I uploaded my video compilation from hike up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail to the summit of Mt Washington and down the jewel trail. It was a glorious day. See the entire story of the hike on the blog.

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to hike Mt Washington. I hiked up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail to to Lake of the Clouds Hut to Crawford Path, to the Summit of Mt Washington. I then came down the Gulf Side Trail to the Jewel Trail. It was a glorious day the weather was perfect it was dry and comfortable with a steady 35mph breeze above treeline.

A T-Shirt at the Mt Washington Observatory

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My first real adventure out in the ocean with a Kayak. Dennis and I set out from Newcastle in the back channel and we paddled out to Odione Point outside the harbor. It was a great time and wonderful experience. I used a loaner tandem style kayak, an Old Town Otter (more…)

This past Saturday my parents completed their journey of being together forever. I took advantage of the great weather afforded and marched up the summit of Mt Washington with my snowshoes, setting them free together at the upper end of Jacobs Ladder on the Cog Railway. In case you didn’t know Jacob’s Ladder is the ladder to heaven and (more…)

I don’t want to jinx everyone in New England but perhaps it’s too late. I have been wanting to get up to the mountains and do some Snowshoeing but the weather just has been so uncooperative. Lately we have hardly gotten any snow, leaving me to think that to head-up a mountain trail would require crampons for ice versus snowshoes.

Webcam of The Ravines 2/5/10

My take is if we are going to have some cold weather, give us enough snow so we can fully enjoy it. Locally the fields and tote roads are mostly bare and have been so it seems most of the winter except for a brief spell . You can’t  even cross country ski or sled. So mother nature if your reading, warm it up and start spring or give us a little bit of snow so we can have some fun…

Last month when we thought is was to be sunny we headed up to Summit Mt Adams and were shot down. (See Mt Madison Story) Today Rosie and I returned to get what we left, this would be “another day”. A high pressure system parked over New England so the forecast was to be exceptional. We started up the Valley way trail leaving the Appalachia parking lot at 9am. We moved quite steadily to get above tree line as early as possible. The trail from the parking lot to the Madison Spring Hut is 3.5 miles

.  We made the Hut about 1pm, refilled our camel backs, had a quick snack and moved on for our goal the summit of Mt Adams 5774′. Mt Adams is the 2nd highest mountain east of the Rockies with Mt Washington being the tallest at 6288′.

lI picked up a Lowe 75AW Toploader camera case recently . After my last hike up Madison i had seen a guy with what looked like a camera bag on his chest and did some research and picked up a second hand one from Ebay. I was eager to try it out. It worked very well allowing quick easy access to camera and provides great protection. I love the protection, expandability and various ways the bag can be strapped, very comfortable to walk with. . So for you curious types that is whats on my chest.

We left the Hut and started up the Airline trail, we had a solid mile of ground to cover and almost half of it was to be boulder walking, which isn’t hard, just a little tedious. The weather was superbly sunny with an occasional slight breeze.  We stayed very steady trying to get to the summit to be able spend as much time as we could there.  The views above tree line on days like this are hard to describe .

When we made the summit we had a snack and soaked in the views.  There were swarms of these weird bugs I had never seen along with a few black flies mixed in for good measure. We would get a slight breeze and they would go away, then it would stop and they were back. The hike in is so long and has so much elevation gain, it doesn’t afford much time to hang out unless you’re staying in a Hut or Tenting back below treeline.

We hung out on the summit for almost an hour and decided we would head off avoid the bugs and checkout some sights . Looking at the map and surrounding area, we decided to go back to the hut by taking Lowe’s Path to the Thunderstorm junction to The Gulfside Trail, to the Valley Way. This would be a little longer than the way we came-up but should be easier walking with less boulder walking and potentially faster.

By this point it’s about 3pm and we have about 4.8 miles to make the car. As we came down off the summit I took a large step and noticed my right knee became twingy. We moseyed along soaking in the day over to the Thunderstorm Junction and my knee was not improving, but was getting worst.  We snapped some pics at the massive cairn and moved on our way. I told Rose and she had some Ibuprofen I downed a few and we marched on.

I was concerned knowing the terrain what we had to go down, my condition and the daylight left. It was going to be a long slow painful trip. The Gulfside Trail has several sections where the trail has been worked to where it is almost smooth like cobblestones. I believe it was Edmunds and Lowe who worked at placing all the stones just right to fill the sections in and made for a welcomed rest

We kept walking and made the Valley Way about  4:30. After about a mile we ran into another couple heading UP. Speaking to them they were heading up and coming down. It was maybe 5:30 at the time and way late to be going the wrong way without tent or room at the hut. Rose and I passed a couple of the Appalachian trail workers Sherpa packing supplies up. We had seen them coming down in the morning with the racks and cardboard. It.s amazing to see what they haul.

We made it back to the lot at just after 8pm. My hands were sore and blistered from using my poles so heavily to move my weight and maintain footing.  I worked much harder coming down that going up that’s for sure.  The tally for the day was 9.7 Miles and leaves only Mt Washington as the last of the Presidential Range peaks for me to Hike. I believe when the day comes i will go up the Amonoosinic Ravine trail to the summit and down the Jewel trail.

The weather lately has been in a funk a little sunny but occasional showers, clouds and some severe thunderstorms. This was the case early Friday evening when storms blew through knocking out power and falling trees near our house and across Rt 202 making packing and preparing for the hike Friday night a headlamp affair.

In looking at the weather they were forecasting the higher summits to be mostly sunny Saturday and partly cloudy Sunday so I decided I had a window that would provide fair views. Thunderstorms were due through Friday in all areas and they should suck up all the bad weather, right? Well that’s my theory anyway. Worst case we should have views with clouds moving through the question would be what the cloud ceiling would be for views at the top.

