On our third and final day of our hiking trip to Maine we decided on leaving a short hike for last: Saddle back and The Horn. On Monday August 28th the sun finally shone and we finally had some dry conditions to hike in. We drove from the Cathedral Pines Campground to the base lodge of Saddleback Mountain Ski hill and walked up the obvious gravel road. There are a couple of hiking specific trails up the ski hill in the summer but they aren't well marked. There was lots of action was going on on the ski hill preparing for this winter's ski season. The sound of ski run vegetation being cut back was the dominant noise with whipper snippers and chainsaws in action. There was also a construction project for a mid-mountain hut being built and we also saw a micro-hydro dam project that was used to generate power for the hill's snowmaking. Somebody is definitely investing in this hill!

A winding 1500ft climb ended at the chairlift at the top. I looked over to my left and was startled to see a large bull moose walking under a chair! I shouted to my husband "Moose LEFT!" and I quickly pulled out my camera to take a shot. Normally I see moose in lowland swamps and never have I ever seen one this high before. Once we made some noise, I was sure it was going to do what moose normally do which was to run for cover. Instead, this bull continued straight on his path....right towards us! It was evident he wasn't intimidated! Glenn and I decided to scurry a few steps up the hiking trail that leads to the actual mountain summit and wait for him to pass. Sure enough, the bull walked by looked at us and kept going. He was only 30meters away! We were pretty excited about this animal encounter that we had not expected in the least!! 

The hiking trail leaves the ski hill just to the right of the chair and leads up to join with the Appalachian trail. You need to turn left here and continue over a few knolls to the Saddleback mountain summit. Here we met a few AT hikers having a break and drying out in the sun. We took some summit shots and told our moose story and headed back along the trail towards The Horn. 

The descent path down to the col in this section has got a few scramble-y moves that reminded me of Adirondack slab hiking. The rock here in parts was wet which made some moves even more tricky. The ridge here is exposed and so is the col and ascent on the other side. The col is mostly on exposed rock. The ascent up to the Horn is bit friendlier requiring less grunt work. The summit of the Horn is amazing. Both summits offer 360 degree views but the Horn's is my favourite. I definitely could have stayed there longer. We ate our lunch there and drank in the views. We chatted again with some of the AT hikers we met on Saddleback and one new one. I pointed out where they were headed as you could see the cell towers on Sugarloaf in the distance and could also see Spaulding and the Crockers. I have always been curious about thru-hiking and asked a few questions but could have asked many more. We had lingered enough in the sun and then parted ways and returned back to the Saddleback summit passing many other groups.

We dropped down to the ski hill and took the road down again and ended our hike reflecting on how great the hiking is in Maine. It's a shame I only have one more summit in Maine left (Old Speck). Up to 88/115 peaks!

​Stats:
Distance: 13km
Elevation: 2975 feet
Time: 4 hours, 20 minutes

.The first part of the adventure is on this day was the drive in to the trailhead. Caribou Pond Road is let's say, not the most car friendly road. After a wet summer of 2023, there were numerous ruts and wash outs to negotiate the best line through. Luckily a slow drive and 6km later, we found the gate and the parking lot and were on our way.

We started our walk in past the gate on the logging road and started up the AT to South Crocker. A short 2.1 mile ascent starts gradually to the campsite area, then steepens up and then relaxes a bit again before the summit. The ground and rocks on this day were pretty saturated still from the rain 2 days ago and the the sky was still quite cloudy and the air was humid. Sweat dripped off us pretty fast on this day and so we took of our hats and kept our brisk pace going. We passed a slower group of 3. 

We reached the summit of South Crocker but turned right immediately and headed to North Crocker. A couple of fast AT hikers passed us (2 young guys) who seemed to be having a great time. A sizeable descent insued on some looser rock and then up again to the treed summit of North Crocker. We sat down here for small lunch break and summit photos.

Back down the trail we just came up and back up to South Crocker, we went over to the viewpoint and summit area to see a glimpse of the ridge we were on yesterday in the distance. Clouds were starting to part and the sun was beginning to shine. Here we took a couple of photos and then pulled out the map and compass to get ready for our unmarked trail hike over to the third 4000 footer of the day, Mt Redington. We found the flagged herd path off the summit of South Crocker and headed down. In other trip reports, this trail was described as bushy and hard to follow. On our day, it was pretty nice most of the time with some really minor overgrown conifer areas. The flagged trail was pretty well defined and there were only a few logs to climb over and under. I found it better than most ADK herdpaths. We hit a logging road part way and turned left, then right at the cairn. We took a lovely ascent trail up to the Redington summit where we met 3 others on their descent down. We found  the summit and the small wooden sign on a treed summit with a small view. The sun had come out and with a large area with nicely placed logs, we took some time to eat another snack and drink some water. Now about 10km in, we had to decided if we wanted to re-trace our steps back to South Crocker and take a shorter way out or take a longer alternative route on logging roads out. We chose the latter. 

On the descent from Redingtion there is a junciton part way down before returning to the logging road and cairn from the ascent. We turned right here, and took a lovely knee friendly dirt trail ramp through thick forest. It linked us up with a logging road and we followed the flags out to Caribou Pond and back along the river back to the car.

