Troika! (And the first of the Presidentials.) Mt Webster, Mt Jackson, Mt Pierce, Crawford Notch, NH. May Day, 2018-05-01. (Tuesday) Via Webster-Jackson trail, Webster Branch, Webster Ridge trail, Crawford Path. Approx 9.4 miles. 38 dF +/- at the trailhead, 45 dF at Mt Jackson summit, with 10-12 MPH winds. Heavy, wet fog. A brief parting of the clouds at mid afternoon, then mainly cloudy for the rest of the trip. […]
Hiking
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A trifecta of summits Mt Tom, Mt Field, Mt Willey, Crawford Notch, NH. 2018-04-28. (Saturday) Via Mt Willard Trail, Avalon Trail, A-Z Trail, Willey Range Trail, Kedron Flume Trail. Approx 8.4 miles. 50 dF +/- at the trailhead, 58 dF at Mt Field summit, with negligible winds. Mix of clouds and sun. Trailhead: 1015; Mt Tom Summit: 1240; Mt Field Summit: 1410; Mt Willey Summit; 1530; back at car: 1930. […]
A beautiful day. Mt Monadnock, Jaffrey, NH. 2018-04-26. (Thursday) Via White Dot trail, and White Cross trail. Approx 4 miles. Mix of clouds and sun. Winds at the summit were in the 20-30 MPH range. 3 hours. It was a nice day out. The snows are in major retreat all over — basically, this means the snowy areas are limited to the shady spots on the higher elevations. Microspikes are […]
A beautiful day of incongruities. Mt Galehead, Bethlehem, NH. 2018-04-24. (Tuesday) Via Gale River trail, the Garfield Ridge trail, and the Frost trail, plus Gale River Loop road. Approx 13.4 miles. 60 dF +/- at the trailhead, 65 dF at the summit, with negligible winds. Mix of clouds and sun. Gale River Loop Road: 0910; Trailhead: 0945; Galehead Hut: 1300; Summit: 1330; back at car: 1700. (Approx. 7 hours.) This […]
A pretty peak, on a pretty day. Mt Garfield, Franconia, NH. 2018-04-21. (Saturday) Via Garfield trail, and the Garfield Ridge trail. Approx 12.5 miles. 40 dF +/- at the trailhead, 45 dF at the summit, with approx 10-15 MPH winds. Mix of clouds and sun. Trailhead: 0945; Summit: 1310; back at car: 1630. (6.75 hours.) As I started down from the summit, it struck me that I’d have been really […]
Grand Monadnock, 2018-04-17 Some of the pictures took themselves. Some needed a little help in post. There’s no substitute for seeing things first hand, but I think these are faithful to what I experienced. Below treeline, there was a lot of slipping and sliding on mushy slush. Above, the situation improved, in terms of being able to walk more naturally on ice; my crampons made easier and faster travel. That’s […]
Mt Monadnock. Jaffrey, NH. Via the White Dot and White Cross trails. Temps in the mid-40s throughout, cloudy. 2 hours up, 2 hours down. Spring is here, and the trails are showing it. The rains that fell the other night made their mark in different ways at different areas of the trail. At the bottom, the trails were soaking wet, muddy throughout. Very wet slush until the steep bit, where […]
Isolated. Except it isn’t, really. But it is. Mt Isolation, Pinkham’s Grant, NH. 2018-04-12. (Thursday) Via Rocky Branch trail, Isolation trail, and Davis Path. Approx 14.5 miles. 35 dF +/- at the trailhead, 46 dF at the summit, with negligible winds. Partly cloudy becoming outright cloudy. Trailhead: 0830; Summit: 1410; back at car: 1730. (9 hours.) Second time was the charm. Last time I attempted Isolation, I was rebuffed, but […]
Mt Isolation, Sargent’s Purchase, NH 2018-04-09. For what is just barely a four thousand-footer, this was unexpectedly interesting. First, for not having made the summit, I’m remarkably sanguine. Anger, disappointment, frustration… those are the last things on my mind right now. They were the last things on my mind when I turned around. Probably the biggest thing on my mind was what a great day I was having, just tramping […]
Grand Monadnock, Jaffrey, NH 2018-04-07. It’s an easy hike, and it’s a bounded problem. Get in trouble? Point in one direction downhill, walk that way, and within half a day, you’ll hit a road. Maybe that lures people into complacency. I saw a lot of people behaving poorly today. The weather was warm and sunny, but the wind was robust, around 10-20 MPH in places. The trail was mashed potatoes, […]
The trail is long. And straight. And level. Until it isn’t. Then it is again. Bondcliff, Lincoln, NH. 2018-04-05. (Thursday) Via Lincoln Woods trail, Wilderness trail, and Bondcliff trail. Approx 18 miles. 20 dF +/- at the trailhead, low teens at the summit, with 4-8 MPH winds gusting to 20-30. One gust hit 41 MPH. 30 dF back at car. Unbridled sunshine for most of the day, with patchy clouds […]
The Franconia Notch classic! Mt Lincoln and Mt Lafayette, Franconia, NH. 2018-04-02. (Monday) Via Falling Waters trail, Franconia Ridge trail, Greenleaf trail, and Old Bridle Path trail. Approx 9 miles. 30 dF +/- at the trailhead, 45 at the summits, with 4-6 MPH winds gusting to 10. Unbridled sunshine. Trailhead: 0900; Little Haystack summit: 1130; Mt Lincoln summit: 1210; Mt Lafayette summit: 1245; Greenleaf hut: 1335; back at car: 1500. […]