We made the Appalachia trail head off route 2 at about 8:00 am. The lot was quite full and we got one of the last spots. The sun was popping in and out of the clouds all up through the drive through the valleys. It was very cloudy and the ground fog was still lifting. We were hoping the forecast hadn’t changed overnight. My group consisted of Keeley and Rose and our plan was to take the Airline up to Mt Adam’s 5774′ and then if things went well swing over to Madison Hut and ideally summit Mt Madison 5367′. The mileage up and down just Mt Adam’s would be roughly 9.6 miles with over 4600′ of elevation gain. This equates to steep, steady and long. We got rolling and made decent time up to the junction of the Valley Way / Airline Trails. I decided an alternate route might be best opting for what likely would be the easiest accent the Valley Way trail since this was the one used for moving supplies to the Hut. The Airline trail is supposed to provide excellent views but I could see we still had a few clouds and figured take the easier trek up and we could make a loop back down the Airline to pick up the views. This would add a small amount if mileage but easy up is always better.

The group liked the idea and we charged up the Valley Way trail. Keeley had some heal blister trouble so we stopped a couple times for Moleskin and took in a couple short loops to view falls right along the trail. The Valley Way Trail was a decent walk and proved a great choice. We made the Madison Hut at about 1:30pm. It was cloudy but you could see these windows of blue sky in the breaks of the lower clouds. We had lunch at the hut and discussed our plans. Since we had taken so long to reach the hut, we decided to summit Mt Madison since it was only a half mile away if that went well we could still grab Mt Adams. So we started off and up the bolder pile. The route we used was the Osgood Trail which was reasonable and similar to boulder walks on the summits of Mt Jefferson and Mt Monroe. As we gained elevation we grew more exposed to the wind and at the summit the blow was strong and steady. I checked the Mt Washington Weather later that night and they were clocking steady winds for the day of 52 mph with the highest gust at 88mph. The winds did not feel as strong they were on Mt Jackson last year. I was curious and looked them up and discovered they were steady at 59 with a highest gust of 89. It’s a really cool experience to feel the force of nature this way. We hung out and enjoyed the views that came and went with the cloud breaks and took some pictures.We hiked back the way we came reaching the Madison Hut and then taking the Airline cut-off trail over to the shoulder of Mt Adams. The Cut-off was really a short walk in scrub about a 1/8th mile long with unremarkable features. Looking at the GPS is was almost 4:30 and clouds were darkening a bit to the west, and we never got a high clearing of the clouds as we hoped. Rather than press for higher elevation we decided to stroll down the Airline and take in the views of the King Ravine and the Knife Edge. The Airline Trail afforded excellent views as we meandered down. The knife edge isn’t really that precipitous but it was interesting and affords great views. After an hour or so we could hear thunder in the distance and picked our pace up a bit to ensure we made the safety of tree line.After making tree line the trail became steady steep for a stretch with large rocks and lots of big step downs at this same time it started to rain, and rained for 20 min. This tougher area of Airline was not far before the Scar Trail junction. We gave thought about crossing over to the Valley Way Trail knowing that it was relatively easy, but decided that staying on the Airline would be best. We were wrong…The Airline trail continued to get even steeper and remained difficult for quite a while. We made slow pace over this section of trail and it seemed like over a mile before there was any real relief. When the relief started to come the trail had a lot of work being done on it for drainage which seemed to loosen the clay on the trail making for very greasy footing, even on the flats.We made the Valley Way Trail junction and stayed on the Airline and plodded along quite quickly. We made it back to the Appalachia lot and the car about 8:15pm. I estimate the total distance for the day to be roughly  10.2 miles.

When I head up this trail again I would do the Valley Way up, Airline down and diverge to the Scar and Valley Way to complete the decent. If the Scar Trail (which i haven’t been on) happened to be as bad as the middle section of Airline I know it’s only about 3 tenths long and the views the upper part of the Airline provides are well worth the effort.

The King Ravine is a magnificent view from the Airline Trail. I know the King Ravine trail comes up it, but that would be an extremely long steep head wall to come up even in the best of conditions, so avoid that unless you’re looking for the challenge. By all accounts we made good choices for the day with the exception of not taking the Scar to cross-over to Valley Way Trail. Keeley’s back was bothering her on the way down but she marched on like a trooper. Rose did excellent for the day.

So we had a wonderful day with less than ideal weather. We left a hike to Mt Adam’s for another day, which Rose said was becoming a habit for us. I must say though I won’t mind another trip up the Valley Way Trail to this area of the White Mountains. On a clear day the views here would be indescribable. Here is a link to all the Pictures from the Day.

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Today also marked the one year anniversary of my Dad’s passing. I am not sure that I believe that makes it a truly special day, but it special enough that I remembered it so I will acknowledge it here. Going forward I would prefer to remember his birthday, anniversary or even the day he was discharged by the army, but today I remembered.

When my father became diagnosed and ill I realized just how precious and short lived our time is on this in this world and I wrestled with my own mortality. I struggled with his fight and seeing his suffering. After talking to him about the old times I hiked to Mt Willard, a place we visited via snowmobile in my teens. On that short hike returning there I discovered all the joys of hiking, cleared my mind, recalled happier times, and acquiesced his fight with cancer.  I suppose then it is fitting then that I stood on a rocky, timeless summit a year to the hour since his passing and remembered him.  I do think it is unfortunate we never had the opportunity to hike when he was alive, but that’s o.k. I take him and his memory with me today on every trip!

