Tag: 4000 footers

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Hancock Loop, So Much Joy

Saturday was a hike the Hancock Loop kind of day. The morning started out cold. When I left Concord it was 9 degrees and during the drive it hovered between 5 and 10 degrees. It was a high of 14 when I started from the Hancock parking lot on the Kancamagus Highway. 

I know this trail so well. I’ve been on it five times already in the last two years. Attempting North and South separately in all seasons. Today my goal was to do the entire loop. In my mind I knew that if it didn’t feel right I would turn around: too icy, too cold, too scary.

All reasons to turn around.

At mile 3 I met my first hiker. A solo, woman on her way back to the trailhead. At 10:00 she had already done the loop – impressive. She told me she had an early start and the conditions on the ridge were amazing: no wind, some soft snow and no snowshoes needed. She warned of icy conditions going up and coming down but said all very doable. Running into her gave me the confidence that I could do this loop.

I’m so glad I did. Going up South Hancock was tricky. Icy spots had me grabbing trees and stumps to get up. Steep. Steep. 

The ridge was awesome. Fluffy snow, cool views, no wind. I started to run when I could and felt giddy, laughing to myself at the pure joy of being at 4,000 feet in December. Joy. Joy. Joy. 

A little more climbing to North Hancock and then down the steep trail back into the valley. 

We hiked 9.5 miles; the most mileage Winnie has ever hiked. 


To live with joy is to live with wonder, gratitude and hope.

Today, Sunday is a 16 mile run and then a recovery day on Monday.

Merry Christmas!

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Mount Tom

We hiked Mount Tom today, the day after Thanksgiving. There were a lot more people and dogs on the trail compared to yesterday on Tecumseh.

I wore snowshoes because reports said some overnight snow and I’m a bit of freak when it comes to hiking alone in the winter so I’m prepared.

I should’ve brought my spikes, but I left them in the car. (Note: always bring spikes.) The monorail is fine and living well on the Avalon and A-Z Trail to Mount Tom. Snowshoes were overkill ,however I feel like I contributed to the overall tidiness of the monorail so I’m okay with it!

Mount Tom

The A-Z Trail is steep in sections and I was running out of steam until I met a wonderful couple about 500 yards from the saddle who told me “that’s the worst of it, you’re almost to the saddle and it’s a nice hike to Tom”.

OMG – I love these people. They made me so happy when I was dying from too much uphill and wearing clucky snowshoes when spikes would have sufficed.

The summit was socked in with fog but I don’t care. I made the summit and it was freaking beautiful! So many nice people along the way who loved on my dog even though she barked at them (why is she barking when she typically doesn’t care about other people or dogs?). Every. Single. Hiker. Was. Awesome. And the dogs we met were so freaking cute and happy! It was a great day.

I’m happy to be home after being in mid-winter conditions in Crawford Notch.

4,000 footer Number 2 done – 48-4,000-footers-in-my-49th-year. This goal is getting me out there everyday I can, and pushing my limits and making me do the things I say I’m going to do.

Make. The. Best.Life.

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Tecumseh on Thanksgiving

Winnie and I hiked Tecumseh late Thursday morning.

We hiked it on New Year’s Eve last year. This year there was less snow coverage and I could actually see the steps that were snow covered. It was a faster hike with more snow coverage last year, but I’m not complaining. I liked seeing more of the ground. The higher we hiked the more snow but I never needed snowshoes.

View about halfway up; the slopes of Waterville Valley

It was windy in sections and not too bad at the top.

Summit of Tecumseh

The trail was perfect for hiking today. The river crossings were pretty easy. I only saw four people all day.

First big water crossing. Easy peasy.

This is the first 4,000 footer for my 48-4000-footers-in-my-49th-year goal. I like the idea of hiking the list from the smallest to the largest mountains.

The forecast looks good for tomorrow and I’ll be attempting Isolation. Twelve miles of hiking. It’s going to be an early start. I chose to #optoutside on Black Friday.

It was a good day to be outside this Thanksgiving. I stayed warm wearing my Marmot windbreaker that I bought for Leadville and Marmot hiking tights. And spikes all day.

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Mount Willey, Ethan Pond Trail November

Winnie-dog and I started hiking Ethan Pond Trail with the goal of hitting Willey, Field and Tom. One hour in I started thinking, maybe just Willey and Field. It was a gorgeous sunny day at 9am when we left the icy parking lot off 302 in Crawford Notch.

This picture was taken at the start of the hike. I love being on the Appalachian Trail.

It was a tough trail especially once we hit the ladders. The first few were okay and Winnie was trying to figure out a path up them. She avoided actually using the ladders. At one point she jumped up to a rock and fell down. I watched her trying to figure out a way back up again and had to help her up. 

A few ladders later there was no route and it was steep. I was going slow and methodically plodding up but I couldn’t figure out a way to get her up the last set of ladders. So I turned around. It’s okay because it was such a great day and the trail was so nice until that point. I knew I would do it again. Several hikes in the last year I have turned around when Winnie wasn’t having fun anymore and I went back the next day by myself to summit the mountain. I also realized, later, that we could try the mountain from the north side too. 

Trail Junction Crawford Notch State Park

We hiked down and then I turned on the Arethusa Falls and Frankenstein Cliff Trail in an effort to stay hiking in the woods; and just be in Crawford Notch a little longer to enjoy the sun. We stopped at the big river crossing and looked up to the Falls. Gorgeous! All the water and ice. 

As I look back at trail descriptions I read that there are other way to do the three peaks and will try it again another day. The point is to be in the White Mountains and to get to know all the trails and mountain peaks. It was a great day!

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My 49th Year

The photo above was taken on the morning of November 14 on one of my typical hikes in Concord: Marjory Swope Park.

While I usually have yearly goals and give updates on them as part of my posts, I’m going to change it up. I’m starting a new timeline for my 49th year. I’m going to set goals for 11/14/2019 to 11/13/202. I have 365 days before my 50th birthday and I’m going to make my 49th year the best ever – live my best life – as so many people like to say. For me, I need to set goals and have a plan or I will sit on my soft and binge watch Netflix shows all day. 

What is new this year from my typical athletic-related goals is reading a book every week. As of right now I have eight books on my table, all in various stages of being read or not read (but wanting to read). 

Last month my friend Jeff invited me to a book club he has been going to. The book they were reading was A Gentleman in Moscow. I haven’t been part of a book club in years so I looked up the book and it sounded pretty good. I started reading it and loved every sentence. However, on November 14, the day of the meeting, I only finished half of it. I wanted to talk about it with other people who read it, though, because, seriously, it was so good. I don’t mind spoilers because I like knowing what’s going to happen (same with Game of Thrones, I watched the final episode before finishing season 5). The book club met at To Share brewery in Manchester. The brewery is in an old garage, well lit and the beer was fantastic. I’ve been into New England IPAs lately. 

I met some awesome men and women who love to read and were so animated about the book: everyone loved it. 

I can’t wait for the next meeting. We are reading The Girl With the Pearl Earring. 

My other goal is to hike all 48 4,000 footers in my 49th year. I just finished them this year after starting them in 1988 and I want to hike them all in one year. I think it’s possible.

Then, of course, to actually finish a 100 mile race. I’m signed up for Umstead. Training right now is not going well. It’s taking a while to get used to running outside when it’s 30 degrees.

My 49th year will be about reaching goals and having the best life ever.