At Four Thousand Feet » Twins and Garfield Ridge

Trail Runners and Snowshoes

Larisa — Thu, 06 May 2010 21:58:50 +0000

Trail runners and MSR snowshoes? I’ll admit, at first I was a little wary. As a rather clumsy individual prone to excessive ankle rolling, I grimaced at the thought of teetering along an unstable spring snow monorail, my delicate ankles just begging for an injury. But with the coming of warm weather, my shiny new pair of Inov-8 Rocklite 312 GTXs were just itching to get out. I must say, wrapped up in winter gaiters they looked positively adorable:

How wonderful it felt to finally be out of winter boots. So wonderful, in fact, that my friend Eric and I decided to go on a spring hiking rampage. Over the course of a single April weekend, we tore up the Willey Range, the Wildcats, the Hancocks, and Garfield – 41 miles in total (thanks to the Gale River road walk). Not an ambitious distance by a long stretch, but I was quite pleased by our effort given the tough conditions that we faced.

What of the trail runners? Well, I’m glad to report that they held up fantastically, as did my ankles. Dare I say I’m wildly excited to have discovered this combination?

Unfortunately, picture taking conditions were sub-par. Nevertheless, here are a few photos:

…more here.

30.9 Mile Winter Pemi Adventure

Larisa — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:45:21 +0000

Distance: 30.9 miles
Elevation Gain: ~8,000 and change
Trails Used: Zealand Road, Hale Brook, Lend a Hand, Twinway, Bondcliff, West Bond Spur, North Twin Spur, Frost, Gale River, Haystack Road

This past Saturday I completed my longest winter hike to date: a 30 mile traverse (of sorts) across the northern boundary of the Pemigewasset Wilderness. Throughout the course of the journey, our party of three stood atop the summits of 8 4,000 foot peaks:

Hale
Zealand
West Bond
Bond
Bondcliff
South Twin
North Twin
Galehead

To be perfectly honest, I’m struggling to put the experience accurately into words. This was hands-down the most challenging hike that I’ve ever undertaken. While heading towards South Twin, I suddenly hit a low point which nearly stopped me in my tracks – an overwhelming sense of exhaustion that both confused and distressed me. I had to reach deep inside myself to find the strength to keep going.

Why did this happen? Did I fuel myself improperly, or have I just not been training hard enough? Perhaps I was just having a bad day?

These are some questions I’ll have to think about as I continue to work towards improving myself as a hiker.

On a brighter note, I very much encourage you to read this more optimistic rendition of our 30 mile adventure, compiled by my good friend Tim Seaver.

A few pictures from the day:

…full album here.

30 Is a Nice Round Number

Larisa — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:00:55 +0000

Extreme cold, frostnip, wind, and 2+ feet of new snow – week two of my vacation was certainly tough. Nonetheless, I refused to let the conditions hold me back. Heading into my winter hiking extravaganza, I didn’t have any lofty goals in mind. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to have…

Covered: 171.1 miles in distance
Gained: 55,550 vertical feet in elevation
Stood Atop: 30 4,000 footers

…in 15 days out on the trail. A quick recap of week two:

12/28 – Moriah
12/29 – Tecumseh
12/30 – Zealand
12/31 – North Twin, South Twin, and Galehead
1/1 – Liberty and Flume
1/2 – Tom, Field, and Willey
1/3 – Cannon

Not surprisingly, it was a terrible week for pictures! Here are a few of the better ones (please take that with a grain of salt)…

18 Peaks, 97 Miles

Larisa — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:03:41 +0000

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!

A Seasonal Transition

Larisa — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:15:56 +0000

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…