Rose, Teah and I headed for end of the Kancamagus highway with the objective of spending our first night in the backwoods and reaching the summit of Mt Hancock. We made the trail head for the Hancock Notch Trail about 3:30pm after checking in with the Ranger Station to verify my understanding of the rules.
We have camped before but not as a group with the dog, and not with fully loaded packs up and down a 4400 footer. So this would be a trip of firsts and hopefully Teah would be cooperative.

The first couple miles of trail was really easy with minor increases in elevation and the trail was quite wide and obviously an old road. There was water along most of the trail, providing that welcome relaxing ambient sound in the woods. At the Cedar Brook Trail junction we saw a man camping just off the trail, obviously he didn’t get the memo of being 200′ back. We ended up hiking about 2 miles in to just before the first stream crossing on the Cedar Brook Trail and made camp up on a wooded rise. We were close enough to hear the stream but high enough and off the trail as required to not be seen or bothered by passers by. There was plenty of dead firewood laying down for a camp fire.

The area was used previously and with a bit of searching Rose actually found a small fire pit and we set-up camp near it. Rose started gathering fire wood and I started with the tent. Once the tent was up I started the fire and Rose set-up the furnishings getting the pads, sleeping bags, and cribbage set ready for the night. We had some back country gourmet Lasagna which only required a couple cups of hot water from my Jetboil stove. The Lasagna was actually quite good and the portion was decent. We had a couple glasses of wine toasting our adventure and enjoyed the fire. Teah liked the tent hung out inside most of the evening. We were all inside about 9:30, using our headlamp LEDs as a ceiling light for Rose to kick my but in cribbage.
I was up about 4:30 as it got light. Teah was concerned and had to lay by the door to keep an eye on the forest and she kept giving concerned vocalizations off and on. I nodded in and out until 5:30 but I thought Teah might have to go out, I certainly did and so up and out we were. I tried to get her to walk to the stream with me while I pump water for the camelbacks, but she was not leaving Rose behind. I put Teah in the tent and headed off for water. When I returned I pulled our food out of the tree and made some scrambled Back Country Denver Omelet and hot chocolate. Note to self, powdered eggs are horrible, Rose took a pass, I ate mine and Teah got the bonus and ate Rose’s. We packed up and hit the trail about 9:30.
There are several stream crossings on the Cedar Brook Trail, in high water they would be very tough to traverse. Actually the whole area would likely be problematic in early spring since it was muddy in places and a lot of water was along the trail. There are also many great places to camp in this area all the way in up to the north south fork. We reached the Hancock Loop Trail and decided to go to the North Summit. The seven tenths to the summit were quite steep and steady, but this would be the only heavy elevation gain of the trail. This section had many high step ups and in areas had loose shale like stones mixed in, making footing a little treacherous. We reached the summit about 12:00 and hung out on the outlook, had lunch, and rested. The views were great we could see Mt Chocorua to the south and Mt Oceola and points west. Teah was tired, we all were and we decided not to do the additional 1.3 miles of the loop to the south summit and just headed back down the way we came.

On our way out we were passed by a single hiker who did the South loop and a three group who arrived at the trail head just after us who had also done the South loop. We had seen all these folks on top and they left the Summit about the same time we did. We probably should have gone for the loop it would have been just a little extra effort, but 8.7 miles was enough for this trip and everyone had a tiring great time. Besides the South Summit loop was described as “Reliably Steep” in the AMC guide. Rose unlocked the car and the rest of the doors would not unlock, dead battery, lights were left on. A man from Connecticut had cables and obliged us with a jump. Disaster was averted, we changed out our shoes and were on our way.

There was to be a break in the weather so north I went.  My hike would start off Sawyer River road and follow the Signal Trail to the summit. The hike is 5.1 miles from the parking lot to the summit for 10.2 rt.

Today I would be hiking solo. I would prefer to be with someone, obviously it’s safer but I have taken all the precautions and am fully equipped. Well I did forget my hiking poles but that shouldn’t be a problem.

The trail started out following a fast flowing stream the grade of the trail was quite easy for the first couple miles with a long stretch that was nearly level. The trail is an old woods road that has grown in. At about 2 miles in the trail split with the Carrigain Notch Trail to the right and Signal Trail to the left. Not far after the split there is a stream crossing that is the widest of the bunch and without poles was a tricky rock hop. This stream could be trouble in higher water requiring a walk up or down to find a way to pass. I also noticed that there really wasn’t much in the way of trail markers or blazes on the trees up to this point. This is not an issue this time of year but in the winter could make staying on the trail a bit tricky.

After crossing the stream the trail starts getting steeper quickly and maintains a steady steep grade throughout. The footing and condition of the trail was excellent compared to many other trails, there were not a lot of high step up and downs that can be hard on the knees. The trail is fairly grown in and does not afford much in the way of views until you get almost on top. There are a couple windows to view here and there but not many. The last 1/2 mile of trail there is an interesting ridge walk which is similar to the alpine areas of the presidentials.

I made the summit in just over 3 hours. The summit has a tower that affords 360 degree views of the whites which is quite unique. I hung out, had my lunch, and took some photos for about 45 minutes. I had the summit to myself the entire time which I must say is rare, The last summit I had to myself was Mt Eisenhower last summer.

The weather report was to be for clearing skies but upon arrival there were cumulus clouds and they looked to be building. I could see lake Winnipesaukee and a town in the distance I think was Bartlett. The views were outstanding and I would guess I could see 30-40 miles likely more.

