Start/End: Carter-Moriah Trailhead, Bangor Road

Peaks: Moriah (4,049')

Elevation Gain: 3,440 ft

RT Mileage: 8.62 mi

Duration: 6 hours, 32 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 1

Snow/Ice Difficulty: Grade I

When an unseasonably warm stretch through the first half of December melted most of the snowpack, I decided to take advantage of it and do some easy peakbagging. I ended up going with Moriah, for no particular reason. Read more...

Start/End: Greeley Ponds Trailhead, Kancamagus Hwy

Peaks: East Osceola (4,156'), Osceola (4,340')

Elevation Gain: 3,050 ft

RT Mileage: 7.33 mi

Duration: 5 hours, 59 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 2

Snow/Ice Difficulty: Grade I

Two weeks ago I realized how inexperienced I was with shoulder season hiking, and I decided that now was the best time to change that. The weather on Friday looked better south and east, so I decided to go with the Osceolas. Read more...

Start/End: Signal Ridge Trailhead, Sawyer River Road

Peaks: Carrigain (4,700')

Elevation Gain: 3,440 ft

RT Mileage: 9.69 mi

Duration: 6 hours, 23 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 1

I had thought I was done for the season after Tecumseh, but when an exceptionally warm stretch presented itself right at the end of October and melted all the snowpack, I wasn't going to turn it down. I decided to continue with the theme of single 4,000ers and went with Carrigain. Read more...

Start/End: Waterville Valley parking lot

Peaks: Tecumseh (4,003')

Elevation Gain: 2,250 ft

RT Mileage: 5.11 mi

Duration: 3 hours, 25 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 1

I had initially been planning on spending peak foliage weekend leaf peeping instead of peakbagging, but later figured, "Why not both?" The northern Whites were past peak and had seen significant leaf drop from the storm on Saturday, so I opted for one of the southern 4,000ers. I ended up going with Tecumseh since it has ski trails on its slopes and, consequently, easy views. Read more... 

Start/End: Lincoln Woods Trailhead, Kancamagus Hwy

Peaks: Bondcliff (4,265'), Bond (4,698'), West Bond (4,540')

Elevation Gain: 4,955 ft

RT Mileage: 22.32 mi

Duration: 11 hours, 48 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 1

After Galehead the previous week, I decided to close off summer 2023 with another hike in the Pemi Wilderness. I had a choice between getting Owl's Head out of the way now or procrastinating it and bagging the Bonds instead, and I chose the latter. Read more... 

Start/End: Gale River Trailhead

Peaks: Galehead (4,024')

Elevation Gain: 2,610 ft

RT Mileage: 9.81 mi

Duration: 5 hours, 36 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 1

With the end of the season fast approaching and good weekends remaining hard to come by, I decided to shelve the two technical hikes I had left for another time. In the meantime, I decided to get some more forgiving 4,000ers out of the way. When I had done the Twins, Zealand, and Hale Loop earlier in the year, I had left Galehead hanging, so I decided to get that taken care of first. Read more... 

Start/End: Spruceton Trailhead

Peaks: Hunter (4,040')

Elevation Gain: 1,940 ft

RT Mileage: 6.85 mi

Duration: 2 hours, 57 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 1

After Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide the previous day, I had Hunter up next. I was initially planning on hiking from Becker Hollow, but ended up choosing the Spruceton Trail instead. Read more... 

Start: Woodland Valley Campground

End: Slide Mountain Trailhead, Oliverea Road

Peaks: Wittenberg (3,780'), Cornell (3,860'), Slide (4,180')

Elevation Gain/Loss: 3,930 ft / 2,865 ft

Point-to-Point Mileage: 9.24 mi

Duration: 6 hours, 31 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 1

Immediately after returning from the Canadian Rockies, where we vacationed for much of August, we went camping in the Catskills for Labor Day weekend. I figured it would be a good idea to take the opportunity to bag both Catskills 4,000ers. Future me, tying up the NE115 someday, would probably thank myself. Since we were staying at Woodland Valley Campground, I decided to ascend Slide directly from the campground and arrange to get picked up from the standard trailhead. Read more... 

Start/End: Appalachia Trailhead, Rt. 2

Peaks: Adams (5,774'), Madison (5,367')

Elevation Gain: 5,150 ft

RT Mileage: 9.54 mi

Duration: 9 hours, 58 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 2+

The second and third weekends of July both involved afternoon thunderstorms, and all of the hikes I had left for the summer were above treeline and technical, so I didn't want to take any chances. A good weather day finally presented itself on the 23rd, and I took the opportunity to bag Adams and Madison. I intended to take the Class 3 King Ravine up but decided on Chemin des Dames instead after speaking to the ranger at the trailhead. Read more... 

Start/End: North Twin Trailhead

Peaks: North Twin (4,761'), South Twin (4,902'), "Guyot" (4,580'), Zealand (4,260'), Hale (4,054')

Elevation Gain: 5,495 ft

RT Mileage: 16.92 mi

Duration: 10 hours, 26 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 1

The last two weekends of June were total washouts, which meant no hiking. By the time Fourth of July weekend rolled around I was getting impatient, and decided to take my chances on a day with a slightly lower chance of thunderstorms. I didn't want to be too risky though, so I went with the nontechnical North Twin, South Twin, Guyot (not a 4,000er), Zealand, and Hale Loop, which is safely below treeline most of the way. Read more... 

Start/End: The Basin parking lot

Peaks: Flume (4,328'), Liberty (4,459')

Elevation Gain: 3,565 ft

RT Mileage: 8.1 mi

Duration: 5 hours, 44 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 3

After taking the spring off from hiking, I decided to resume hiking with the classic Flume and Liberty Loop to warm up for the harder hikes I had planned for the summer. For those who don't know, this loop ascends the Class 3 Flume Slide Trail and descends the much tamer Liberty Spring Trail. Ironically, the Flume Slide Trail doesn't actually follow the Flume Slide, but rather a minor gully adjacent to the actual slide. Read more... 

Start/End: The Basin parking lot

Peaks: Liberty (4,459')

Elevation Gain: 3,130 ft

RT Mileage: 6.99 mi

Duration: 4 hours, 8 minutes

Snow/Ice Difficulty: Grade I

Before the end of climatological winter, I wanted to get my sister her first winter 4,000er. I decided to go with Mt. Liberty, a summit that I hadn't done in winter myself but one that I knew was fairly straightforward. We took the Liberty Spring Trail both ways, the only direct route to the summit of Liberty. Read more... 

Start/End: Ferncroft Trailhead

Peaks: Whiteface (4,020'), Passaconaway (4,043')

Elevation Gain: 4,335 ft

RT Mileage: 11.96 mi

Duration: 7 hours, 45 minutes

Snow/Ice Difficulty: Grade I

I got COVID for the first time in early January 2023, and it took me five weeks to fully recover. I unfortunately missed out on most of the winter as a result. Whiteface-Passaconaway was on my bucket list from the start of the winter, so I decided to get it done first when I did finally return to form in mid-February. I decided to go for the classic route – up Blueberry Ledge to Whiteface, across Rollins to Passaconaway, and Dicey's Mill back down. Read more...