Hiking

305 posts

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: 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 […]

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 […]

Training Hike: Mt Monadnock

It was a nice day to get outside. Conditions were seasonably warm and sunny, with a light, cooling breeze that felt good. The parking lot showed enough cars for us to know we certainly wouldn’t be alone, but not so crowded as to suggest the trail would be mobbed. We hit the White Dot trailhead at around 10:00, and made our way up. In contrast to recent trips, this is […]

Trip Report: Mt Eisenhower

I Hiked Ike!  Mt Eisenhower, Bretton Woods, NH. Cinco de Mayo, 2018-05-05. (Saturday) Via Edmands Path, Mt Eisenhower Loop. Approx 6 miles.  50 dF +/- at the trailhead, 45 dF at summit, with 20-25 MPH winds gusting to 35. Partly sunny becoming mostly sunny by afternoon.  Trailhead: 0950; Summit; 1340; back at car: 1550. (6 hours.) It was, in fact, a great day to be outside. The Higher Summits Forecast […]

Trip Report: Mt Webster, Mt Jackson, Mt Pierce

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.   […]

Trip Report: Mt Tom, Mt Field, Mt Willey

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. […]

Training Hike: Grand Monadnock

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 […]

Trip Report: Mt Galehead

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 […]

Trip Report: Mt Garfield

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 […]

Pictures!

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 […]

Training hike: Mt Monadnock

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 […]