I started down and made great time. I had to pump water from one of the little springs trickling across the trail to replenish my Camelback and made it down in just over 2 hours. The stretch of trail (the initial 2 miles) is a nice woods walk for anyone to enjoy. It crosses steams several times and they were flowing well. This area would also be very condusive to tenting overnight and or picnicking. The stream certainly run well enough and are large enough to hold brook trout. I also noticed the Sawyer River would be awesome fishing with access off the Sawyer River road it is an easy walk down the bank 40 yards or so. I certainly will revisit this area in the future with tent and pole.

It started as cloudy day and the weather didn’t look to be the most promising. Forecast was clouds early and clouds late with possible thunderstorms. We debated on making the trip and decided we would head up and hike Mt Field and if things went well try to get in Mt Willey as well both 4000 footers.The hiking party today would be Rose, Teah and Myself.

We arrived at the Macomber Family Facility around 8:30am. temps and skies were about the same as they were down south temp at the trail head was 64 and skies cloudy but light hints of blue sky could be seen occasionally in thin areas.

We started up the trail pausing several times to adjust our packs and clothing balance. The trails were in great shape and the traffic was much less than I anticipated. We were going to hike the A-Z trail, to Mt Avalon Loop, to Willey Range Trail.

The trail grade for the most part is not bad. The initial part of the trail follows a stream that was flowing quite well in which we crossed a couple times. In high water the crossings could be tricky but today they were easy.

As we started up the Mt Avalon trail things got much steeper quickly, it also became much more rocky. We were concerned about Teah’s paws so we put her boots on her. She did not seem to like the idea initially, but once underway she didn’t seem to care. As you might imagine we received lots of comments from other hikers on her boots, but knew all to well how the rocks hurt her pads on Mt Chocorua last month.

We made the summit trail of Mt Avalon, the sign shown is the same one that was just out of the snow on mt hike up Mt Avalon this spring with Shannon. It was interesting to hike the trails we had done in snowshoes. I could make out several landmarks from those earlier hikes including the snow coned tree.

The trail from Mt Avalon to Mt Field is an interesting walk through some different forest. I think it is what is referred to as the Boreal. Trees very close together, very lush, lots of dead trees mixed in. I kept waiting for the fairies to pop out any minute.

We made the summit of Mt Field and were welcomed by still mostly cloudy skies. We could see the Mt Washington hotel and the summits of Mt Avalon and Mt Tom but not much else. Occasional we we see some bright sun but the sky never opened blue as we had hoped. The good news the skies didn’t open with rain either.

After having lunch on the summit of Mt Field we thought we would head for Mt Willey 1.4 miles away. The walk should be a summit walk with little elevation change. We started off but Teah would not leave the summit. A group of guys came up that we saw earlier and we tried again. She still would not budge. So we figured maybe we should head back down. Tia didn’t want to do this either. Now Tia is not the biggest dog in the forest but when she wants a piece of another dog look out, she is strong and when she does not want to move she is dead weight. I ended up picking her up by her harness like a suitcase and walking. Teah started walking after about 30 yards. We went maybe a couple hundred yards and she stopped again. This time we waited, rested her for about 10 minutes and finally she started off. We went maybe a 1/2 hour and we met another dog on the trail, a big shepherd. She had no problem heading down the trail then and nearly pulled rose and I down the trail most of the way out.

We decided not to shoot up the 100 yard spur to Mt Avalon given that there would not be any views and Teah’s temperament for the afternoon and simply continued down the trail. When we reached the bolder cascade loop we decided we could swing though and take in the views. Tia would not go down the trail, once again refusing to budge. “Does she know the trail?” Rose asked, “I don’t know” I said. We tried a few minutes and then gave up and headed down the main trail.

Rain looked to be threatening and we didn’t want to wait and try coaxing her any longer. All in all we had an awesome day. The hike ended up being roughly 6.7 miles and the dog boots worked great on Teah’s feet. Now if we can only train her to go where we want to, when we want to we will have it knocked.

Rose did excellent all day. She took a minor tumble when we stepped aside for some other hikers, losing her footing and poking her hand on something. Other than that no injuries and no falls. That’s always a good thing. It was just a marvelous day of hiking even though we had no views.

Well Rose & I awoke later than we wanted but got on the road by 7:00 to a perfect crisp blue new england sky. I like to be on the trail earlier in hopes of getting better views before clouds or storms arrive.

Our goal for today was to Summit Mt Chocorua via the Champney Falls Trail which departs from the Kancamagus Highway. The estimated round trip for the day is 7.5 miles. We also wanted to take our dog Teah with us on her first hike. Since she doesn’t care for most people or dogs we were in for an exciting day, but we figured a socializing experience would be great for her.

We arrived at the trail head and got underway around 9-9:30am, the parking area actually had a couple parking spaces which was surprising considering it was a holiday weekend. After placing Teah’s pack of water on her I felt it was best for me to carry her pack in mine versus her carrying it for her first adventure. I could see the weight slightly affected her gait and we hadn’t been able to train with it prior, so better safe than sorry. Certainly with the pack on she would be less likely to bounce at other dogs. (Dog Gear harnesses, hiking and such www.ruffwear.com)

We got underway, the trail grade was very easy and somewhat follows a stream which provides a great ambient sound of falling water in the forest for about the first half hour. We met several people on the trail and as we stopped for snacks and water met even more (it was busy). The Chapmney Falls loop joins to the right at 1.5 miles in and rejoins about a half mile further along. Rose and I decided not to go to the falls if time permitted on the return we would swing into them. At this point the grade became steeper but still a very manageable easy to walk. A couple miles in we started to get great views back across the valley and of Mt Washington. After a while we came out onto a ledge that provided wonderful views back across the valley and took a break. I noticed at this point that we had lost most of our company on the trail . I fully expected our companions to be coming by and they never came. I suspected we missed our turn somehow and ended up on the Sisters Loop Trail. Rose, Teah and I enjoyed the solitude, treated Rose’s heal blister and moved on. At this point we were close to a summit and when we crested what a site! Views in all directions and an incredible unique view of Chocorua’s rocky summit cone. It’s hard to see in this photo, but in the larger version you can see all the people around on the rocks. (check out the album link at bottom or article)

