Days 7-13 (goto Part 1) Although our stay in Aviemore was brief – just the one night – it was good to get a hot shower, dry out my gear, and refuel at the Indian Restaurant next to the Youth Hostel. Aviemore …
Read More »Trip Reports
TGO Challenge 2013 Trip Report – Part 1
I got back from the UK a few days ago after a 3 week hiking trip which included backpacking across Scotland with my friend Martin Rye in the 2013 TGO Challenge and a trip to the Lake District to visit Heather and Alan …
Read More »Torridon Hills: Liathach and Mullach an Rathan
Liathach is probably the most famous of the Torridon Hills, a cluster of mountains located in a remote section of the Western Highlands on the Atlantic Coast side of Scotland. Meaning The Grey One in Scottish Gaelic, Liathach dwarfs the tiny hamlet of Torridon, …
Read More »Osceola Ridge Traverse Attempt
I co-led an Osceola Ridge Traverse attempt on an Appalachian Mountain Club hike on Saturday with my friends Michael and Alex. Our goal was to traverse the West (4114′), Middle (4200′), Main (4315′) , and East Osceola (4156′) peaks from west to …
Read More »Scotland’s TGO Challenge Gear List – 2013
I am flying to Scotland in less than two weeks to participate in the TGO Challenge, backpacking across the country for 15 days. I’ll be accompanied on this hike by two teammates, Martin Rye from Northern England and Grant Sible from Austin, …
Read More »Six Feet Deep on the Appalachian Trail – Hiking Middle and South Carter in April
JoeC and I led a Carter Loop hike for the Appalachian Mountain Club hike on Sunday, climbing up to the Appalachian Trail/Carter-Moriah Trail via the Imp and North Carter Trails. From there, we headed south bagging Middle Carter (4610′) and South Carter …
Read More »Mud and Blood on Mount Jefferson
Many New England hikers consider Mount Jefferson (5712′) to be the toughest peak to climb in the White Mountains. Most of the routes to the summit require miles and miles of above-treeline exposure on a rocky ridge that is constantly blasted by …
Read More »Gear that Worked and Gear that Didn’t in the Presidential Range
Most of the gear I took on my Presidential Range winter backpacking trip last week performed splendidly with a few exceptions. Here’s a quick blow-by-blow account of the highs and lows, and a link to the the gear list I brought on …
Read More »Winter’s End: Isolation, Cabot, and Moriah
One of the sure signs of spring in the White Mountains is when the snow bridges over the streams collapse and stream crossings become ‘much’ more exciting. But winter will linger on for another month or two in New Hampshire’s mountains despite …
Read More »Blue Bird Weekend in the Presidential Range
We made it to the Applachia trail head at the base of Mount Madison about 6 hours behind schedule on Friday night due to bad winter driving conditions on the road from Boston. Still, we decided we wanted to camp on the …
Read More »A Winter Presidential Traverse Attempt
This weekend I’m going to attempt a Winter Presidential Traverse, one of the big winter routes we have up here in the White Mountains. This route – 19 miles with over 10,000 feet of elevation gain – is typically hiked end-to-end in …
Read More »Breaking Triail to Mount Carrigan
Climbing Mount Carrigan (4700′) in winter is an ambitious quest requiring 14 miles of hiking or snowshoeing and 3900 feet of elevation gain. Route finding and bushwhacking skills are also useful, as the trail reroutes resulting from Hurricane Irene washouts are poorly …
Read More »Mount Osceola and East Osceola in February
Mount Osceola (4340′) and its subordinate peak East Osceola (4156′) are always a challenging climb in winter. Scarred by avalanche slides and ice encrusted cliffs, it is hard to comprehend how rugged these mountains are until you need to carry full winter …
Read More »Mount Monroe and Mount Washington in February
I have always admired the long sweeping ridge between Mount Washington (6288′) and Mount Monroe (5372′) and wondered what it would be like to hike it in winter. While I have hiked the route a half dozen times during the warmer months …
Read More »