Stats:
Distance: 18.64km
Elevation: 3300ft
Time: 6 hours 22 minutes

ttAfter a 7 hour drive down to Maine from Ontario, we settled into a tent site at the Cathedral Grove campground near Eustis. The forecast for the evening was no ideal as the remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary that hit California earlier in the week were moving their way across the continent. The overnight downpour was very heavy and combined with the oversaturated ground from a generally wet summer,  the mud and puddle abundance was at an extreme level.

At 7:30AM on Saturday August 26th, we met Greg from All Points Transportation at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain to shuttle us over to the Rapid Stream Trailhead near Mount Abraham. The shuttle ride cost us $90 USD, but it was worth it to save the extra mileage of doing an out-and-back hike as well as wear and tear on our car on the Rapid Stream 'road'. 

We began the hike at 8:15AM up the Fire Warden's trail that was a nice gradual hike up for the most part. We cross about a half dozen streams that were all flowing at max spring-like flow after the rain the night before. All were easily passed. After the last stream, the incline started to rise and sweat started to roll off our skin at the near 100% humidity in the forest. Finally we popped out onto a boulder field and got glimpses of our first views of the day. Thinking we were nearing the top, we continued up the exposed rock and even back into trees and out again before actually reaching the summit. Low lying clouds were still  lingering and our summit views were partially obscured. The summit of Mount Abraham has pieces of an old fire tower lying around as well as a large summit cairn and sign. It took us 2.5 hours to reach the summit and 3000 feet of ascent. The forecast was calling for a potential thunderstorm in the afternoon and so instead of taking our usual summit break, we scurried off the unprotected summit down into the trees and took our first break en route to the Appalachian trail. Sections of the trail through here were gorgeous - green moss, nice soft dirt trail, easy going. There are a few rock piles to get through as well so as with most New England trails, it isn't ever totally easy.

We reached the Appalachian trail and met up with a few thru-hikers, backpackers and day hikers  - our first people sightings of the day. We headed towards the Spaulding lean-to where the trail became more saturated and puddle like in the col. The trail up to the Spaulding summit was wet and when we took the short 150yd spur trail to the summit we were back in a cloud and had no views (there might not be any from this treed summit anyway). The summit sign on this mountain says 3988ft, and I am assuming needs to be updated as it's included on the 4000 footer lists.

We re-traced our steps off Spaulding and regained the AT on a ridge towards Sugarloaf. This section was longer than what the map had said in terms of distance by 600m. We turned right and climbed about 600ft to the summit of Sugarloaf, where we met up with a few groups enjoyed a break and looking at views of the ridge. We took some photos from the summit cairn and tried not to get the many buildings, cellphone towers, Helipad, or chairlifts in the shots. Luckily the thunderstorm forecast did not arrive and we were getting a brief period of sun and a view of the entire ridge we had just hiked. Seconds later we were engulfed in a cloud and rain started to come down on us. We quickly threw on our Goretex shells and wolfed down our last bite of zucchini bread and headed down the Tote Road trail to the base. This gravel road is loose and steep initially and only when it started to ease did I look at my watch to figure out that I must have stopped the GPS tracking of the hike at the summit when I rushed to put on my rain jacket. I re-started it but lost 1km of tracking. Luckily Glenn had his full track on his watch so we have some accurate stats. The total descent down the ski hill was a steep 2100 foot leg burner! Glad to have these three in the bag!

Stats:
Distance: 21km
Elevation: 4985ft
Time: 8:07 hours

A full Pemigewasset loop backpacking attempt has been in my mind for many years. As a peak bagger looking to check off 4000ft mountains, it gave me the opportunity to bag 10-12 more summits as well as a challenging backpacking route that I could test my legs and lighter weight backpacking gear on. A summer plan came together at the beginning of August 2023, and off we went over the border and down. The attempt was ultimately UNsuccessful so read on to find out why!

After a 7 hour drive plus a 1 hour border crossing delay down to the Lincoln, New Hampshire area, we found ourselves scoring the last campsite at the Hancock campground. This first come first served campground is right across from the Lincoln Woods trailhead and the trailhead we would be using to start the loop. The forecast was cooler than average for August with daytime temperatures being in the single digits celsius with partly cloudy for two days and a chance of rain for the third. 

Wednesday August 2nd, 2023

After paying our $5/day parking fee via credit card at the machine at the Lincoln Woods parking area, we headed off to start our counterclockwise loop at 7:45AM. The first 8km of trail is very easy and flat with only some old railroad ties left to lift your legs over. We walked swiftly averaging a 5km/hour pace and then finally started up a nice gradual ascent along side the Black Brook.  I left the trailhead with 23lbs on my back including water and food and Glenn at 29lbs. I had invested in lighter weight backpacking gear in recent years, and it was making a significant difference in the speed I can hike with a full pack. At the 12.5km mark, the trail rose more steeply with some rock steps to huff and puff up.

