elevation gain)

Day 2
Calamity Brook Trail: 2.0 miles
Gray Peak Herd Path: 1.0 miles
Mount Skylight Spur: 1.0 miles
Calamity Brook Trail: 0.8 miles
State Range Trail: 1.8 miles
Mount Haystack Spur: 1.2 miles
State Range Trail: 0.6 miles
Shorey Short Cut: 1.1 miles
Phelps Trail: 6.9 miles
Johns Brook Lane / Route 73: 1.8 miles
Total Miles: 18.2 miles (4,500 feet)

Trip Report:
- After a week of hiking solo it was time to hook up with my college roommate from my days at Quinnipiac University (Tom "Captain" Diaz) and his brother Chris.
- Our original plan was to two a two day traverse of the Great Range but because of Thursday's awful weather we had to make changes on the fly while hiking.
- We started off under very cloudy skies on the South Meadow Truck Trail, it started to rain about halfway to Marcy Dam so we slipped our rain covers over our packs.
- We made good time to Marcy Dam where we took our first break and then hooked onto the Van Hoe Trail and started the long hike up to Marcy.
- As we ascended the rain wasn't to bad until we arrived at the trail junction at Indian Falls when thunder and lightening started and it began to pour. We made quick decision to head for the Lake Arnold Trail junction.
- We decided out best plan was to head towards the Feldspar or Uphill Brook Lean-to's and stay well below treeline considering the forecast called for worse storms early in the afternoon.
- The Feldspar lean-to was taken by a couple and their two trail dogs, we weren't expecting to find anyone there on a wet and miserable Thursday morning! So we headed to the Uphill Brook Lean-to where two guys had stayed the night before but were heading out. This was a welcome relief for us as we would have had a soggy and miserable might out in our tents.
- We waited out the second storm which was much worse and decided to head up the Mount Redfield and then Cliff Mountain.
- The Mount Redfield herd path was my favorite "unmaintained" trail to hike so far in the ADK's. You ascend next to and up the Uphill Brook and it's falls. It reminded me of the Falling Waters Trail in the White Mountains except not as steep but more fun since you get to hike in the brook!
- The skies were trying to clear up by the time we got to the summit, enough so that we could see Allen Mountain but not much more so we headed down.
- At the cairn marking the split for Redfield and Cliff, Tom called it a day and headed back to the lean-to and Chris and I headed up the Cliff Mountain.
- It was slow going at times as I have never have I experienced mud like this! If you didn't watch your step your boots would disappear a half foot to a foot into mud.
- After the first muddy section we hiked up Cliff's Cliffs, which were a short steep fun section of scrambles below Cliff's false summit.
- From here we dealt with one more atrocious muddy section before it was easy going dropping down and then heading up to Cliff's summit. Chris and I took a break for a few minutes and took some pictures before heading back to the lean-to.
- At the lean-to we put on warm clothes and ate dinner as storm #3 rolled in and called it a night.
- In the morning I started off ahead of the Diaz brothers so I could bag Gray and Skylight and catch up to them somewhere up on Marcy. They were skipping these to peaks to save their energy for Basin-Saddleback-Gothics later in the day.
- Friday morning started off in the clouds and fog and the sun didn't burn them off until about 10am. Unfortunately this meant I'd get no views from Gray or Skylight and to make things worse everything was wet still and it was in the high 40's so it was not to pleasant of a morning.
- The herd path up Gray was short and easy and the trail up to Skylight was just as easy and breaks above treeline for the last tenth of a miles or so. I'll definitely head back to both these peaks in the future to catch the excellent views that I missed.
- When I headed back to the trail junction leading up Marcy luckily I noticed there were cobwebs between the fir branches crossing the trail so I knew that meant the Diaz's didn't get this far yet.
- It was cold and my rainjacket was soaked on the outside and my perspiration had dampened the inside along with my layers and I was starting to get chilled so I put on dry clothes and stayed warm until Tom and Chris showed up.
- As we headed up Marcy the clouds lifted and the views just kept getting better and better. I liked this final approach to Marcy more than the other side, it's a little more steep and fun especially with the heavier packs on. We stayed on the summit about twenty minutes and other than the summit stewardess there was no one else up there.
- Next up was the hike over to Little Haystack. It went slower than it should have so I knew a hike over the rest of the Great Range would have to wait for another trip for the guys but even so we enjoyed the great views from Haystack and took a lunch break before heading down the the Haystack-Basin Col.
- When we got to Shorey's Short Cut we cut up and over and down to the Phleps Trail at Slant Rock as we started the long suffer-fest hike back to the Garden.
- Tom was a little sluggish as a bad head cold came on and started to wear him down. At the Bushnell Falls Lean-to Chris and I divvied up most of the weight from Tom's pack to help him out and then set off again towards the Garden.
- Unfortunately our original plan had us coming out at Rooster Comb so I set off ahead to get the car, It was a hellish final five miles to the Garden with more weight but I had not spills and my knees held up fine. At the Garden I dropped my pack and started down Johns Brook Lane to the car. I was not able to get hitch a ride as no cars came driving by but it only took about a half hour to get back to my car and thank god it was all down hill!
- At the car I quickly changed and stretched before heading back to the Garden where the boys were waiting for me.
- It was a wet and wild two days in the ADK's but alot of fun to be out hiking with my friends. Eventhough we weren't able to hike our original planned trip we made the safe and smart choice on day one and were rewarded with a wicked fun hike up Redfield and muddy scrambling quick hike up Cliff which saved the day!
- This ended my trip in the ADK's, I lucked out with outstanding weather for the most part and got in nine strait days of hiking in the high peaks. My goal was to try and hike close to 30 of the 46 high peaks over that time and I was able to get 31. I really enjoyed my first trip in the ADK's in twenty years and look forward to hiking the last fifteen peaks over the summer and fall!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Lake Arnold

