At Four Thousand Feet

On Sunday April 4th I stood atop Mount Osceola for the 12th time, marking my first completion of a single grid peak. Initially, I was absolutely thrilled. Although the hike up was slightly trying (given the oh-so-wonderful spring conditions), the summit itself was lovely as usual. Now a week out from the hike, however, I find myself in a bit of a puzzling situation. While I still am (and always will be) tremendously passionate about the White Mountains, I’m not entirely sure if I want to continue pursuing the 48 x 12 list.

The truth of the matter is, grid hiking has become too restrictive for me. I have goals for the summer that simply will not come to fruition if I continue to hike in such a grid-obsessed manner. I’m in the best shape of my life right now, and I’d like to take complete advantage of my current fitness level. I want to hike harder, longer, and farther than I ever have. For all I know, the extent of my physical endurance might never amount to much. Nonetheless, I’ll never truly know what I’m capable of achieving unless I head out there and push myself as hard as I possibly can.

I’m sure I’ll continue picking away at the grid in some capacity. Yet for the time being, I’ve decided that the list will no longer be my focus.

I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite pictures from Osceola…

More Behind the Cut »

It’s official – I have an addiction to carrot cake. Vegan carrot cake made by the delightful folks at Cafe Indigo, to be precise. At $5.97 a pop, it’s certainly not the cheapest of indulgences… but luckily for me, my good hiking friend Cath shares my obsession with the stuff. To celebrate the first day of calendar winter back in December, we decided to carry a little baby carrot cake with us to the summit of Cabot. Save for the slight frostnip that sprung up on my pinky finger (note to self: licking icing off one’s fingers in -10F temperatures is not the most brilliant of ideas), it proved to be the perfect hiking treat. Thus, a new tradition was born…

Carrot cake on Carrigain. The phrase has a pleasant ring to it, does it not? Perhaps a carrot cake x 48 is in order, as I’m now three peaks into the list (7 if you count post-hike indulgences).

Osceolas.
Carrigain.
Moriah.
Black tights (as the January thaw was in full force).
Carrot cake.

Throw in some absolutely phenomenal – and wholly unexpected – views, a welcome encounter with a new friend, and some good old trail breaking… who could ask for a more perfect few days of hiking!

More Pictures Behind the Cut »

Sometimes I let myself get a little too focused on the peakbagging aspect of hiking mountains. Every trip up north becomes a mission of sorts, a challenge defined not by the journey, but the numbers.

How far can I go?
How fast?
How many 4,000 foot peaks can I squeeze into the timeframe?

While I do think it’s healthy to set goals, I’ve noticed that my current peakbagging aspirations have started to (ever so slightly) detract from my enjoyment of the mountains. Consequently, last weekend I decided to take things easy for once. A leisurely 11:30am start time on the Hancocks, followed by a stellar visit to Whiteface/Passaconaway and the Sandwich Range Wilderness, made for a spectacular two days of hiking.

North and South Hancock

Distance: 9.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,650 feet
Trails Used: Hancock Notch, Cedar Brook, Hancock Loop

More Pictures Behind the Cut »

Finally, a short break! I’ll keep this succinct as I have many errands to run during this brief reprise from hiking, but the past eight days have been just marvelous. Although I’ve not been half as aggressive as I was during my Thanksgiving vacation, I still managed to bag 18 peaks (14 for winter 2009/2010):

• 12/19 – North and South Kinsman
• 12/20 – Hale and Waumbek
• 12/21 – Cabot
• 12/22 – Middle Carter, South Carter, Carter Dome, and Wildcat A
• 12/23 – Wildcat D
• 12/24 – Garfield and Lafayette
• 12/25 – Washington, Monroe, Eisenhower, and Pierce
• 12/26 – Whiteface and Passaconaway

Here’s a glimpse of some of my favorite photos from the week (full album here – well worth checking out). Now, onto week two of my vacation!

More Pictures Behind the Cut »

I’ve finally sorted through the pictures from my Thanksgiving vacation. What strikes me the most about this particular set of images is the wonderfully apparent transitioning of the seasons. Since my previous post on the topic shamefully did not admit the mountains that I climbed, here’s a brief synopsis:

• 11/21 – North Twin, South Twin, Galehead, and Garfield
• 11/22 – North and South Hancock
• 11/23 – Lafayette, Lincoln, Liberty, and Flume
• 11/24 – Tom, Field, and Willey
• 11/25 – Zealand, West Bond, Bond, and Bondcliff
• 11/26 – Pierce, Eisenhower, and Jackson
• 11/27 – Waumbek
• 11/28 – Moriah
• 11/29 – East Osceola, Osceola, and Tecumseh

It certainly was a week of milestones for me. Not only did I reach my halfway point – and my 300th peak! – on the grid, but also ended November with a total of 44 4,000 footers climbed.

Below are a handful of my favorite images. The entire gallery may be viewed here…