We admired the view and worked our way down the side to the column between Chocorua and the Sisters. The trail markings were difficult to see and the trail was a bit tricky and could be difficult in rainy weather since it was all rock with a couple of big steps
. We rejoined the original trail and made way for the summit. There were loads of people on the summit and lots and lots of dogs. Loads of people, lots of them, everywhere! I was amazed…Teah did well and handled the dogs and the terrain in stride. I’m not sure if Teah was getting better with people and dogs or I was getting numb from controlling her but things seemed to be improving steadily throughout the day as she had more contacts.We had lunch, took some pictures and hung around a while before starting down. Teah had decided that she had enough of the hiking experience and was starting to lag. I could tell she was likely getting sore feet from the rocks since she did fine on dirt but wanted nothing to do with the rocky areas.The hike down other than Teah slowing us went without issue and was wonderful. It was nice to have the valley views all the way and certainly going straight down the Champney Falls trail saved us a few miles from zipping back up and around the sisters loop once again.

We made the parking lot around 4:30pm and found that the place was packed, cars were lined up along the road in both directions. We were amazed by the numbers of people just heading up the trail so late in the day, with no supplies or even water. We didn’t swing into the falls on our return due to concern with Teah’s paws. She was being a good sport but we didn’t want to push her anymore than we already had so we left that for a future trip.

Today’s hike was an excellent day in the woods and a route I would highly recommend to anyone. I estimate the trip ended up being roughly 10.25 miles with the Sisters Loop without it the guide books say it.s about 7.2 mi. The picture below is Mt Chocorua and the Sisters taken at Chocorua Lake just off of Rt 16.

Although not officially a 4000 footer, Mt Chocorua does have a lot of elevation gain so standard precautions must be made for weather, water and supplies. Here is a link to all the Photos from the Day

It was an excellent day and a wonderful hike.! Thanks Rose…Love You!

Rose and I arrived in the Macomber visitors center and prepared our gear. This would be my second winter hike / snowshoe adventure and Rose’s first. I rented her snowshoes at EMS in Newington so we could see if snowshoeing agreed with her before making an actual purchase.

The route we are taking for today is the Zealand trail to Mt Tom Spur Trail. The Zealand trail is part of the AT. The round trip is estimated to be 4.6 miles. It was a cool day, but very comfortable when moving and certainly far warmer than my hike a few weeks earlier when freezing water bladders were a problem when we got up in elevation.There was still quite a bit of snow on the ground but far less than was here a few weeks earlier when Shannon and I hiked Mt Avalon. Initially Rose thought it would be easier to go without the snowshoes so she just booted it quite a while until the grade got steeper and she post holed a couple times. I went with the snowshoes all day. I booted it a lot last trip and snowshoes made it so much easier to walk. With boots it’s kind of like walking on a sandy beach. Also with boots if you step of the edge of the packed trail you post hole readily right to you’re crotch. This isn’t pleasant when you have a pack on and uses a lot of energy to right things.

Rose did excellent all day, she put on her snowshoes and as we started getting into steeper terrain and then we started really rolling along. We hit some very steep areas, as we did she kept getting gassed out every hundred feet or so. I explained what was happening was she was pushing to fast, even though in theory she thought it was slow and needed to go a bit slower still and use a walking rest step, once she got the hang of this we motored right along steadily.

Snowshoeing is quite an experience if you have never tried it but are familiar with hiking. To begin with there are no step ups or downs, read this as easy on the knees. The snow fills everything all in. Next the shoes can hold on very steep inclines (a very good thing) because since there are no real step ups or downs to hold rest on and the hills can go along way at steep angles. The Snowshoes allow you to simply motor straight on up the trail. My two trips have found the trails broken and well packed which i am told isn’t uncommon since there is more activity than you to tend to think on the trails. I am told in the winter you are more likely to get crisp clear skies and more views with foliage off the trees. Snowshoeing is a blast and I recommend everyone try it at least once.

Well, we had made slower time than anticipated and could see as we went the blue skies and twinkle of frozen icy trees at upper elevations awaiting us. The last 1/4 mile of trail approaching the column to Mt Tom is quite steep and seemed to take along to time accomplish. We made the the top of the column and laughed at the signs being nearly buried at our feet and headed toward the summit a half mile away.

I knew that Mt Tom didn’t have the greatest of views but figured with no leaves on the trees we should be able to get some. I had read that there were also some blow down areas that afforded views as well. Upon arrival at the summit we found that the clouds had arrived. We made the best of it getting occasional views of the valley below peaking in and out and had our lunch and couple cups of hot tea.
I setup for our summit picture and ran back to get in the shot and fell on my behind just out of the shot behind the scrub. This required us to try again the once we stopped laughing. (note to self, running in snowshoes use wider gait). After a good meal we started our return trip since the summit gods weren’t going to open the sky totally for us. The trees in this area had some interesting growths.

The return trip was much easier going than the climb as you would expect. We had amazing views of the southern presidentials and Mt Washington most of the way down. It was disappointing that our summit couldn’t clear for us but that is just the luck you have some days.

Rose enjoyed the snowshoeing and said she would love to do it again, so it looks like we are hunting for some snowshoes for her. We talked about doing Tuckerman’s Ravine the following weekend to see the excitement of the people skiing and so forth.

It was another wonderful day with my wife in t
he Whites!