Before we knew it we scrambled up a small rock cliff and soon after recognized the alpine scrub vegetation associated with most New England summits. The summit of Bondcliff at 4625 feet is absolutely stunning - a large open rock covered area with 360 degree views of the entire Pemi Range and beyond. We decided to have lunch here. As we sat at the amazing scenery, I noticed 2 small white airplanes in the distance that didn't sound like a Cessna so I was wondering what type of aircraft it might be. Turned out we were in for a treat! Three military aircraft like the Blue Angels or Canada's Snowbirds were out on a training flight. They flew right between us on the summit of Bondcliff and the adjacent summit Mount Bond in the col and entertained us with some cool acrobatic maneuvers flying sideways and buzzing all around us!

After a quick photo shoot on Bondcliff's rock feature we continued down into the wide open col and up to Mt Bond. So far this direction of travel has worked out really well as the ascents are all fairly gradual. That said, my hiking legs were already in good shape after a backpacking and hiking trip to Iceland in July of 2023. Mt Bond's summit was very small and crowded so we only stayed long enough to find the summit marker and take a photo. The next objective of the day was to get a camp spot at the the Guyot (pronounced Ghee-oh) campsite. We arrived at 2:15PM and early enough to score a tent platform all to ourselves.  We set up the hiking pole tent (Durston Xmid 2) with some McGyvering and emptied most of our pack and downed some filtered water and snack food. The work wasn't done for the day though...we still had the summit of nearby West Bond Mtn to do. 

We took a low key stroll up the ascent from the campsite and up another hill to the junction off the main ridge trail. West Bond has a small rocky summit and is only 0.5miles off the main ridge trail. Now late afternoon, most of the traffic we had seen on it's peak all day had disappeared and we enjoyed the summit all to ourselves for about 10 minutes before a few more fellow campers came out to check it out.

Back to the campsite, we returned to find most of the 10 tent platforms and sleeping shelter full and before long they were completely full on a Wednesday night! After some socialization and dinner at the bear caches, the temperature dropped we migrated to our warm sleeping bag cocoons. The damp conditions made it feel like 3 degrees celsius!

Day 1 totals:
Distance: 23km
Elevation gain: 4685ft
Hiking time: 6 hours
Overall with rest breaks: 7.5 hours

​Thursday August 3rd, 2023

After checking the forecast the night before on my Garmin inReach, we noticed that the forecast had changed since we last checked Tuesday morning. Now calling for the chance of rain and thunderstorms on Thursday after 3PM and continuing all day Friday, we realized we may need to change our goals for the trip. The third day of our trip was supposed to be on the Franconia Ridge section of the loop which is the highest and most exposed section - a place that I don't want to be in a  thunderstorm. We decided to change our plan and try to pack in as many summits as possible before the weather tanked. We decided to get up at 5AM and were on the trail by 6:20AM.

We continued on the Pemi Ridge trail counterclockwise over Mt Guyot and decided to take a spur trail out to Zealand Mountain. The trail out to Zealand drops over 600 feet before rising again towards the summit. The rocky trail descent required some brain concentration which was a challenge for before 7AM in the morning after instant coffee! When we arrived at Zealand's treed summit at 7:40, we found a tent set up and someone still inside sleeping. Without speaking we took a couple selfies and a swig of water and headed back the way we came to the main ridge trail, taking us 2 hours to complete this side mission. Here we met a woman we had crossed paths with before doing a photo shoot with her dog, who had just completed all 48 of New Hampshire's 4000ft mountain summits.

The next hour or so was a fairly flat traverse over to the monster summit of South Twin with another ascent up to it's summit. Now on the Appalachian trail, we saw some thru-hikers on the trail headed the opposite direction as well as some hikers that had slept in the Galehead hut the night before. We got to the open rocky summit at 4902ft and we were not alone. The summit was rather crowded this morning so we took a selfie at the sign and immediately left for our second spur trail of the day to North Twin Mountain. The first half of the path over to the North Twin was much easier than the one over to Zealand earlier in the day. I called it 'mud and scrub' or full of mud puddles and scrubby alpine trees that brushed our arms as we walked by. We zoomed through this initial section and down into the col but then the paced slowed climbing up some rock scrambles and through a forested trail. I wondered if the summit was ever going to appear. Finally at the junction sign we took the very short worthwhile outlook side trail to confirm the summit only 40 minutes after we had left South Twin. From this lookout, we could see the Galehead hut and feel the wind picking up and see the clouds moving in. I doctored Glenn's second heel as he was feeling another hot spot emerge and wanted to stay ahead of it before a huge blister formed. I had taped the other one the day before. It was only 10:40 AM, but we were over 4700 feet of elevation and needed to start thinking about what our plan for the afternoon would be. 

Back over to South Twin, the summit was almost empty so we decided to sit down to re-fuel and catch our breath. The views from this summit were spectacular and we took them in for as long as we could. The wind was definitely strong and if we weren't hot from the 12.7km of hiking we had already done at that point we would have been putting on a layer. We continued on the loop down a steep rocky boulder 1000 foot descent down to the Galehead hut. We could feel our legs jittering after all the braking we had to do on the descent. At the Galehead hut our suspicions were confirmed: the weather was indeed tanking and in a matter of a couple of hours, it would be raining and possibly thunderstorming. The 'chance of rain' forecast I had read days ago had turned into a 'Flood watch' and 90% chance of thunderstorms both for Thursday afternoon and Friday. We had a few Plan B's in mind: either to camp at the Garfield camp and hike out the next day, hike down into the Thirteen falls campground and complete a version of the loop in the valley, or three, hike out the Gale River and hopefully catch a shuttle or ride back to our car. We decided on the Gale River option.

