Mount Madison, Mount Adams, Mount Jefferson (8/26/13)

Mt. Madison
--5,367'--
--#5--

Mt. Adams
--5,774'--
--#2--

Mt. Jefferson
--5,712'--
--#3--

--22.2 mi--

(the trail we used up Madison is cut off at the top)

We began our hike at 4:30 AM, parked at Appalachia parking off of Route 2 in Randolph. We took Valley Way up to Watson Path. This trail was extremely steep!! We had crappy weather the whole day. Winds were extremely strong on most of the summits! 

Wild at heart 

::Mt. Madison::

up, up, up on Watson Path

I didn't take any pictures on Madison because of the wind and rain. 

::Mt. Adams::

My poncho didn't last long in the wind!

Princess

::Mt. Jefferson::

Our original plan was to complete the whole Presidential Range, Madison to Jackson, but the weather was just too much and we were making poor timing. We decided to head down Caps Ridge Trail from Jefferson. 

At 1.4 miles, there's an intersection where we thought we were still continuing onto Caps Ridge Trail but we ended up hitting up The Link trail............HORRIBLE MISTAKE! This trail is 1.6 miles, all boulders, and it was extremely difficult to find the next cairn because of the fog. So instead of ending up on Base Rd in Bretton woods, we took the Castle Trail back down to Route 2. Once we reached the road, it was 3 miles back to the car. Making that little mistake caused us to add 5 plus miles onto our trip and we ended up doing just about the same miles as it would have been to do the whole presidential range.

We will meet again!

MY LIST!

I have hiked 19 out of the 48 4,000 Footers in NH.  I still need to hike one more mountain to complete the top 10 (Moosilauke). 

N. Twin, S. Twin, West Bond, Mt. Bond, Bondcliff, Guyot, Zealand Mountain (8/12/13)

North Twin 
--4,761'--
--#12--

South Twin 

--4,902'--
--#8--

West Bond 
--4,540'--
--#16--

Mt. Bond 
--4,698'--
--#14--

Bondcliff 
--4,265'--
--#30--

Guyot 
--4,580'--

Zealand Mt. 
--4,260'--
--#31--

--20.7 mi--

We started this hike at 5 AM. We parked one car at the Zealand Trailhead ($3) and drove to the trailhead to North Twin Trail (free). The first part of the N. Twin Trail was very hard to follow. The actual trail crosses the river several times but I have read before hand that its best to follow the river on the left side. You cross the river where the fallen tree is. This part took us awhile to get across. 

This was both mine and my friend's longest hike ever! It was mentally and physically exhausting but we did it and can now cross it off our lists! I'm just going to let the pictures speak for this 7 mountain hike...

::North Twin::

::South Twin::

 I've hiked all those mountains! :D

Summit of S. Twin...and the junction to the AT! 

::West Bond::

::Mt. Bond::

 

::Bondcliff::

 

 

::Zealand Mountain::

No View at this summit...just this sign!

The hike down Zealand was very tiring! We followed the Twinway (AT) down to Zealand Falls Hut. This trail felt like it would never be flat! We met a really nice AT hiker who gave us encouragement to finish our hike! 

Mount Hight & Carter Dome (8/7/13)

Mt. Hight
--4,675'--

Carter Dome
--4,832'--
--#9--

--10.2 mi RT--

The trailhead to the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail is located off of Route 16 in Carter Notch. Parking is $3. 

The first 1.9 miles on the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail was fairly easy. At the intersection, we took a left and went up Carter Dome Trail to be able to bag Mt. Hight and then Carter Dome. Unfortunately Hight is not part of the NH 48, but the 360 view is spectacular!! 

This sign made me laugh, the AMC spelled the mountain name wrong.

::Mt. Hight::

Looking towards Maine

Carter Dome

Mt. Washington

It was really windy at the top of this one so we didn't stay long. We took the Carter-Moriah Trail (AT) to Carter Dome.

::Carter Dome::

The summit of this mountain wasn't that great. There's no view except for the patch where trees have been cut down. 

People on Mt. Hight

From the summit of Carter Dome, it was 1.2 miles from the Carter Notch Hut. We stopped at a look-out point (its a little off the trail but WORTH IT!) I had also stopped to talk to some North to South AT hikers! Young guys my age, I loved hearing how and why they started!

Carter Notch Hut

Looking over Wildcat's shoulder towards the Mt. Washington Auto Road

We ended our trip back on the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail. Great weather on this day! 

