At Four Thousand Feet

“There are two kinds of climbers, those who climb because their heart sings when they’re in the mountains, and all the rest.” – Alex Lowe

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.

Three stellar hikes this weekend. More details to come. For now, a quick trail running picture from Bondcliff (courtesy of my friends Bob and Geri)…

Ah, the Hancocks. Excessive mud. Rough, rooty, footing. Limited views.

In other words, a hike best saved for poor weather days… or so I thought. After visiting both peaks this past Sunday I now find my feelings towards the little mountains strangely altered. What a surprisingly pleasant journey it was. The Pemi was ablaze with the vivid colors of fall, its valleys filled with marvelous undercast – a lovely sight to behold.

Upon arriving back at the trailhead, I was pleased to find that I still had a few hours of daylight left. Plenty of time to climb Tecumseh! The trail was slick in places, which slowed me down a bit, but I was still able to complete the hike in just under 2 hours.

North and South Hancock

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

Tecumseh

Distance: 5 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,200 feet
Trails Used: Mount Tecumseh

The best part? My hip was essentially pain free, and I was even able to do a bit of jogging on the descents!

Distance: 16.7 miles
Elevation Gain: Hmmm…
Trails Used: Pine Bend Brook, Mount Tripyramid, Kate Sleeper, Rollins, Dicey Mill, Walden, Passaconaway Cutoff, Oliverian Brook

Going into this hike, I was worried that I’d selected something a little too ambitious for my current abilities. While the hip certainly did hurt a bit, the pain was mostly just a nuisance – and not debilitating in the slightest. It’s quite wonderful to know that I’m able to go 15+ miles after only 4 weeks of recovery.

Perhaps single season fall is not entirely out of the question… yet?