Before we hiked out, we took the 0.5mile trail up to the unspectacular Galehead Mtn summit. This short trail was one of the shortest and quickest hikes I have done to a 4000ft mountain. With no views, we spent about 10 seconds at the rocky summit cairn! Back down to the hut, we treated ourselves to a piece of berry crumble cake for $2 a slice and then headed back to the ridge trail. We saw a few groups and families coming to the hut for the night. Turning off the ridge trail I was sad to let go of my goal of doing the entire loop and knocking off 10-12 summits, but it was the safest decision and one I know I won't regret when I finally am up on Franconia Ridge on day that is sunny. The Gale River trail starts out steep and rocky descending quickly but then mellows out to a soft dirt trail which was a welcome change for our knees and feet that had been pounding on rocks all day. 

We arrived at the parking lot at 4PM and knew we had missed the last shuttle at 2:20PM.  We found a couple in a car that knew of some potential shuttle drivers. As I was getting phone numbers, Glenn was talking to a couple of university aged girls that had finished the trail and one was willing to drive us around to the other side of the loop! We were elated we found a drive within 5 minutes of arriving at the trailhead! We enjoyed a outdoorsy convo on the road and paid her for her time and promised to pay it forward. As it turned out it did rain and thunderstorm all evening and overnight and into Friday morning and we were comforted that we made the right decision. It won't be hard to return to this beautiful part of the world to finish the Pemi range at some point in the future.

Day 2 Total:
Distance: 23.3km (watch battery died exactly 1km before parking)
Elevation Gain: 3323
Time: 9:34hrs including rest time

Combined total: 45km, 8008 ft elevation gain, 17 hours of hiking.
Now up to 80/115 NE list and 28/48 NH summits

The Laugavegur trail is a 55km backpacking trail in Iceland that can be hiked hut-to-hut or by camping. Rated one of the top 20 trails in the world by National Geographic, it blew me away with it's constant 360 degree views and ever changing scenery and far exceeded my expectations. A must do! You can also choose to extend this trail 24km to Skogar if you want as well.

Day 1: Landmannlauger to Hrafntinnusker (July 13th, 2023)

The day began at the Reykjavik campsite at the bus stop hoping to get on the 7:30AM Trex bus to Landmannlauger. This was a day later after we intended to head out due to some bad travel karma flying to Iceland from Canada.  I had a 24 hour plane delay and a 36 hour baggage delay. The Trex bus pulled up and this was not any old coach bus; it was an off-road version, capable of driving on rough terrain and fording rivers. We hopped on and took the 4 hour journey to Landmannlauger. The last hour of this journey was on a bumpy gravel road that you could understand why they needed these off-road vehicles for. Even then, we arrived at Landmannlauger with the bumper hanging off!

Here we met up with our travel companions whose travel karma was much better than ours. After a brief walk around the hut and hot spring area and a quick bite to eat, we took off around 12:30PM. The trails were initially quite busy with many day hikers exploring the trails in the vicinity of Landmannaluger. It wasn't too long before we were on the Laugavegur trail proper with much less people. Already the scenery was stunning and we were stopping often to take photos. We climbed for much of the first hour or so, and then the trail flattened out. The trail was fairly wide in most places and was mainly a dirt gravel path like you would see in the alpine zone in most mountain ranges.

The distance to our first campsite was 11km and was composed of mainly rolling rhyolite hills with snow patches and  small lava fields. Some hiker choose to blow through this hike with long distances per day (doable) but we chose to soak in all the non-stop 360 degree views and spend time taking photos and enjoying our time. It took us 3 hours to get to Hrafntinnusker even though the average time is 4-5 hours. At 63 degrees latitude in July, there is no time pressure to get from hut to hut as it never gets dark!

We arrived at the Hrafntinnusker hut area and paid our camping fees by VISA in the Information hut. Note: I never used cash once my entire trip in Iceland. They take VISA everywhere! We set up our tents inside a rock ring to give us protection from the wind and then headed up to the camper shelter (under construction in 2023) to get out of the cold wind and eat our meals. Also note: every hut sells canned Pilsner beer (2.5%), and some snacks like Pringles or chocolate bars for sale. 

Daytime temperatures were around +10C and lows around +4C. This doesn't factor in the windchill which always seems to be present in these open areas and at this altitude of 3285ft. The windchill for the night I spent at Hrafntinnusker was -1C. July is part of the dry season, and  we only had a bit of rain overnight the first night. I am pleased to report my lightweight trekking pole tent (Durston Xmid 1P) withstood the violent gusts of wind throughout the night. Check out my video below!

Navigation was simple on the trail with trailmarkers and stakes in the ground within sight of the last one. I could see why they would be very handy during periods of poor visibility. I think I may have took my map out once to check out a side trail and didn't even bring a GPS or compass. I did have a the maps.me app with the trail section downloaded to my phone.

Today we saw one of the the two species of wildlife we saw on the trip: a Golden Plover. This ground nesting bird squawked at us as we passed it's territory. It was suprising to see a living thing other than humans around. Iceland has some birds but no terrestrial wildlife. There is also little to no insects in Iceland. A few midges were all we saw!

