Wandering in the wilderness of Mount Paugus
In New Hampshire’s heavily visited White Mountains, solitude often seems like a lost dream on beautiful autumn weekends, when throngs of people climb popular peaks. But not far from the […]
Mountains
Gray jays, great day: A fall hike on Mount Waumbek
Hiking on the Starr King Trail to 4,006-foot Mount Waumbek, it’s hard to believe that this off-the-beaten-path peak once was part of a proposal for a mega-ski resort stretching across […]
Hiking the Baldface Circle Trail, plus twenty
The guidebook describes the Baldface Circle Trail as “a strenuous trip not to be underestimated,” but I didn’t remember it as so. I first hiked this 9.8 mile loop with […]
Island living, Adirondack style
In July, an opportunity arose to camp with a friend for several nights on a quarter-acre island on Middle Saranac Lake in New York’s Adirondack Park. My friend warned me […]
Presidential aspirations: You can’t always get what you want
I have long held Presidential aspirations — that is, to complete the Presidential traverse hike across the highest peaks of New England including Mount Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. I […]
Beautiful desolation at Lake Aloha
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations […]
One hike, many discoveries: A plane crash, a fire tower and stone-age couches
Would we find the plane crash? That was the motivating question as I hit the road early one morning in late June with three middle-school boys. More than 40 years […]
King Pine, the Little Mountain That Could
Here we are in the depths of January, and more than six weeks have passed since a major snowfall. Up north, snowmakers and groomers bust their tails trying to work […]
Bretton Woods: birches, beautiful snow, and bargains
In this new year, I’m taking some time away from longer projects to write about New England ski areas. I’ve been skiing since junior high (back in the days when […]
Intersecting slopes on Mount Chocorua, New Hampshire
As we hauled ourselves up the granite cone of New Hampshire’s 3,478-foot Mount Chocorua, a middle-aged woman picking her way down the granite ledges groaned as she stretched out her […]