Single Season Winter 48 Completion

To shamelessly steal from my thread on Views from the Top…

After a whirlwind 54 days of hiking, starting on Christmas Day last year and ending, quite fittingly, on Presidents Day, I realized my goal of climbing all 48 NH four thousand footers in one winter season. My friends Cath and Tim were there to accompany me for my final seven peaks – namely, the Northern Presidentials on Sunday 15th February, and Pierce through Washington on Monday 16th February. We could not have asked for better conditions. The winds remained calm, the clouds and lighting wonderfully varied, the company… well, just marvelous!

It’s been a long, tough, yet infinitely rewarding journey for me. Initially, I didn’t believe myself to be strong enough (nor tenacious enough) to even attempt such a conquest. I was told by some that it’s simply too ambitious a goal to strive for. Nevertheless, as improbable as it may have seemed at the time, I was hell bent on at least attempting the “single season” challenge.

I’m glad that I did. Over the past two months, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting so many extraordinary people, and have come to realize that it’s truly possible to accomplish anything when you set your mind to it. Previously an adamant solo hiker, I quickly learned that hiking in the company of others is fun – in fact, I infinitely enjoy it over hiking alone (my only solo hike this winter – Waumbek – was certainly strange and lonely)… and most surprisingly to me, I actually grew to love my snowshoes, after tripping over them countless times on my first winter hike and angrily stating that I would never climb a mountain again whilst wearing them.

To all of you who have made this dream of mine a reality – I cannot thank you enough. Since I did a terrible job of posting accounts of my hikes to this blog, you’ll be able to access them directly following links. The hikes for which I did not have trip reports link directly to my Picasa Web Gallery:

• Jackson – 12/25/2008
• Liberty and Flume – 12/26/2008
• North and South Hancock – 12/27/2008
• Cannon – 12/28/2008
• Zealand, West Bond, Bond, and Bondcliff – 12/29/2008
• East Osceola and Osceola – 12/30/2008
• Field, Willey, and Tom – 12/31/2008
• North and Middle Tripyramid – 1/1/2009
• Isolation – 1/3/2009
• North and South Kinsman – 1/4/2009
• Lincoln, Lafayette, and Garfield – 1/10/2009
• Hale – 1/11/2009
• Cabot – 1/17/2009
• North Twin, South Twin, and Galehead – 1/18/2009
• Moosilauke – 1/19/2009
• Owl’s Head – 1/23/2009
• Waumbek – 1/24/2009
• Tecumseh – 1/25/2009
• Wildcats D & A, Carter Dome, South Carter, and Middle Carter – 1/31/2009
• Moriah – 2/1/2009
• Carrigain – 2/7/2009
• Whiteface and Passaconaway – 2/8/2009
• Jefferson, Adams, and Madison – 2/15/2009
• Pierce, Eisenhower, Monroe, and Washington – 2/16/2009

Oh, and please do be sure to check out my 48in1Winter.com page.