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Hiking the Tripyramids in November

Let’s get right to it and talk about how hard the Tripyramids are if you opt for the Mount Tripyramid Loop. 

Wind.
Snow.
Ice.
A slide.
Then another slide.

I’m happy to have made it through on Sunday.

We saw a few people on the Livermore Road and no one else until the second summit. Now I know why: only crazy people would hike that loop with the conditions we had on Sunday. 

The slide was long – a hundred miles – or so it seemed. Foot placement was questionable at every step.

About halfway up the North Slide, I saw footprints going off to the left, out of the wind and ice, I took it. My hiking partner chose to go right up the slide. 

After what seemed like a lifetime, the slide ended, we were out of the wind and back into the safety of the trees. Life was good again. 

Then as we got to Middle Tripyramid we saw our first hiker. All four of us were happy to see humans. 

We continued on the loop in bliss that the remainder would be fun and delightful.

We both envisioned laughter and happiness and storytelling. Then the South Slide became steeper and longer. 

Miraculously, the wind died down, the views opened up and we were off the slide, back in the woods and then shortly, a dirt path.

The 4,000 footers are no joke these days. Mid-Winter Conditions. I say. 

Be prepared. Turn back if you feel uncomfortable and unprepared.

If it wasn’t for the fact that we were prepared, we were in great physical shape, we had food and water, we had the 10 Essentials, I would not have continued. 

Be safe out there friends. Don’t take chances. Love the one you’re with LOL. 

Three more peaks until I reach my only reachable goal in 2020. Damn you Kinsmans. Please don’t be the death of me.

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Owl’s Head NH in pictures

Two big water crossings. Some chose to take off their running shoes. Some did not. I charged right through.
This is the view from the slide. So pretty. The slide was hard, as per usual.
Once above the slide it was a winter wonderland. So pretty. So flat.
We enjoyed the slide much more coming down.
We took a few more pictures on the way down.

It was a good day to be in the White Mountains. We took the Black Pond bushwack to Lincoln Brook Trails and still had two big water crossings. They sucked with all the rain and snow. However, as I charged through them four times my feet stayed happy. (Thank you Altra Lone Peak and Darn Tough Socks). I even had a sock change in my pack and opted to stay wet. I liked the garbage bag that a hiking couple used to cross the rivers. I may steal that idea in the spring.

The slides are always tough. There were a few icy patches but not enough to put on spikes. We saw about eight people all day (not counting the hikers on the way back through Lincoln Woods).

I say it all the time – but it matters who you hike with. Vicky and Michaela were the best hiking partners. We laughed and talked and shared stories all day long. I’m not embarrassed to admit that we talked about Ross all day long. Ross hiked Owl’s Head with me last year so I could finish all my 4,000 footers. He also invited me to all the best long distance hikes since that day. He invited me to the Pemi Traverse where I met Vicky. Then I met all their hiking crazy friends. It truly is a community you find by hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire. Follow the fun ones on Facebook and Instagram and message them; they will invite you into their world.

Today we created so many memories; funny stories I know that will get passed on because even in the last year we told so many stories. Vicky asked me to throw a big rock into the river so she could use it to get across. I did as requested and that will forever be a funny story of the look on her face when she was soaked by cold water and couldn’t move. Famous last words: It seemed like a good idea at the time.

I hope you are reading this and reach out to me or people you follow on social. If you want to hike crazy long trails and finish stupid lists that award patches – just do it. Go do epic shit. I fail a lot but I also have great days like today. Days that make you check off boxes, eat big meals and blog about how great life is sometimes.

Go hike a mountain or 48 of them in one year or take a risk to message someone that may just make your life great. I highly recommend it.

Five more peaks in my 49th year. I just may do this.

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Field and Willey Hike in October

For the first time in a very long time before a big hike, I slept in. I didn’t get to the trailhead until almost 10 a.m. It was perfect timing because it was a cold morning. 31 degrees according to my watch. 

As I hiked up the Avalon Trail I heard water everywhere. So many waterfalls and streams. A few others started right before and after me. The climb starts just after the first half mile and then the turn off to Mount Avalon has a lot of granite slabs. At first there they were just wet and a little slippery and then became icy and slippery. 

The icy granite faded away and there was just a great dirt trail. I headed into the snowy trees toward Mount Field and passed up Mount Avalon, which everyone said had great views. Some times when I’m hiking solo I get a bit nervous and just want to get to the summit. That was today. I brought micro spikes and hiking poles since I didn’t know what to expect. 

I passed a few hikers heading down and they said microspikes weren’t needed so it made me feel better. As we approached Field there were some great views between the trees and once I got to the summit. The sun came out and just lit up the iced trees. Truly spectacular. 

I continued onto Willey on the Willey Range trail. It was a ridge that went up and down with some steep climbs ups and down but didn’t last long. I almost missed the turn off to Willey when I started to hike down. Thank goodness for the GPS map on my Garmin. That was the summit, looked around and headed back. 

The slabs were still icy on Avalon as we headed down to Crawford Notch and the Conway Scenic Railroad train was stopped at the Depot. I’ve never seen that before. 

We headed home and got back to Concord by 4 p.m. It was a good weekend of hiking in the White Mountains. Six more peaks to go to hit my goal of finishing the 4,000 footers in my 49 year. 

Kinsmans, Tripyramids, Moosilauke and Owl’s Head are all that are left. Two more weekends to get them done. I think it will happen.

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Mount Cabot Hike in the rain

I hiked Mount Cabot from the Bunnell Notch trail. At the trailhead it was perfect temps around 40s. I had hiked this at this time last year with Winnie and remembered the long drive to Berlin – 2 ½ hours. Ugh. And didn’t realize until after I got home that I hiked it already in October so I couldn’t use it for my grid. Bummer

I love this trail. It’s such a nice, gradual hike that at the beginning you can see where you will end up. It’s very wooded which was good since the mist and rain started at the Kilkenny Ridge trailhead. Last year there was not much standing water and this year there was plenty of water for the dogs and I didn’t have to worry about it. Muddy, too.

The summit is an open area with no view but even if there were we were socked in. It rained pretty hard once we got there and for the first two miles back. It was good to test out all the gear to make sure it kept me warm as we head into winter. 

I do love this hike I just wish it wasn’t so far away. The dogs did great and we didn’t see any dogs. For a Saturday there weren’t too many people on the trail; we maybe saw 10.

I stayed overnight in Gorham and tomorrow is Field and Willey.

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This is my life

Today was one of the days when I stepped back and said: wow, this is my life. 

And yesterday and the day before – wow, this is my life.

Is it perfect, the way I thought my life would always be? Hell no. I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be where I am today.

As I’m driving south from Gilford at 9 p.m. in thick fog, I’m anxious about getting home and letting my dogs out. 

I seem to feel more anxious and scared about so many things: life, work, dogs, hiking, training, reaching goals. 

But then the same things make me so happy: life, work, dogs, hiking, training, reaching goals.

Weird. 

All I’m saying is life is funny. It gives you everything you want, takes away everything you want and all that is left is you, on your sofa, writing your blog post, eating salad, drinking wine and glad your dogs are right next to you.