Metal breaks if stressed long and hard enough. But on a day with clean, cold, and crisp air, does it matter?
Winter Hiking
66 posts
Won’t pretend this was an epic hike. Indeed, it was mostly booking mileage. But there it is. At the same time, I won’t write off a mountain. So go try it yourself!
Mt Garfield (4,500 feet). Franconia/Bethlehem, NH. 2022-01-08 (Sunday.) Via Garfield and Garfield Ridge Trails. 10 miles round-trip, plus 1 1/4 mile (each way) road walk. Mid-20s throughout. Winds were hardly a whisper in the trees, a bitter 10-15 knots at the summit. Unbridled sunshine all day. Car: 1145. Trailhead: 1210. Summit: 1510. Trailhead: 1545. Car: 1735. A safe bet is to budget about half an hour to walk from the […]
What do you do when your plans get wrecked, and your backup plan becomes just a day to book miles?
Mt Osceola (4,340 feet) East Osceola (4,156 feet). Waterville Valley and Livermore, NH. 2022-12-22 (Thursday.) Via Greeley Ponds Ski Trail, Mt Osceola Trail, Greeley Ponds Trail. 8 miles round-trip. 3,116 feet elevation gain. 25 dF at the trailhead, 29 dF at the car. Winds were “mostly” negligible in the trees, but occasionally felt, especially at the summit. Mostly cloudy throughout the day. Not the day for endless views, but what […]
Owl’s Head isn’t at the pinnacle of the 48 four thousand footer list, but it’s at the pinnacle of the sublime. But why?
And then there were none. I finished my winter 48, and my fourth season, on the most bluebird of bluebird days.
Mt Liberty and Mt Flume, Lincoln, NH. 2022-02-20. (Sunday) Via Whitehouse Trail, Liberty Springs Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail. Approx 8.7 miles. 15 dF +/- at the trailhead, 10 at the summit. Sunny to start, with rapidly closing high level clouds. Wind at Liberty and Flume summit was a light breeze to start. Back at Liberty on the return, the winds were brisk and bitter. Trailhead: 1030; Liberty Summit: 1300; Flume […]
What a difference a week (and some warm weather) makes. What can you do when the trail feels like concrete?
An attempt at a trail is usually Type II fun. Obviously, you went there with a goal, but something happened. Powder snow. Step-slide, step-slide gets old quickly.
Alone on the summit of Isolation… does that mean solitude? And if not, why?
When the temperatures are so numbingly frigid, what else will ever be memorable about that day? Can there be anything after that?