The Sandwich Range is the southernmost range in the White Mountains. Home to four peaks on the 4,000 footer list, the range was the perfect place to go for our first overnight hike of the season. This time, we hit four mountains on our list: Mt. Passaconaway, Mt. Whiteface, Middle Tripyramid and North Tripyramid. At just over 20 miles, it might have been a bit ambitious for the first multi-day trip of the year, but we still had a blast!

• Photo gallery of the hike
• Sandwich Range Hike info page

We started relatively early on Saturday morning and made our way down Oliverian Brook Trail, following the blue blazes. About a mile into the trail, it split off at a fork so we decided to turn right and keep following the blazes. Three quarters of a mile down that side trail we happened upon a large group of people standing at a fire road, scratching their heads. As we later figured out, we all had gone the wrong way by following the blue blazes! So, backtrack we did and that’s why on the GPS plot above you’ll see a slight detour near the beginning of the trail.

The rest of the trip went smoothly, though. The first day we hit Mt. Passaconaway and Mt. Whiteface, then camped near the summit of Whiteface at an old tent site called Camp Heermance (which is no longer maintained). On day two we walked across the Sleepers, then up the south slide of the Tripyramids. Dropping our packs where Tripyramid Trail meets Sabbaday Brook trail, we quickly bagged North Tripyramid, then made our way out the 6 miles back to the car. The last pasrt of the trail went right through Sabbaday Falls, which is an incredibly beautiful waterfall right off of Route 112.

After this 20+ mile trip, we were definitely ready for some Yankee Smokehouse on the way home!

Last weekend we had originally intended to hike up Mt. Cabot, but since time was going to run out (leaving our car locked behind the gate of the Berlin Fish Hatchery) we decided instead to hike up to Tuckerman’s Ravine. A popular place for adventurous skiers, the ravine is about three miles up the side of Mount Washington. Even though it was in the high sixties and sunny, there was a ton of fresh snow on the mountain and that brought out gaggles of skiers, boarders and spectators like us.

Here is a picture of the route plotted from Dan’s GPS data using Google Earth:

There are no chair lifts at the ravine. Instead, people strap their skis/boards to their backs and then hike the three miles to the bowl. Once there they proceed to climb up the side of the ravine (sometimes having to use ice picks to get up there), strap their skis on and ski down. It’s pretty incredible to watch.

Even though we didn’t get to hike our planned route, the day was still a blast. You can see some more pictures in my photo gallery of the hike.

I recently finished switching over all of my photo galleries to Flickr, the premier online photo sharing site. Using Flickr instead of Coppermine (the software that used to run the galleries on this site) has a ton of advantages. Now people can get the full-size versions of photos, commenting is better and easier, the look and feel is nicer, and it’s also just easier for me to manage. Plus, you can do some neat things with Flickr — check out the little animated photo badge on the right!

To celebrate my new Flickr account I’ve added four galleries that I had been meaning to post:

• Pictures from my trip to Australia from 2001. Better late than never, right?
• Photos from Kevin and Leigh’s wedding in Vail last fall.
• Some pictures from the 2006 US Open in Flushing Meadows, NY.
• A few shots I managed to take in Oulu, Finland when I was there last year.

You can go to a page with all of my Flickr galleries or you can just see the latest pictures I’ve added. Enjoy, and please leave me some comments if you can

Well we loved hiking Mahoosuc Notch in the snow so much that we decided we were due for another trip up north. This time we went to hike Mount Waumbek, one of the lowest 4000 footers and also one of the most northern of the group. The conditions were great: high temperatures in the mid teens, slightly overcast, excellent visibility, and only a very light snow at times.

• Mt. Waumbek hike photo gallery
• Mt. Waumbek hike info page

Again as with the Mahoosuc hike, preparation was key. We were dressed in many layers, had plenty of water and a reasonable plan to get back before dark. The trail was in very good condition, with firmly packed snow and markers every 100 feet or so. When hiking in the snow it’s easy to lose the trail if it’s not well marked or there are no footprints to follow. The trail conditions on this hike alleviated any of those concerns.

Hiking in pristine winter conditions is unbeatable. Walking up a mountain surrounded by a forest covered with deep undisturbed snow is almost like stepping into a different world. Though winter hiking brings with it a unique set of challenges (or water kept freezing!) the experience is well worth the extra effort!