Little Haystack, Mount Lincoln, Mount Lafayette (7/10/13)

Little Haystack
--4,760'--
--3 mi one way--

Mt. Lincoln
--5,089'--
--.7 mi (from Little Haystack)--
--#7--

Mt. Lafayette
--5,260'--
--.9 mi (from Lincoln OR 3.8 mi from trail head via Old Bridle Path)--
--#6--

To get to the trail head, travel on I-93 (either N or S) take exit 32. There is parking on both sides of the high way. Parking is FREE. 

My friends and I decided to ascend via Falling Waters Trail, then travel on Franconia Ridge Trail, and descend via Old Bridle Path. I was told that going down Falling Waters Trail was difficult so I wanted to try going up it. By going up, we were able to look at beautiful waterfalls! The trail wasn't that bad, although this day it was since it was raining. Very slippery. 

the Princess

::Little Haystack & Mt. Lincoln::

When we got to the summit of Little Haystack, it was really cold, rainy, and foggy. While hiking on the Franconia Ridge, we had to hide multiple times behind rocks to get away from the 60 mph winds! We couldn't tell which peak was the summit of Lincoln. Nor could we see more than 10 ft in front of us. 

1.7 miles from Little Haystack to Lafayette

::Mt. Lafayette::

By the time we got to the summit of Lafayette, winds were stronger and it was a lot colder! We didn't stay up at the summit too long! 

We made our 1.1 mile descent down to the Greenleaf Hut where we got out of the pouring rain for a bit. They had the most delicious peanut butter and chocolate bars I have ever tasted!! Those made my day!!! 

From the Greenleaf Hut, we had 2.7 more miles to go to reach the trailhead...we did it in the pouring rain, thunder, lighting...and who could forget about that mountain lion! The Old Bridle Path was EXTREMELY slippery! Majority of the time we were crab walking down the slabs of rock. I banged my knee into a stump, blood was shed on hands...its was a good time. LOL. 

The end result of my trip: ruined map, soaked back pack which I hung up for a week to dry, and all of my belongings laid out on the floor.

Mount Monroe & Mount Washington (6/25/13)

Mt. Monroe
--5,384'--
--2.4 mi one way--
--#4--

Mt. Washington
--6,288'--
--1.8 mi (from Mt. Monroe)--
--#1--

My friends and I took the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail to get to the summits of Mt. Monroe and Mt. Washington. Due to severe weather warnings, we took the Cog Railway down. 

To get to the trailhead, take Route 302 until you get to the Cog Railway Base Road. There are two starting points. The main one (which is a $3 parking fee) is located about a mile before the train station. We parked at the train station, which shaved off a mile. Its free to park there except during peak seasons which they charge $5 a car. 

The trail was a lot more fun than Jewell Trail. There's many waterfalls, rocks, boulders, and scenic views. Two popular spots on this trail include:

The Gem Pool

The Cascades

AND

The Lakes of the Clouds AMC Hut

But there are many un-named waterfalls, streams, and pools on the trail. The path is steep majority of the time. We had to scramble up the rocks a lot. 

::Mt Monroe::

Mt Monroe has got to be one of my favorites now! I absolutely loved all the green fields and lakes. Things everyday people can't see! I LOVE it! 

climbing up to Mt. Monroe summit

Me! :)

Mt Washington is hiding behind me...im the small white dot :)

::Mt Washington::

After we hiked to Mt Monroe, we looped around and heading up to the summit of Mt. Washington via Crawford Path. The path from the Lakes of the Clouds hut was all rocks/boulders. The weather changes extremely quickly sometimes up there. When we started, it was partly cloudy, but as we got closer to the top, we couldn't see much infront of us. We also met two hikers, who met each other at the beginning of their hikes and decided to hike up together. It was great talking with them and sharing the experience with them. 

I made a joke (since we could barely see anything) that we would probably run into the building...we just about did. Here's some pictures of the hike up and the summit. We spent awhile at the top and took the Cog Railway down. 

At the summit

We did it!

The huge downfall to the #1 tallest mountain in NH is that its filled with tourist. When I hiked last summer, we had to wait in a long line to gout out picture with the summit sign. Hikers get last priority which stinks because we work our butts off to get to the top. 

One day I will hike the AT...332.4 to Katahdin! 

not sure if you can read it...loved this comic! 

super comfy chairs!

The Great Gulf

So far, I've completed 7 of the 48 4,000 Footers! Tomorrow I'll be hiking 3 more! :)