Worthwhile mileage doesn’t mean hard miles. Often the best is nearby, and relatively untrodden. If you’re not paying attention, you might just find something.
Winter Hiking
70 posts
Sunny and warm. Low. Short and sweet. Fruits to be savored, not pondered. All under a deep azure sky that felt limitless. Bliss.
Sometimes, you need to get out, but hang low. In the midst of all that, you grapple with harder questions. But all the while, savor the fruits.
Sometimes you think you’re only booking miles. And then you get home, let it ruminate for a bit, and realize there was a lot more.
Metal breaks if stressed long and hard enough. But on a day with clean, cold, and crisp air, does it matter?
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. 2023-01-08 (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 […]