Yearly Archives: 2018

74 posts

Trip Report: Mt Cabot, Mt Waumbek

Dynamic Duo! Oh wow, yeah, dynamic. Mt Cabot and Mt Waumbek. 2018-06-12 (Tuesday.) Via the York Pond trail, Bunnell Notch trail, Killkenny Ridge trail, also the Starr-King trail. Approx 17 miles. Cabot, 4170; Waumbek, 4006 feet. 60 dF at Cabot trailhead, low 70s at the summits. Sunny, becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon. 25 MPH winds, mediated by consistent tree cover. Cabot trailhead: 0900. Cabot Summit: 1135. Car: 1330. Waumbek […]

Trip Report: Mt Hancock, North and South

Simple, Sublime, Satisfying. Short and sweet. Mt Hancock and South Hancock. 2018-06-07 (Thursday.) Via the Hancock Notch trail, Cedar Brook trail, Hancock Loop trail.. Approx 10 miles. North Hancock, 4420; South Hancock, 4319 feet. 65 dF at trailhead, cooler at the summit. Cloudy, becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon. Trailhead: 1200. North Hancock Summit: 1450. South Hancock Summit: 1540. Car: 1730. It was an inauspicious start. I’d slept through my […]

Mt Washington (and vicinity) photos

With only minor annotations, I’m going to let the pictures tell the story here. Words will only get in the way. These are more or less in order that I took them. (Right-click to embiggen, cromulently.) Visibility on Monroe was pretty much this. Waterfall on Ammonoosuc Ravine trail. A truly hinky footbridge. And yet, we blindly trust they’ll hold our weight. Gem Pool. Gin clear. Near the summit, looking mostly […]

Gear Review: Salomon XA Pro 3D

Last week, coming back from Zealand Falls hut, I was noticing that with every step, I was feeling an odd twinge in my knees. It wasn’t a pain, per se, but the fact that I’d been wearing a four pound pair of hiking boots all day was becoming acutely apparent. I’d read a paper describing research the British Ministry of Defence did back in the mid-80s, where they found that […]

Trip Report: Mt Washington and Mt Monroe

First of the month, unexpected weather! Mt Washington and Mt Monroe. 2018-06-02 (Saturday.) Via the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail, Crawford Path, Mt Monroe Loop trail.. Approx 10 miles. Washington: 6288 feet, Monroe: 5372 feet. 65 dF at trailhead, 48 at MW Observatory (approx 14:30). Winds in the 20-25 MPH range, gusting to approx 40 MPH. Cloudy, becoming sunny in the afternoon with 80 mile visibility. Trailhead: 1220. Lakes of the Clouds hut: […]

Trip Report: Mt Hale, Mt Zealand, Mt Guyot, Mt Bond

Last of the month, an unexpected trifecta! Mt Hale, Mt Zealand, Mt Guyot, Mt Bond. 2018-05-31 (Thursday.) Via the Hale Brook Trail, Lend-A-Hand Trail, Twinway, Bondcliff Trail, Zealand Trail. Approx 22 miles. Hale: 4054, Zealand: 4260, Guyot: 4580, Bond: 4698 feet. 72-84 dF throughout the day. Winds in the 20-25 MPH range on Guyot and Bond, moderated on the other summits by tree cover. Sunny throughout the day, turning to […]

Trip Report: Kearsarge

Fire tower #2 Mt Kearsarge, Wilmot, NH. 2018-30-05. (Wednesday) Via Barlow and Winslow trails.  Approx 3 miles roundtrip on trail, 3 hours.  70 dF. Sunny, with a light wind at the summit.  It was a great day for a hike. With plans to bag more peaks in the Whites in the near future, I didn’t want something strenuous, but I did want to take in a short mountain. Something a […]

Trip Report: Mt Carrigain

An unexpected pleasure.  Mt Carrigain, Livermore, NH. 2018-28-05. (Monday) Via Signal Ridge trail.  Approx 10 miles roundtrip on trail, plus 4 miles roundtrip traversing Sawyer River Road.  8 hours.  55 dF in the morning, with negligible winds. 65 by afternoon. Cloudy, with sunny breaks by late afternoon.  The mountain has a well deserved place as the final hike of many quests to bag the 48. I have little personal experience […]

Trip Report: Temple Mountain

A long walk in the woods. Temple Mountain, Temple, NH. 2018-21-05. (Monday) Via Wapack and Beebe trails.  Approx 7 miles. 3 hours.  75 dF, with negligible winds. Mostly sunny.  It was a nice day. I’d spent a day hiking Owl’s Head, then ran a half marathon a couple days later. I’m planning on hiking the Twins and the Bonds later this week. So I wanted to be outside without completely […]

Trip Report: Owl’s Head Mountain

Long. Slow. Oddly, interesting!  Owl’s Head Mountain, Lincoln, NH. 2018-17-05. (Thursday) Via Lincoln Brook Trail, Franconia Brook Trail, Owl’s Head Path, bushwhacks. Approx 18 miles.  50 dF +/- at the trailhead, 60 dF at summit, 70 dF +/- back at the car, with negligible winds. Overcast becoming mostly sunny by afternoon.  Trailhead: 0740; Summit; 1420; back at car: 1900. (11.3 hours.) In retrospect, I’m confused as to why this one […]

Gear Review: Insoles

De feet can defeat de feat!  I’d been having minor issues with foot pain recently. So after speaking with my doc about this, he suggested replacing the insoles in my boots with a more padded one. Feet can be weird. Something that’s being affected in one part of your foot can manifest as pain somewhere completely different. When you think about it, no matter how much weight you shave from […]

Shakeout Hike: Pack and North Pack Monadnock

Pack and North Pack Monadnock, via the Wapack Trail. Temple, NH.  75 dF, mostly sunny, light breeze.  3.7 miles; approximately 1 hour 45 minutes one-way.  Pack and North Pack with a new Pack. Last week’s trip to Eisenhower had a lingering effect. I’d fallen into a spruce trap and tweaked something in my foot. Not being one to slow down for something as trifling as a sports injury, I decided […]