At Four Thousand Feet

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 »

Distance: 14 miles
Elevation Gain: ~3,500 feet
Trails Used: Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge

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…

Winter is in the air. The leaves, while still beautiful, are now past peak. The winds are bitingly cold. Ice is beginning to coat the rocks, and we even received a dusting of snow whilst out on the Bonds this past Sunday.

Bring it on. I cannot wait to rock the snowshoes.

Hale

Distance: 4.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,300 feet
Trails Used: Hale Brook

Carrigain

Distance: 10 miles
Elevation Gain: 3,100 feet
Trails Used: Signal Ridge

Zealand/Bonds Traverse

Distance: 19.5 miles (+1 additional mile on the Wilderness trail for kicks)
Elevation Gain: 3,700 feet
Trails Used: Zealand, Twinway, Bondcliff, Wilderness

…full album here.