After a few cancellations due to bad weather, we finally got a window of opportunity to hike up Mt. Washington this past weekend. The highest peak in the White Mountains, Washington soars to just about 6300 feet at the summit.

By a “window of opportunity” I mean waiting for weather conditions that wouldn’t kill us. Mount Washington is home to the world’s worst weather, and we didn’t want to take that lightly. The day started off very well, with fairly clear skies and a view straight up to the top. However, as the morning turned into afternoon, clouds came through and covered the summit. As a result, we hiked the final two miles to the summit in a thick fog with only a couple hundred feet of visibility. Combined with the wind and drizzle, it was quite an experience.

Hiking Washington is bittersweet — due to the auto road and the cog railway, the summit is crowded with tourists. It’s tough to feel like you’ve accomplished much when you get to the summit and you’re able to use a flush toilet, eat pizza and clam chowder, and buy a t-shirt. On the other hand, knowing you’ve just climbed the highest peak in the Northeast is a great feeling.

This hike gets us one closer to completing the 48 4,000 footers in the White Mountains. We’ve only got one left and we plan to do that in the spring or early summer of 2010. Until then, we’ll be enjoying some great fall and winter hikes!

• Mount Washington hike page
• Photo gallery from the hike

Figured it’s about time to post about some of the trips we’ve taken over the last few months. Let’s take a look at them, starting with the most recent.

The most recent hike we did was an overnighter to the most remote 4,000 foot peaks in the White Mountains: Owl’s Head. The majority of the hike in was flat, about 8 miles worth. Then it’s straight up the mountain: 1500 feet in one mile or so. We were chasing the clock, so we went as fast as we could. It was brutal. Fun, though!

Then, back in May we surprised Shawn on his birthday with a camping trip out in the Catskills. As part of the trip we hiked out to Kaaterskill Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in New York state. The hike was short, not very strenuous, and incredibly rewarding. They were some of the most gorgeous waterfalls I’ve ever seen.

Finally, in early March our regular hiking crew decided to trek up Mount Whiteface. We got a wonderfully clear day, and the weather cooperated with us. Here we are on the south summit:

OK so that’s about it, just wanted to put a quick update out there as to what’s been going on lately! For more info, check out:

• Owl’s Head hike page
• Owl’s Head photo set
• Kaaterskill Falls photo set
• Mt. Whiteface photoset

Ever since we got together, Gemma and I have been throwing around the idea of spending some time out in San Francisco and the surrounding wine country area. Well, we recently did just that and all I can say is I wish we hadn’t waited so long. The landscape is incredible, the people are wonderful, and the food is unbelievable.

Here are some highlights of our trip:

• We got engaged! I proposed at a winery called Terra Valentine, which I thought would be a fitting place to pop the question.
• Our friends Kristy and Damon took us on a special tour of wine country. Visiting wineries with two industry insiders is the only way to do it. Not only are the tastings free, but you get to sample the reserve wines and sometimes even get the behind-the-scenes tours. Thanks Kristy and Damon!
  

• Fine San Francisco dining. Dinners at Garry Danko and Asia de Cuba were two of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.
• I got to satisfy my hiking urge by taking a 3-mile walk among the giant redwood trees at Muir Woods. I highly recommend this if you are at into hiking or the forest or any kind of nature.
  

• We took a boat to Alcatraz and spent the day wandering around and exploring the island. Some may wonder if this is worth it and the answer is a resounding yes! The tour is fascinating and there’s much more than just an old prison out there.

  

Those are the major ones, but just being out there is a highlight itself. We definitely can’t wait to go back!

See more pictures from the trip on my Flickr galleries.

This past weekend we went up to New Hampshire for an awesome fall hike, this time hitting the peaks of Wildcat Mountain (there are 5 of them, though only 2 count towards the list). This one was almost over before it began, since the very first thing we needed to do was cross Glen Ellis Brook which had fast, high, freezing cold water. Jumping from icy rock to icy rock is a recipe for disaster, but thankfully we all stayed dry.

After the brook crossing, we started a 2 mile walk straight up the side of the ridge to the summit of Wildcat D. The day was pretty cold, but it was amazingly clear, which gave us some incredible views on the way up and from the summit. Here you see a view of Mt. Washington where you can see Tuckerman’s and Huntington Ravines:

Wildcat you may know is a ski mountain. So it was cool to get to the top of D peak and see the lifts waiting for the winter. We were able to use the old lift house as a wind-stop for lunch, which was another stroke of luck.

After the summit of Wildcat D, it was a relatively easy walk across the ridge to the summit of A peak, the highest of all the Wildcat peaks.

Overall, a great fall hike! For more info:

• Hike info page
• Photo gallery