After two cancelled trips this winter I was finally able to get down to the Adirondacks to pay a visit to my old friends the High Peaks. My husband Glenn hadn't been down to the Lake Placid area since pre-Covid, so he was extra excited to cross the border again and be back in our old playground. Looking at my winter peak-bagging 'to-do' list, I had Whiteface and Esther Mountains still to complete. The winter season seems to allow a variety of creative ways to bag summits and Whiteface and Esther seems to present multitude of pathways and methods to get there. As it turned out our plan A didn't end up working out and we resorted to a new one altogether!

Our plan was to ski up the Toll Road as far as possible and bag Whiteface, and then ski back down the road to the hairpin turn where we would transition to snowshoes and hike downhill on the hiking trail to tag the summit of Esther and then ascend a short distance back up where we would transition back to skis and ski down the road back to the car. We left the toll road gate just after 8 AM on Monday March 13th in mild conditions. Luckily due to a healthy snow season, the toll road had full coverage from bottom to top. We skied up in backcountry nordic gear and fell into a steady rhythm and kept a comfortable aerobic pace so the conversation rolled as we ascended. Every thousand feet or so of elevation gain, we stopped to add more warmer layers: First a toque, then warmer mitts, then a shell jacket. The balmy spring like temperatures at lower elevation quickly disintegrated into full on winter conditions including snow fall, wind gusts, and in a cloud of grey! We were the only ones on the toll road that day and seemed to have the place to ourselves!

We reached the castle in 2.5 hours (2400' gain) where we took off our skis and threw on a pair of microspikes and headed up the last 200' of stairs and railings to the summit sign. The summit did not offer any stunning views on this day so we didn't linger. The summit at 4867 feet is exposed - and between the wind, cold, snow and clouds we took a few photos and scurried back down to our skis. We pulled off the microspikes and stepped into our skis and skied downhill through some wind scoured powder on the road and then picked up speed on a section of hard snow crust combined with some blinding upswelling wind gusts to the top of the first hairpin turn where the hiking trail and road meet. There is a small wooden post with a red trail marker here that indicates the merging of the road and hiking trail. Here Glenn mentioned to me that he had developed a blister on the back of his heel on the ascent. His ill fitting backcountry nordic boots had worn through the heel pocket and also worn the skin right off his heel. Even though I had blister bandages with me, I suggested that instead of snowshoe hiking down to bag summit #2, he just ski down the toll road back to the car in order to not make matters worse. We have been down this blister road before...

​So we agreed that I would transition into snowshoes and hike down to the second summit of Esther while he would ski back to the car and meet me at the bottom of the hiking trail. I quickly threw on my winter hiking boots and snowshoes, packed up my ski boots into my pack, and grabbed some hot chocolate and snacks. My body temp was dropping and I needed to get out of the wind and get moving so off I went. I would have liked to have stayed to have gotten a photo of Glenn's descent set-up as he had a backpack on carrying not only his snowshoes but also my nordic skis A-framed on his pack! Alas, I was on a mission so I descended down the hiking trail at a feverish pace still with my battery operated mitts on and hood cinched in. 10 minutes into my hike I found myself looking at the top of a chairlift from the Whiteface Ski Resort which was barely noticeable in the cloudy conditions but could hear the strange hum of electricity not normally found in the woods! I crossed two ski runs and then kept my brisk pace on broken trail looking for the cairn and turn to Esther. I passed 3 young guys on rental snowshoes blaring their bluetooth speaker on their way up and a moment after I then took a sharp left at the herd path cairn. I took a moment to de-layer here as I was now 30 minutes into my hike and started to warm up. I wondered how Glenn was doing and if he was down to the car yet. I ascended over Lookout Mountain (there was no lookout views today) and kept up a brisk paced along the brushy herd path. I remembered how much I like solo hiking and being able to walk at your own pace. I ducked under a few fallen trees and felt a couple snow showers fall down the back of my neck. Along the way I encountered several trees with rime on them and spruce trees with icicles hanging down off them. I had forgotten to get the GPS from Glenn so I wasn't 100% sure I had reached the summit of Esther when the herd path ended but my Garmin watch was reading the right elevation at the time so I knew this had to be it. The summit marker for Esther is a plaque in a rock that was snow under several feet of snow that I couldn't see to confirm. I took a photo of me (with very red cheeks!)  in the spot the plaque should be and checked my watch again. It took me 30 minutes to walk out to Esther from the marked trail and it had been 1 hour to get to Esther's summit from the toll road. I think my original plan would have worked well re-tracing my steps for the hour or so back and then skiing down the road. My estimate of 6-6.5hours would have been a pretty efficient plan!

