A September walk in the woods: Mount Cabot to Unknown Pond
Mount Cabot or the Carters? As I drove up Pinkham Notch early on a lovely September Saturday, the many cars spilling from every parking lot cinched my decision: on to […]
4.000 footers
Caps and castles on Mount Jefferson
On Friday, prospects for a hike up Mount Jefferson looked gloomy. The higher summits forecast called for steady 50 mph winds, with hurricane force gusts, and winter temperatures in New […]
Waterfall wonderland on the Ammo Trail to Mount Monroe
Every May, I try to fit in my “end-0f-the-semester hike”, a few days after completing grades and graduation. In May, this hike usually involves some snow and ice, along with […]
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 […]
Spooky solitude: The lonely trail to Owl’s Head
When I finally arrive at the rock slide, after six miles of hiking, I hear a tiny voice in my head: “Maybe doing this hike alone wasn’t a great idea.” […]
Moriah, my Moriah: Why did I wait so long to climb thee?
As I hike through a lacy hemlock forest, I wonder why I have waited so long to hike 4,049-foot Mount Moriah. The Carter-Moriah Trail climbs 3,400 feet from its base […]
On my own on the Osceolas with Captain Samuel Willard
On the Osceola Trail, I’m on my own, but hiking in footsteps more than 250 years old — maybe. As I hike uphill on a moderate-grade-by-White-Mountain-standards, I wonder if this […]
Bushwhacking on Mount Tecumseh
Impossible as it may seem, within a few minutes of our hike up Mount Tecumseh in Waterville Valley, my friend and I have lost the trail, and now find ourselves […]
Brutal Beauty on Beaver Brook, Mount Moosilauke
Be careful, to avoid tragic results. Great. A punishing hike is exactly what I hoped to avoid when I set out on this day in mid-June to climb a 4,000-footer and […]
The agony and ecstasy of climbing four-thousand footers: Mounts Willey, Field, and Tom
Okay, so the tight contour lines on my map suggested that the route up to Mount Willey via the Kedron Flume Trail was horribly steep. And the guidebook described this […]