The not-so-easy Mt. Galehead and Garfield

Galehead and Garfield was one of the more challenging hikes I completed. It was an early morning start and the weather looked very promising. I started off the hike on the Garfield Ridge Trail. The trail was very pretty and parealled the Gale River for quite a ways. After around an hour or so of easy hiking, the trail got consistently steeper and steeper. Before I knew it I had summated Galehead. Along the way I met a hiker from France. Although he didn’t speak much English, he talked about how it was cool to go from hiking the huge peaks of the French Alps to hiking the Appalachian Trail of the US. The ridge hike from the top of Galehead to Garfield was very difficult. The weather had gotten worse and it had started to drizzle. As I’ve learned through this process, whenever you think you’re close to the top…your not. This was the story of this ridge it never seemed to end. Eventually, when I got to the top of Garfield, it was very cold and raining so I didn’t stay long to enjoy the fabulous views it had to offer. There were great views of the nearby Lafayette Ridge. The hike down was very long and steady; by the end of the hike it was warm and sunny again. The hike finished off nicely with a 2-mile traverse to where the parking lot was. Overall it was a good hike, bad weather.

Carrigan

My friend Amanda and I decided to hike Mt. Carrigan together. It was a picture perfect day, with no clouds and temperatures in the 70s. This hike was especially interesting for Amanda because she had done the very same hike 4 months earlier during our school’s “outback”. Throughout the trip she would point out the places where her group had set up campsite or gathered water. It was nice going up with someone who had done the climb before because they knew the easy and tough spots. The hike was a very constant climb, never too easy or too steep. We made great time and were at the summit in a little over 2 hours. On the top of the mountain was a storm tower that we climbed. From there the views of all New Hampshire were incredible. Since the weather was great we stayed atop the mountain for a quick lunch. All in all this was a great hike on a beautiful day.

B-E-Autiful hike up Mt. Moosilauke

The hike up Mt. Moosilauke was a wonderful experience. Since Dartmouth College owned the trials, they were in very good condition with nice bridge crossings and clear signing. The hike started off very easy with a nice river weaving around the trail. After about a mile and a half, there is a little beach with a sign saying “last know water”. From this point the hike got more and more challenging. After a scenic ridge I arrived at what I though was the top. From there trail went to a hill which marked the actual summit. There were wildflowers and cool grass fields on the bare peak of the summit. Also, there was stack and stacks of rocks that Dartmouth Students and climbers alike had stacked at the top. For Dartmouths orientation, all freshman take a hike up Moosilauke so it is a very popular destination. On my way down there was a flash storm for about 10 minutes where it rained extremely hard. It was a nice cool off after a satisfying hike.

Liberty, Lincoln, and Lafayette!

Lafayette, Lincoln, and Liberty are three of the most challenging, yet popular hiking destinations in New Hampshire. This is because it is unique is the sense that you are pretty much above tree level the whole time. Many photo contests have been won from the beautiful scenery and views you get from the top of the peaks. My friend Tucker and I started are hike at 11 in the morning. Originally, we were supposed to bag Flume peak also, but we missed the trail for that and continued on. The first peak we got to was Liberty. After a short lunch break we continued on to Lincoln. It was a pain to go from peak to peak because it went very steeply downhill, then very steep uphill. There were hundreds and hundreds of hikers on the top of Lincoln, and even more on the top of Lafayette. I swear Tucker and I were the fastest hikers on the whole mountain because we passed everyone. It was amazing to see Cannon Mountain, the mountain I ski at all winter, from up so high. It’s a shame that the Old Man isn’t there anymore. Finally we began the long journey down Lafayette a finished around 4 in the afternoon. It was a very long but fun day!

Hale with the Family

Today I hiked Mt. Hale with my family. It was a last bonding experience before we shipped josh off to camp. All in all it was a pretty short and plain hike. There were no views because the hike never got over tree line. An aspect of the hike that was cool was how at the top, there was the reminisce of an old fire tower. In addition, there was a huge pile of rocks that other hikers had made at the top of the hike. The weather was great so it made the day!

The Hancocks with Dad

North Hancock Mt. – 4,420
South Hancock Mt. – 4,319
Distance – 11.5 miles
Estimated Time – 7:20
Actual Time – 4:40


Today Dad and I hiked the Hancocks. We were originally planning on hiking the Garfield/Lafayette Ridge but the clouds were hanging low and I wanted to save those great views for a blue sky day. Also, the Flume Trail is particularly tough, especially on a wet day and we were having wet days.

The hike into the Hancock Loop trail was relative easy except for the water on the trail. We were constantly skirting the sides as to avoid deep wet muddy puddles in the middle of the path. The trail tested our balance as we had to walk across several narrow and slippery logs. It also tested our patience as there were three rivers that we had to cross which meant taking off our shoes and wading up to our knees. On the way down, though, the freezing cold water felt really good on our feet.

When we arrived at the loop, we met three hikers coming down who suggested that we head up the North Hancock branch and come down from South Hancock. It was good advice. The North Hancock trail was extremely steep and extremely wet. Imagine climbing 1,000 steep stairs with water pouring down from the top. By the time we reached the summit our thighs were burning. We were rewarded, though, with clearing clouds and the best views I have seen on my hikes to date. From the top of North Hancock we overlooked Osceola and the Tripyramids. Craning our necks to the right, we actually saw Flume and Walking Boss at Loon.
The hike across the ridge was all in the trees and South Hancock offered little in the way of views. We then skedaddled down, trying to run but constantly having to stop and work our way around the puddles and the rivers running across the trail. Our trip down seemed to go on forever but we knew when we arrived at the “slippery logs” we were close to the bottom.

North and South Kinsman!

Today, two Holderness friends Amanda and Emily and I, hiked North and South Kinsman. This was a long, long hike. The trail first went up to Lonesome Lake, a beautiful hidden lake in the middle of the mountains. At the lake there is a really neat AMC campsite along with cabins and a dining hall. From the lake there were a wide variety of trails we could take. We took the kinsman ridge trail. This was a long, steep, 5-mile trail. After hours on this, we arrived at yet another lake. A steep trail from this led up to North Kinsman. The top was cool because it was a cliff overlooking great views of many peaks, and even Loon Mountain. The trip from North to South Kinsman was not very hard. At the top of South Kinsman there was yet another massive pile of rocks signifying the top. We went down a shorter path to Lonesome Lake. We were so hungry; we even stopped in the AMC hut and bought some soup. The trip took us a total of 7 hours, the longest of all of the hikes I have done so far.