My daughter Shannon was up from Charlottesville for a few weeks to work at Seabrook Station and was hoping to get a hike in during her stay before the outage started in full swing. So Saturday so we woke up and decided what the heck lets to go for it.

I only had one pair of modern snowshoes so I pulled my fathers old wooden snowshoes from the beam and grabbed my new MSR Lightnings for Shannon and we were off.

Due to the late start we made the Macomber center late a like 10:30. Our goal was to do Mt Avalon, If things went really well and we made good speed we could consider going on to Mt Field or even Mt Willey but i felt that was unlikely. You see this was my first snowshoe hike and although I had been up trails snowmobiling , really didn’t know to expect when hiking. Also due to the late start and short winter day we didn’t have a lot of daylight to work with.

We started in on the trail…It was very packed and we booted it up most of the way until i started to post hole as we went onto the Avalon loop trail. I grabbed the old wooden snowshoes and placed them on, tightened the buckles and Blap, the leather strap broke. You see leather dry rots from not being used i didn’t think it looked that bad. So Shannon forked over the MSRs, she wasn’t wearing them anyway and we started off again.
The snow seemed quite deep and when he cam across this sign we new we had alot of snow still in the woods. These signs are typically 8 feet or so up . A couple guys coming of the summit were kind enough to take our picture on their way by.

We ran into a few people on the trail and the summit. I am always amazed at the traffic the trails have and here in March it isn’t any different. We made the summit about 2:30 and ate lunch. The summit was cold and there was a steady wind. I wanted to make coffee but it was so windy and cold we decided to have it off the summit back in the trees. I really didn’t notice my hands were getting cold until we started down and i became concerned. We stopped to make the coffee. i fired up the stove and we couldn’t find the coffee. I offered to make Shannon pine needle tea but she passed and we packed up and moved on. One benefit was my hands had recovered holding the warm water.It really wasn’t a bad day overall. It was cold, my bladder line had frozen earlier and i routed it inside my coat. This however didn’t equate to being uncomfortable since most of the day we sweated most of the time. My hand getting cold was my own stupidity keeping them out of my gloves way to long on the summit.

On the way down i tried different maneuvers with the snowshoes, walking off the track onto fresh snow and they floated very well. I must say i was very impressed with the snowshoes. I particularly like the heel elevator for the steep accents. It takes a lot of the pressure off you’re calf and makes it seem like you are walking stairs. Shannon was a trooper and even with the pack never post holed all day even though she didn’t have snowshoes. Given our gear trouble it all worked out for the best. I can’t wait to snowshoe again, what a blast.

Here is link to all the pics from the trip

My hiking party consists of my two daughters Alex and Christy and I. This would be there first real hike of any length and first one up above tree line. So we started up the trail and quickly reached the outlook that afforded a view of the days objective. The caps are basically three large rock outcroppings that you need to cross on a ridge. They can be seen in the distance in the 2nd photo with Alex. The 3rd photo is closer view of the obstacle(s), if you look close you can see the people working the trail section. This trail should not be considered in wet weather since footing on the rocks would be troublesome.

After crossing the caps the trail turns into a rock walk. For the most part the ground is all larger rocks like a big boulder pile, easy walking but with a steady accent. The girls were tired and like all hikes when you can see the summit it never seems to get there soon enough. So we decided it would be best to have lunch early instead waiting until the summit. This actually worked out since we had a nice view all to ourselves as the summits can often be busy.

The hike down was tricky, again not super hard just requiring some navigation and footing decisions. Things seem higher going down crossing over the Caps. Some of the areas proved a bit challenging, but taking our time everything was just fine.

The day overall made for a fabulous hike and although a lot of work was so fun and enjoyable. Of course anytime I can spend an entire day with two of my daughters and it doesn’t involve shopping it’s a good thing. They both claimed upon completion that they will go again so it’s safe to assume there are a couple more people initiated into the world of hikerdome.

A note the caps ridge trail should only be tackled in decent weather since once above tree line it is hard to make time over the caps to any shelter. In bad weather the rocks would very difficult and slippery.

The girls had a great day of it and i enjoyed spending the time with them. I don’t get the opportunity to monopolize a day of there time very often, so there company alone made my day.

You can see all the photos from this trip by clicking on this Link to Photos.

Todays hike is to make it the the summit of Mt Monroe and stop off at the Lake Of The Clouds Hut. This is Rose’s first real hike and Shane’s first trip up above the tree line. After my Mt Eisenhower hike I can’t wait to get up on top and soak the views all in. Most of our trip will be above tree line today. We are taking Edmund’s Path to Crawford Path and simply returning back down the same trail estimated distance 9.8m mi RT.

Edmund’s Path is a reasonable hike with steady grade most of the way. It amazes me the amount of work Edmund’s and I presume others have done over the years to make the rock cribbing that keeps the trails grade easy in the later parts. I was using my hiking poles and bought a pair for Rosie as well. The poles help reduce stress on the knees and provide more stability. In the photo above looking at Mt Eisenhower you can see Edmund’s Path coming up on the right side and Crawford Path which we were on by this time.

We stopped here for lunch and to take in the views. On the way up Edmund’s Rose got a heel blister but it was doing o.k.. The weather was variable with large clouds, breaks of sun and dark stormy cloud cells at times. There didn’t seem much risk of any severe weather so we marked on down the trail.
The photo below is the summit(s) of Mt Monroe. If the clouds were a bit higher you would see Mt Washington almost between them. Once above tree line the walk is easy for the most part and the trail is well marked with stone cairns.