Uphill Brook Falls

Tom and Chris Diaz at the Redfield/Cliff Cairn

Phelps & Table Top Mountain (#26 & #27)

2011-06-08T19:50:00.008-04:00

Date of Hike: 6/8/11

South Meadow Truck Trail: 2.8 miles
Van Hovenburg Trail: 0.8 miles
Phelps Spur Trail: 2.4 miles
Van Hovenburg Trail: 1.2 miles
Table Top Herd Path: 1.2 miles
Van Hovenburg Trail: 2.0 miles
South Meadow Truck Trail: 2.8 miles
Total Miles: 13.2 miles (3,000 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- After back to back long day hikes, soaring hot and humid temperatures predicted, and a two day backpacking trip through the Great Range with the Diaz brothers the next day I figured I'd play it safe with a short hike up the Van Hoe Trail to Phelps and Table Top mountain.
- As luck would have it as I was driving in to the main parking lot at the ADK Loj I saw the barricades for South Meadows Road had been removed which was great so I could park for free and take the truck trail to Marcy dam and hook up with the Van Hoe Trail.
- The truck trail was a nice welcome treat not having to deal with the rough and rugged trails for a couple of miles. I stopped at Marcy Dam and took a break before I headed up the Van Hoe and Phelps Trails which were in decent shape with moderate grades all the way up to the summit of Phelps where I had a close up view of Table Top, Marcy, and the backside of Mount Colden which isn't nearly as impressive than the side which drops sharply into Lake Colden and Avalanche Lake.
- On the way to the herd path for Table Top I ran into some park employees on their way up Marcy with an Alpine Zone "Stay on Trail" sign.
- The herd path for Table Top was marked with a cairn and the trail was very easy to follow but it was back to rough, rugged, and muddy conditions up to the wooded summit.
- The hike back to Marcy Dam was quick but the temps were climbing and the bugs were starting to come out. At the dam I sat with my legs hanging over the edge and had lunch and relaxed for a half hour or so before heading back to my car via the truck trail as the temps climbed to 90 degrees where I called it a day!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Marcy Dam

Table Top and Mount Marcy

from Phelps Mountain

Foot bridge over the Phelps Brook