Back on the summit of Esther, I had told Glenn I would send him an inReach message to him so he would know where I was at and how long it would take me. As Canadians in the US, we both don't have a US cell plan or opt for cellphone roaming charges but now that both of us have our own Garmin inReach communication devices, we can text back and forth and communicate via satellite. At my current pace, he was to pick me up at 2:30PM at the hiking trailhead. As I waited the minute for the inReach message to send, I chugged back another cup of hot chocolate and had another quick bite of food. Out of the wind, in the trees, and 600 feet lower than Whiteface, Esther's summit was a nice warm hug on a winter day. I re-traced my steps quickly on the beat down trail back to the marked trail. Snowshoes were definitely still needed even though the trail was broken. Winter hadn't given up it's fight yet! I started to descend down the marked trail through a few steeper areas keeping up a fast pace. At 3500', I got my first glimpse of the valley as I exited the cloud but the snowflakes kept pounded my face like they had for most of the day. I heard a beeping noise from my inReach - it was Glenn responding. He was back at the hotel and was coming to pick me up for 2:30pm. Technology works great sometimes! At the first junction at 2750', it was evident in winter that all of the traffic turns left towards the ARSC and Marble Mountain Road. The marked trail hadn't been used much at all and it didn't look like hiking traffic uses the marked trail to the reservoir parking at the bottom. The last time I had been to Whiteface and Esther in July of 2010, I we started at the bottom so that is where I told Glenn to pick me up. Not wanting to break a new trail for 3km, I turned left and descended a neverending  well trod ramp down Marble Mountain. At the bottom were some green buildings and later found out there is a parking lot that hikers can use. I could have ended my hike here!

Instead I had to turn right on to a well-used snowmobile path backed to the marked trail and to the lower parking lot. The marked trail here did not look like it had been used by hikers much at all as there were many signs of bareboots, dog prints, and dog poop. Note to self: park at the Marble Mtn Road trailhead next time! I was slightly late for my pick up time due to the steep leg braking I had to repeatedly do on a 3000' decent. When I arrived at the parking lot Glenn and the care were there waiting for me. Glenn's descent on the toll road had been a mixed bag of hard and fast snow to some softer powder sections. He and his blistered heel did not regret his decision to ski down and I was able to get 2 more summits into my Winter 46 bag!

Unfortunately the weather deteriorated as a classic Nor'Easter parked itself over the High Peaks that same evening and shut the door on any more summits this trip. Next time!

Hike/Ski totals:
Distance: 20.82km
Time: 6hrs 39mins
Ascent: 1057m or 3467ft

On Saturday November 19th 2022, my hiking partner Deb and I decided our objective would be the Hancock mountains off Hwy 112. We were initially considering a different objective but the ice and snow conditions made us change our minds. The Hancocks would fit the bill for today.

We ate our continental breakfast at 7AM and drove through Lincoln to the Kancamagus Highway to the hairpin turn where the parking lot for the Hancocks are. The weather for today was supposed to be sunny and clear; much different than yesterday's clouds. I started my watch at 7:49AM.

We crossed the highway and put on our microspikes right away. We hiked in a seemingly flat snow covered well trod and broken path for the first hour or so until the grade rose every so slightly. Traffic on the trails today was noticeably busier than yesterday and we seemed to bump into people every half hour or so. 

We hit the beginning of the Hancock loop in just about an hour and a half after starting our hike. We met a couple coming down already with their energetic dog. Deciding to go towards Mount Hancock or the north and highest summit first we initially downclimbed before hitting a steep 1000ft steep climb straight up that made us feel like our hearts were pounding out of our chests. The hiker in front of me was not wearing microspikes and made a bit of mess of the trail. Instead of nice snow steps. there were snow smears making me have to re-step out the staircase up. We hit the summit about 2.5 hours in. Initially when you finish the ascent you hit the junction with the ridge trail. If you turn left, less than a minute of walking will take you to a nice lookout. The Gray Jays showed up here instantly and Deb got a great photo of one flying by me on the summit (see above). 

We didn't take a break here as we were pretty warm from the ascent and wanted to keep walking along the ridge to dry out our thermo-regulating garments (OR Refuge Air Jacket) and get back to being warm and dry. The ridge trail was covered with loads of rime ice and snow and on this sunny clear day was quite stunning. 

We climbed up over the Middle Hancock bump and passed a few people going the opposite direction. We got to the South Hancock summit where a few other people were lingering at the sunny lookout point. Standing in the direct sun was instantly warming and so we went over to the lookout to join in and have some tea and a bite to eat. Two young guys were there and we exchanged hiking stories and tried to identify peaks in the distance. The Gray Jays were also hovering here and one time when I pointed to one of the peaks with a pepperette in my hand it swooped down and tried to steal the food! It was unsuccessful but it sure made us eager to pack up and move on. We descended down the South Hancock trail (which is steep in places but not as steep as the ascent we came up) and joined back onto the trail we came in on. 

We kept seeing many parties coming in after us including solo and small groups. One small group of youngsters had only running shoes and city clothes on which was concerning. I didn't say anything at the time, but I wish I did now. Only a day later a 19 year old girl Emily Soreto attempted to hike Lafayette Mountain and perished wearing only running shoes and not having proper winter hiking gear. I think our hiking community needs to do a better job at education, and I need to speak up more when on trail. It is so easy in the winter to get into trouble.

We finished the hike on the flat snowy path and were eager for xc ski season to begin. Winter has just arrived, and there is more hiking and skiing to be had. With these 4 summits bagged this trip, I am up to 73/115 for my NE list. Getting there!

