Try as I might, I can’t put my finger on the one reason I enjoy winter hiking and mountaineering so much. While the views from the high peaks can be exhilarating, there’s also the satisfaction of intense physical exertion, using the technical …
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Owl’s Head Mountain in December
The two most difficult winter 4,000 footer hikes in the White Mountains are Owl’s Head Mountain and the Bonds, consisting of Bondcliff, Mount Bond and West Bond Mountain. The difficulty in reaching these peaks stems from their remoteness. All of them are …
Read More »Trees of the Kilkenny Ridge
I often tell people that the White Mountains are a rain forest to explain the sheer density of trees and vegetation that you find in the forests here. That is certainly the case along the Kilkenny Ridge Trail where the trees are …
Read More »Southwest Twin Mountain Bushwhack Attempt
My friend Barbara said, “the reason bushwhacking is so challenging, is that there’s no guarantee that you’ll reach the peak. We’re so used to getting anything we want in this world that there are few things like that anymore.” She was right, …
Read More »Climbing Slide Peak
Winter has arrived in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and most of the high peaks are now snow-capped as far west as Franconia Ridge, all the way east to the Presidential, Carter and Wildcat Ranges. I spent this weekend, hiking and …
Read More »The Tripyramids in Autumn
The Tripyramids are three peaks in the Sandwich Range of the White Mountains, North (4180′), Middle (4140′), and South (4090′), which are all over 4,000 in feet. Most people only bag North and Middle which are on the White Mountain 48 list, …
Read More »Climbing Mount Moosilauke and Mount Blue
Mount Moosilauke (4802) is one of the great peaks of the White Mountains with a substantial amount of picturesque above-treeline hiking. I’ve hiked it a few times this year with the intent of hiking up the different trails to the summit and …
Read More »Backpacking Kinsman and The Cannon Balls
My friend Yorghos and I co-led an Appalachian Mountain Club backpacking trip up to Kinsman ridge last weekend just before the landfall of Hurricane Sandy. For this trip, we climbed Cannon Mountain, The Cannon Balls, and North and South Kinsman before getting …
Read More »Short Hikes in the Whites: Mt Crawford, Mt Martha and Owlshead
My girlfriend and I went on a short vacation last week up to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. We timed this trip during the week and after peak leaf-peeping season in order to get reduced lodging at some nice places in …
Read More »Bushwhacking Northwest Hancock Mountain
Last weekend, I co-led a bushwhack to Northwest Hancock (4020) with a small group of experienced hikers from the Appalachian Mountain Club. This was my second attempt to summit this rarely climbed peak, the first of which was ended prematurely by cold-induced …
Read More »Bald Cap Bushwhack via the Peabody Brook Trail
Last weekend I bushwhacked to Bald Cap, a 3,000 footer located to the north of the Mahoosuc Trail (Appalachian Trail) in New Hampshire’s North Country. I co-led this trip as part of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Map and Compass Navigation Workshop. We …
Read More »Hiking Wildcat Mountain in Autumn
Autumn has arrived in the White Mountains and with it a flurry of hiking before the need to gear up for snow, ice, and winter hiking. Bagging the higher or more remote peaks becomes far more difficult in the winter months due …
Read More »Adams and Jefferson in High Wind and Freezing Rain
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 …
Read More »The Kilkenny Ridge Traverse in Northern New Hampshire
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 …
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