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Playing Catch-Up

rusty — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 21:45:49 +0000

It might not be clear from this site but I actually have been doing some hiking and traveling since finishing the New Hampshire 4000’s in July of 2010. Here’s a run down of some of the trips we’ve done since.

Late in July of 2010, we traveled out to Zion National Park in Utah where we did a couple of really incredible desert and canyon hikes. First was a hike up to Observation Point, one of the best viewpoints in the entire park.

The next day we hiked up Angel’s Landing, a giant stone “sail” that juts out into the middle of the canyon. Hiking up a narrow path with drops of hundreds of feet on either side made this one of the most memorable trips I’ve taken.

In April of 2011, Dan and I hiked up to Tuckerman’s Ravine, where we ran into some whiteout conditions in the bowl of the ravine.

July 2011 took us to the Grand Canyon while we were out in Arizona for our family reunion. We did some really fun walks along the canyon rim, and even got there at 4:30am to see the sun rise!

And finally, now that we’ve finished the New Hampshire 4000 footers the natural thing to do is to focus on the remaining nineteen 4,000 foot peaks in New England. So at the end of July 2011 Dan and I headed up to Vermont to tackle Mount Mansfield, the highest peak in the state.

More info:

Fin

rusty — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 05:12:46 +0000

Back in August of 2003, Dan and I found ourselves hiking the Daniel Webster Trail on our way up Mount Madison. I’m not sure exactly when it happened (though I’m guessing it was during post-summit euphoria) but at one point Dan told me about the AMC 4,000 footer club and how there are 48 4,000-foot peaks in the White Mountains. My love of the mountains and hiking had been growing steadily since about 2000, so when I heard about the list it was immediately apparent that it was something I needed to do. Right then and there, Dan and I decided that together we would start bagging the peaks on the list, with Mount Madison counting as number one.

Ever since then I’ve been chronicling our adventures as we continued to make trip after trip into the White Mountains. Now, 7 years later, Dan and I finished our project when during our annual July 4th camping trip we summited Mount Moosilauke, the 48th mountain on our list.

Moosialuke was the perfect peak to save for our last one. Our hike led us up the Beaver Brook trail, which runs along a cascade for nearly a mile. The summit of the mountain is surrounded by an alpine meadow, affording some beautiful 360-degree views. The summit was also once home to a lodge and the ruins of the foundation provide a great place to hang out and seek some shelter from the wind. Our group dropped our packs at the old foundation and cracked a bottle of champagne that Dan had packed in for the occasion. A fantastic trip, with incredible weather. It was also the first summit I completed with my new wife — her list is now at 2 down, 46 to go!

So what do we do now that we’ve bagged all the peaks on our list? Do them again? Try for the New England 4,000 footers? The New England Hundred Highest? Maybe try our hand at high-pointing the US? One thing’s for certain and that is we won’t stop any time soon. Our usual companions Mike and Chris are both well on their way to finishing their lists, so guys just let me know when you’re ready to head up again.

The very next thing, though, is our upcoming trip to Zion National Park, where we plan to hike Angel’s Landing. Stay tuned for more!

For more about the Mount Moosilauke hike:

Married!

rusty — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 17:19:05 +0000

OK the wedding was a little over a month ago but it’s better late than never to announce that I am now married to the love of my life, my wonderful new wife Gemma.

I think my wife summarized it best in our wedding announcement:

The ceremony took place at the Monponsett Inn in Halifax on May 29, 2010. Even though the weather threatened to spoil the day, it all worked out. “It was pouring rain for about an hour before the ceremony, before clearing up at exactly 6:30,” writes Gemma. “The outdoor ceremony had perfect weather complete with birds chirping and a rainbow over the bride. I guess we got good luck either way, since it rained and shined on our wedding day!”

Thanks to everyone who attended for making it the happiest day of my life!

You can see more photos at my Flickr gallery.

Mount Washington

rusty — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:01:14 +0000

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!

Hiking Miscellany

rusty — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:42:03 +0000

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:

I left my heart…

rusty — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:04:10 +0000

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.

Wildcat Mountain

rusty — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 04:02:02 +0000

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:

Kinsmans

rusty — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:43:19 +0000

We did get a late start on hiking this season, but we’re making up for lost time. Last weekend, a few of us went up to the ‘Whites and hiked up past Lonesome Lake and across the Kinsman Ridge to both peaks of Mt. Kinsman.

Though rain was in the forecast, we ended up with a beautiful day. September 13th also happened to be the day that Flags on the 48 was going on. Basically, what happens is that on the first Saturday after September 11, volunteers hike up to each of the 48 peaks on the White Mountains 4,000 footer list and place an American flag on the summit from noon until 2:00.

It’s a pretty nice gesture, as far as honoring those who died that day in 2001. We met some interesting characters involved in the event, and we’re even thinking about volunteering to cover a peak next year!

For more pictures, route info, etc. check out:

The photo gallery
The hike page

Loose Ends

rusty — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:13:53 +0000

We finally took our first hiking trip of the year last weekend, the late start being attributed to some unforeseen events. No matter though, it was if we had never left… To break up the day, we decided to do two relatively short hikes in order to tie up some loose ends. The morning one was a trip to the summit of Mount Osceola, which we missed in February when we snow-shoed up the East peak.

In the afternoon we hit our second peak, Cannon Mountain. Going by the book time this is a short one (4 miles/3 hours) so the idea was to get that out of the way without having to one day go up north for only that hike. Though, I’m not sure what Olympian they had time that one out because it was more like 4:15 since it was insanely steep for almost half the journey to the summit.

The times were good, and it definitely felt great to get back onto the White Mountains trails again. Only seven peaks to go before we’ve finished the list, but who’s counting?

For even more:

Stop saying Hawaii in there

rusty — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:19:22 +0000

Ok so it’s been almost a month since we got back, but I’ve finally finished sorting and uploading the pictures from our recent trip to Hawaii.

In short, Hawaii is incredible. My lady and I spent a week and half there, with our time split between O’ahu and Kauai. O’ahu was wonderful for seeing the sights (Waikiki, Hanauma Bay, Pearl Harbor, etc.) and having fun with our friends. Kauai was the best for outdoor activities and beaches. I highly recommend seeing both of these islands if you ever get to Hawaii!

For me, the highlight of the trip was hiking in Waimea Canyon on Kauai. The canyon walls rise about 4,000 feet and they are quite a sight to behold. We hiked down a wooded trail and along the canyon ridge to the top of Waipo’o Falls — a wonderful 4-mile round trip.

You can see more pictures in our Hawaii photo gallery. Aloha!

PS: This title of this post is from The Simpsons.