Stats:
Time: 6 hours 20 mins
Distance: 16km
​Elevation: 3000ft

I took advantage of a rare school board holiday to head down to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. After a 6 hour long drive, we settled into our hotel looking out a snow covered mountains ready to be hiked. On Friday November 18th, 2022, we decided our objective for the day would be the North and South Kinsman mountains. 

Our free continental breakfast at the hotel didn't open up on this day until 8AM so we waited around for it to open and finally got into the car around 8:15AM. We drove the short distance up Hwy 3 to the I-93 to the Basin parking lot and walked through a tunnel under the highway to start our hike.

The hike begins in a maze of trails at the bottom which could be quite confusing at first. Without a mistake we found the correct trail and started hiking up the Basin-Cascade trail which joins onto the Cascade Brook Trail. This section of trail was absolutely beautiful. Several waterfalls and moving water made me want to stop and take a photo of every one! It would be a perfect short hike for the aspiring photographer or even a great place to spend an afternoon on a hot summer day. Today was not the best trail conditions, as the trail was covered by snow, and iced over puddles were not supporting our weight leading to many soakers. Good thing we put on our gaiters as we luckily didn't get wet. We crossed the brook a few times but before we did we put on our microspikes as there was more grip on the ice and snow covered rocks with them on. We never took them off for the rest of the day! Up on the Cascade Brook and Kinsman Pond Trails I was the first to break since the snowfall two days before. We were delighted to see fresh tracks of pine martens, hare, squirrels and even a bear track on the way up!

Continuing on to the Kinsman Pond trail, we were still breaking trail and hopping on boulders on what the trail was apparently created on....an old stream bed. The snow, water and ice created very moist conditions on this day and required full concentration for each step. We were moving slower than normal, and I realized that this trail would be much better suited for summer travel. We reached the Kinsman Pond and finally caught a glimpse of the summit of North Kinsman. The pond was iced over and the snow depths rose to over ankle depth. Temperatures dropped here so we took a moment to put on heavier mittens and pull up our hoods. We reached the Kinsman campsite and made a left turn to head up to the Kinsman ridge trail.

Here we finally caught up to footprints and noticed that two people were ahead of us on the trail. We turned a corner and found a fellow hiker who had come up from the opposite side than we did and startled him to the point he shouted out loud! He was standing on the North Kinsman summit. I am glad he was there, as I don't think I would have realized it was the summit. It was a snow covered chunk of rock. If you downclimb a couple of steps from here it leads to a nice lookout. We were getting some glimpses of views of the Franconia ridge in the distance but the summits today were mainly obscured. We decided to keep going on to the South Summmit.

Off we went to South, which includes downclimbing a couple hundred feet and then climbing back up to the summit. The South summit is somewhat confusing as there are two locations: The lookout point at the highest point and then a large open area with a rock cairn a few minutes further and slightly below it. Luckily my hiking partner remembered the cairn so we hit both spots in order to make it official. Here again the views were not ideal and we didn't waste too much time before turning around and heading back along the ridge to the North summit. 

On the way back we met two fast-moving 30-something guys that were heading to the South summit. In what seemed like no time at all, they were back behind us so we asked which summit they went to and it was only the lookout they reached. My hiking partner Deb turned them around and sent them back to the cairn in order to make it official. We stopped for lunch on the North Kinsman summit lookout where it was snowing lightly and we were mainly in a cloud. After our break we descended back down but instead of taking the Kinsman Pond trail we took the Fishin' Jimmy Trail. This trail was much easier going as it wasn't a boulder ridden and did not involve creek crossings like the Kinsman Pond Trail does. It also has more infrastructure (boardwalks, etc) as it is part of the Appalachian Trail system. The two guys we saw up on the ridge caught up to us again and blew by us mentioning that they would be finishing their NH 48 on Carragain the next day. 

We reached the Lonesome Lake Hut to see that it was open and functional and met a father and daughter duo outside working on some map and compass skills. We were chatting with the at the corner of our right turn and missed it initially as we were distracted with our conversation. We realized our mistake quickly and turned around and got back on path breaking trail on the connector back to the Cascade Brook Trail and Basin Cascade Trail. 

Just before we finished we lost daylight and had to don our headlamps in order to cross the last brook and head down to the parking lot. We got to the tunnel, took off our microspikes and gave each other a high-five. It felt great to be back in the White Mountains after a 3 year hiatus! 

Stats: 
Time: 8:42 hrs
Distance: 20km
​Elevation: 4000ft

​Camel's Hump is a peak in the Green Mountains of Vermont that has a prominence of 4080feet tall. This peak has a short 2.4 mile approach via the Burrow's trail and was a perfect selection for a short hike before driving 6 hours home later the same day.

We drove a maze of back gravel roads from Underhill State Park to the Burrows Trailhead which was super enjoyable. Vermont is a beautiful state and one I have not spent that much time in. Beautiful lush green fields and forest with beautiful barns and homes all around. We noticed several people out running and cycling on a Sunday morning and liked the vibe of the area. We arrived at the trailhead around 9AM and started upward. The parking lot was already full so we had to park on the side of the road. This hike is popular because of the short distance and there were many users out on the trail today including several trail runners, families with dogs and children, and a full military group of 20. 

