Sometimes you need to step away from the familiar to realize what you have, and what you don’t. Sometimes you really need the not-having. And that’s OK.
My legs were at once on fire, numb to the pain, still feeling the crush of every step. But I was in the mountains again, after a far too long hiatus.
A dash out in desperation, a marvelous odyssey, a Black Precipice, and a run-in with a porcupine. What more could happen?
Of the weather, I can only say this: it wasn’t dry. Everything else? Up for grabs.
Sometimes a hike is a challenge, sometimes a slog. Keep it all in mind that in a couple weeks, the worst will melt away and run down the mountain.
The loop over the two peaks is as strenuous as ever. But with a bit of trailside color, every steep section is eased.
Spring hiking is mud season, and you need a certain resilience. But what about the trail that brings us back? Where’s the magic in the mud?
Icy conditions on Mt Moosilauke during the first week of May? Call it “A test of snow and flowers.”
There was delicious coffee. Some pondering. Some hiking. A lot of ice, and some nearly fell on my head. Cannon can be strange sometimes.
The weather is weirdly warm. When everywhere else is crummy posthole-ridden trail muck, Waumbek delivers. Why not?
You’re not sure what to do. Your calendar suggests one thing. Your heart another. The mountains, yet a third… Get ready, here it comes!
Tecumseh is the worn flannel shirt, of hiking in New Hampshire. Not at all glamorous. But a perfect lazy afternoon outing.