I wasn’t sure exactly which of the minor peaks was the Summit of Mt Monroe when we got close, so we actually hiked up both of them for the views. At this point in the trail the elevation gain for them wasn’t much. The photo below is taken as we ascended Mt Monroe and provides an excellent view of Crawford Path. The small round hill in the distance is Mt Eisenhower, the point in the center of the frame is Mt Franklin., directly behind it is Mt Jackson, then Mt Webster.

The weather was being cooperative as we did our summit shots. Again you can see Mt Eisenhower in the distance poking up. Most of Mt Monroe is boulder walking, large rocks that you can simply step up on and over. It like a giant hand simply grabbed them and poured them out like sand. It really contrasts the green of the trees and almost looks lunar or alien.
After we did Mt Monroe’s peaks we started down to the Lake Of The Clouds hut. This hut is the Largest of the huts in the White Mountain National Forest and bunks like 90 people. You still need reservations way in advance for a stay. The day we were up here the people were talking about the Meteor Shower that would be peaking tonight. What an awesome place to be for that!
Hopefully they will have a clear night..

After making the Hut we re-stocked our water bladders and had a snack. We could see the Cog Railway ascending the ridge across the way. The summit of Mt Washington looked real close , only about 1.25 miles away and 1000′ feet up which would be a solid hour and 20 each way in my guestimation. Given the distance we had crossed , the weather, Rose’s blister, we decided to just head on back.

So we started out on the Crawford Path but this time went around the back of Mt Monroe which actually the main route. This area provides unbelievable views towards the ravines and Mt Washington’s summit cone. The clouds started to break and gave us some great sunshine.

Looking back toward Mt Washington from Crawford Path, the summits of Monroe are on each side. It wasn’t long after this picture it started snowing these giant snowflakes bigger than silver dollars. It snowed for maybe 5 minutes and the sun was back out. Typical New England blink and the weather changes.
As we headed back down Edmund’s Path we stopped for a photo with the Danger sign. You do need to heed these warnings and make sure you are prepared. The weather can change on a dime and you have a long ways to go to get shelter.

On the way down Shane slipped on a wet rock and fell straight on his elbow. I couldn’t believe he didn’t break it, he was so lucky. Other than that it was a nice stroll back down the trail.
A great hike was had by all. After the hike we drove over to the Cog Railway station and took pictures of trip from below and Cog itself and headed home. Rosie survived and claims she will go again I hope so because she is my favorite company. Ten miles is a lot for a first hike but a day above tree line like we had made it seem like 10 minutes.

Here is Link to All the Pictures from our hike…What another memorable day!

Todays hike is to summit Mt Pierce and Mt Eisenhower via the Crawford Path. The Crawford Path is one of the oldest trails in the White Mt National Forest and used to be a bridle path. It is one of the major routes to Mt Washington. Once over Eisenhower return down Edmund’s Path also a main route to Mt Washington and then walk Clinton road back to our car. This would be a long hike and my first hike above tree line.

We stated out and not far in came to Gibbs Fallsl…the trail was easy walking. We reached the split for the Mitzpah cut-off. The cut off will take us to the Mitpah Hut. Red really wanted to see the hut so we headed off. The loop I figured would only add a mile and a half or so to the day so what the heck. Not far after the split we reached a level in the elevation known as the Boreal Forest. At this elevation there is very deep moss like a mattress throughout the forest and the trees seem nearly dead. Those that are dead don’t seem to really rot, I guess this is due to certain bacteria having difficulty growing. Anyway it was like fairy land, lush green…only thing missing was a leprechaun.

We reached the hut, which is more like a very large house. Inside there is food, water and some accommodations to sleep 60 or so. I believe you need to have reservations but if they have free space the will sell it. There are several huts like this to assist through hikers on the AT and to provide shelter in inclement weather.

We had a snack and left the hut and took the loop trail up to the summit of Mt Pierce. This loop was quite steep and in places actually had some stair steps to help. We made the Summit of Pierce and found there were these birds hanging out. They were the size of Blue Jays and people were hand feeding them. The view of Eisenhower from Pierce was fantastic even though Mt Washington was in the clouds most of the day and I was concerned we might loose our view from Eisenhower’s summit before we reached it.

The walk between Mt Pierce and Eisenhower was easy with great views in all directions. It is always interesting how distances look above tree line. We ran into a nice couple on the trail who offered us a ride down Clinton Road if they saw us later, we accepted had some chit chat and marched on.
We made the summit of Eisenhower and had lunch and took a rest. The hike up wasn’t bad but it was getting long. The extra mileage from the Mitzpah Loop was making itself known in my energy levels and we could see these huge thunderstorms way off in the distance heading our way. We had another snack, rested, and I took a bunch of pictures. We decided to move on since we probably still had at least an hour to get down to tree line to get any protection from the storm. As it turned out we were about right.

The view coming down from Eisenhower towards Mt Washington is fantastic. I would love to see this on even a crisper clearer day, it must be incredible.
Upon making the woods we dawned our rain gear for what wasn’t much a shower and hiked on down the path. We stopped for a snack and who came along but this Kent and his wife (the couple we met earlier offering a ride). We took them up on it and hiked out with them. Kent was very knowledgeable about hiking the Whites and shared many stories of trails he had taken and snowshoe trips he had done. With the extra mileage the ride would be very welcome. We made their van Kent pulled out a some beer and we all loosened our boots.

I looked up Kent’s contact info and sent him a note of thanks for the conversation and the ride. I am not sure what it was but things really came together for me today and Kent somehow was a big part of the glue or the catalyst for it to occur. Anyway I felt touched in a way i can’t describe by the whole day and it’s happenings and I am positive it was my fathers thoughts and prayers that made everything workout. I can’t wait to share my pictures with him when i get back.