We bolted up the forested trail with good dry footing. Some erosion pathways created some rock obstacles to hike over but were not an issue. Soon the gradient steepens and the trail became more rocky, rooty and wet. I was glad I chose to wear shorts on this day as the temperature was much warmer than yesterday's hike and the sweat rolled off our chins and our soaked through our t-shirts on the way up. We noticed the Burrow's trail was being renovated with some new wood steps and several flags and signs indicating work was being done. Covid has really widened several trails as people tried to stay 2m(6ft) apart so I was glad to see that they were trying to narrow the trail again. 

We made it up to the junction with the Long Trail and the Munroe descent trail. Here there is a historical plaque that registers the Camel's Hump as a natural landmark and historic site. The home stretch of the ascent is from here up and after 1hr and 20 mins we hit the summit. There was a large crowd up there already, including a family celebrating grandpa's 83rd birthday which was  great to see! We took a 20 minute break here and enjoyed the 360 degree views. We could see Mount Marcy in the distance as well as Mount Mansfield from the day before. We took a few summit shots and headed back down the trail.

We finished the 8km (5mile), 2000ft hike in 3 hours exactly. This is peak #69 checked off on my Northeast 115 peak bagging list. Our stay in Vermont was very enjoyable and I am happy that I will need to return to hike Killington, Ellen, and Abraham at some point. 

Scoring a last minute weekend cancellation of a lean-to at Underhill State Park, we made the 6 hour drive from Ontario and set up camp at this small and quaint camping location. A thunder and rain storm rolled in and poured for most of the night but luckily we were snuggled inside a tent inside a lean-to and were not worried. 

At 7:45AM on Saturday August 27th, 2022, we left the parking lot at Underhill and headed up hill to the sign-in register past the group camping area. The 500ft ascent here has two options: trail or road. You can pick either to get to the upper trailhead. We signed in and headed up the Sunset Ridge trail. The trail was saturated with moisture from last night's storm and in some places was still flowing down hill on the trail. Luckily the temperature was cool and we could charge up the trail as fast as our feet could take us. Due to Covid, I hadn't been able to cross the border the past 2 summers and was a bit worried that my fitness wasn't up to par but there is only one way to find out if your lungs and legs were ready: go up!

In less than an hour we had reached the turn off to a 0.1mile side trail to view the famous Cantilever rock. I had seen photos of this online previously but was floored by how large it was in person. It is definitely a unique feature and worth the side trip. Back on the ridge trail, we noticed it had been one hour in and we could all use a sip of water. Heading up hill from here, the theme of the trail is ROCK. There are many rock steps, rock ledges, and rock slabs to negotiate. Some views start popping out above the trees and a few welcome cool breezes started to be felt. The trees start to change from deciduous to coniferous and the height of the trees seems to start to shrink with every step. In the alpine zone, Vermont uses white string to guide hikers as to where to walk so that the impact to the alpine zone vegetation is minimized. At the 2 hour and 10 minute mark, we had ascended the 2543ft of elevation to the summit of Mount Mansfield, otherwise known as The Chin at 4393ft. The summit steward answered our questions about landmarks on either side of the summit and took some group photos for us. Crowds were definitely starting to build but we couldn't really figure out where all the traffic was coming from. Then we could see it: a gondola bringing hikers up the Stowe ski hill and a road that some people drive up bringing them about 90% of the way to the top!

We descended from the summit proper back down to the junction with the Sunset Ridge Trail and had a snack and water break before continuing our loop hike along the ridge. The sun had just started to break up the clouds and views were coming into play. The ridge walk is along the Long Trail in Vermont and is mainly rock boulders and slabs. There is a real mix of hikers here - everyone from multi-day thru hikers, to day hikers, to people in flip flops and white shirts who had drove up. Across the ridge, we came across a cell tower and hut and the Visitor Centre. We stopped in at the centre to read more information about the area and speak to some of the staff. We left and continued on the Long Trail to the Forehead and stopped for lunch. 

Here I noticed one of my favourite pieces of gear was broken: my short gaiters from Outdoor Research (Salamanders). Vermont is affectionately known as 'Vermud' among thru-hikers and gaiters were helpful on our hike today, especially after the rains the night before. I have been holding on to these gaiters for years and think they are the best on the market but unfortunately the metal buckle broke and they are dunzo. 

We found the Maple Ridge trail and found the mainly rock trail was a bit treacherous from the rains the night before. Many of the rocks were slimy and sloped and it was tricky in places to get a good pole plant or foot placement. In a few cases we had to resort to lowering down on our butts to safely descend. We all had instances where our feet slipped from underneath us so we slowed our pace down to ensure that no injuries took place. We found the chasm, and all had to jump over the crevasse-like crack to get to the other side. All in all the Maple Ridge trail is do-able, but isn't as fun to descend when wet. The first part of the decent is the steepest and then once it hooks up to the CCC road it is easy going again. The CCC road surprisingly climbs as it traverses at first and then descends back down to the trailhead on good trail. I enjoyed this hike with it's mix of interesting features and good challenging trail that keeps your focus.

Arriving back at the trailhead we signed out of the register and chose to take the road walk back down to the campground. We looked at our watches and it took us 6 hours exactly to do the 14km (8.7 miles) with 3100ft of ascent. This is #68 for me on the Northeast 115 list.