4000 Footers

I went on a challenging day hike on Saturday climbing Mount Adams and Jefferson, the second and third highest 4,000 footers (both above 5,000′) in the White Mountains. We knowingly hiked up into a heavy mist layer which had settled over the …

This past weekend, I co-led an Appalachian Mountain Club backpacking trip with my friend Stephen, completing a full traverse of the Kilkenny Ridge Trail, starting at South Pond and hiking south to the Starr King trail head in Jefferson, NH. We had …

My friends Claudine, Marlene and I co-led an Appalachian Mountain Club hike up Mount Moosilauke (4802′) on Saturday, the westernmost 400o footer in the White Mountain 48. Climbing this peak has a special significance for me because it’s the first 4,000 footer …

On Sunday, I co-led a mega-hike called a Presidential Traverse for the Appalachian Mountain Club. This is a very long one-day hike, on or close to the summer solstice for maximum daylight, that is started before dawn and usually ends after sunset. …

Have you ever had a perfect day in the mountains? I had one of those days yesterday, on an epic 23 mile day hike to Bondcliff (4265′), Mount Bond (4698′), and West Bond (4540′). The weather was so fine, with bright sunshine and …

As we were breaking camp, my friend Ian said “This would be a good day to take a Zero.” He got that right. The weather forecast was for 2-6 inches of rain in the next 36 hours with temperatures in the 40’s …

I popped up to New Hampshire for a quick hike last week, climbing two 4,000 footers, Mount Osceola and and bushwhacking to Middle Osceola. The first time I climbed on Mount Osceola, this was a few years back, I met a guy named …

It was fine day for a hike, blustery with 40 mile per hour winds, but plenty of sunshine. My destination was Zealand Mountain in the Pemigewasset Wilderness, approaching from the north along the Zealand Trail and The Twinway and returning via the …

I took my last official winter climb this past Saturday up Mt Hight and Carter Dome, two 4,000 footers in the Carter Range. Both of these peaks are located  just across Pinkham Notch from Mt Washington and we were treated to clear skis, …

I co-led a second AMC trip last weekend up Mount Cannon, another 4,000 footer in Franconia Notch. This was a Boston Chapter Winter Hiking Program Trip and we had a big turnout as usual, with about 18 hikers and 7 leaders attending. …

This was the big one: Franconia Ridge, including a pair of five thousand footers, Mount Lincoln and Mount Lafayette. All of the White Mountain hikes and training I’ve been doing this winter have been in preparation for this traverse, one of the …

My friends Alex, Jessica, and I climbed North and South Hancock on Sunday, two 4,000 footers on the southern border of the Pemigewasset Wilderness that are often hiked together. The two peaks are linked by an adjoining ridge, so it’s possible to …

I co-led an instructional trip on winter hiking over the weekend up Mount Waumbek, a White Mountain 4,000 footer, in New Hampshire’s north country. All the trip participants had gone through the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Winter Hiking Program that I helped teach …

I bagged another two winter 4,000 footers over the weekend on a 10 mile hike over the Carter Range in the eastern White Mountains in New Hampshire, with a respectable 3600 feet of elevation gain. This hike was a homecoming of sorts: …