This loop was an excellent hike, it is long, somewhere around 9.8 miles not counting the Clinton road which without a car drop will add a mile or so more to get you back around.

Here is a link to the Full Picture Gallery

Today we are off to Mt Webster and Mt Jackson via the Webster Loop Trail and Mt Jackson Trail. Accompanying me is my son Nick and my brother-in-law Rob Lambert. This is actually my second hiking trip and first excursion up a 4000 footer.

We started on up and not far along saw signs for Elephant Head, which is a rocky out cropping that from the road looks like an Elephant’s head and trunk. We didn’t go out on the forehead but marched on. We came to another sign that said Bugle Point so we thought we would check it out. This outlook offered a great view back to our parking area but not much of the valley.

We marched on and reached the junction to Mt Jackson and we went right toward Mt Webster. I had read that this might make for a better loop since the elevation gain up Webster would be easier than going the direct route up Jackson. The trail up to Webster had a couple stream crossings which in high water would likely be a challenge or even impossible. Overall the trail was steadily steep requiring you to pace yourself a bit.
On our day though were fine at the water crossings and we made the summit of Mt Webster in great time. All morning the wind had blown and the clouds hung low. We kept hoping things would clear for us as forecasted so we would have some views.
We reached the summit of Webster and the sky started to brighten and the clouds were breaking. The winds were gusting and quite strong. Where we were we had some protection but the wind pushed steadily. It was neat to be able to look down on Mt Willard which I hiked with Shane a couple weeks ago, it looked so low. The perspective of Mt Willey and valley was neat.

We hung out and took some photos and got off the summit to have some lunch. After lunch we hiked over to the summit of Mt Jackson. The hike from Mt Webster to Jackson doesn’t have much elevation change and travels through what is called an Alpine Bog. The vegetationwas interesting and we made great time up to Jackson. When coming up the summit of Jackson we felt some pretty strong winds. At the time we were on the sheltered side. Once we stepped onto the unprotected summit it was amazing to feel the full force of the wind. I haven’t felt that strong and consistent a blow in my life. My guess is the winds were sustaining 70mph or so. You could lean right into the wind and not fall forward. I set my camera down and it would just blow away.

As we left the summit the path coming off it was crazy steep. At first i though i was walking off a ledge but then i saw a person come up, then another so i knew it was ok. Initially though i was real concerned. We hiked on down the Jackson trail which was much steeper than the Webster loop. At the bottom we hung out a moment and headed for home…

A great day for hiking and a wonderful trip.. Links to the rest of my Photos

Well today my son Shane and I are heading for our first hike in the White Mountains. The objective is to do Mt Willard and if time permits hike to Areutha Falls. These hikes are both rated as easy and a about 2 -3 miles each. I have been up the Mt Willard trail 25 years ago on snowmobile with my parents and Carl Smith one of my best friends. I recall it afforded a wonderful view and felt like where my father was terminally sick it would be a great way to honor him as well as start a healthier chapter in my life.
We got on the trail early around 8:30 am and the walking was quite easy and the trail well marked and worn. I quickly found we needed to slow our pace if we were to remain steady walking without gassing out so we slowed back a bit. The trail guide said the hike was an hour and fifteen Shane and I hiked it in 45min. Shane said he wasn’t going to complain about hiking after we were passed by a couple that looked to be in there 80s near the summit

My Willard is only about 2900 feet high but the view were incredible and as wonderful as I remembered them to be. The ledge provides and unhampered view of the entire Crawford Notch. We had a bite to eat on the summit snapped some pictures and soaked in the view for about 45min before heading back down. It was a rather warm day for early may and the sky looked to be holding clear for us. Mt Washington still had a lot of snow on it and we did see a couple little patches in the woods on our hike up. We could hear a torrent of water coming down a mountain to our right which would have been Mt Field, but really couldn’t see anything other than a slight crack in the canopy a half mile away.

When we reached the car we were nearly out of water so we stopped at the stream near the Willey House lot and pumped some water from the river to replenish. We also relished in our achievement and took some pictures of where we had been. My new MSR pump worked great and in no time we were heading for Areutha Falls for part two of our hike.

We reached the parking lot for the Areutha Falls trail and headed in. This trail had several blow downs as we went that meant climbing over or crawling to navigate. Otherwise the trail is a very easy hike with a somewhat up and down grade.

We reached the falls and what a site. The Falls were pouring quite well, by the looks of things they could be much faster when there is high water. The photos below have Shane at the base so you can get a feel for the elevation, so look for him. We hung out snapped some photos and had another snack. There is a loop that would take a person to the top of the falls but we decided to leave that for another day, perhaps if we do the Frankenstein Cliff Trail we would work that in. The Aretha Falls are the tallest largest falls in the White Mountains and certainly worth the light effort and hour walk in to see them, particularly in the spring.

We headed back to the car which was weird, due to the up and down nature of the trail instead of the hike being mostly downhill all the way we somewhat had to hike back up to the car. We doubled back to the river to pump some more water for the ride home and headed on down the road.

I almost forgot, when Shane and I were heading to the Aretha Falls trail head we saw a small Moose beside the road. We pulled over and were about 12 feet from him. He didn’t seem to pay us no mind for quite a while then suddenly he took a step toward us, Shane yelled “Boot It Man”. I was so startled I nearly dumped the clutch, but the car lunged forward and we were out of there. I don’t know how i would have explained a Moose in the car to Rose.

We had a wonderful day hiking and it’s hooked me for good. The exercise, smells, views, chit chat all make for an amazing way to clear you’re head, rejuvenate you’re body and thoroughly enjoy nature. Here is a link to all the pictures from Mt Willard.