Start/End: Pinkham Notch Visitor Center

Peaks: "Boott Spur" (5,492')

Elevation Gain: 5,125 ft

RT Mileage: 15.04 mi

Duration: 12 hours, 21 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 2+

Perhaps the view that struck me most during my Presi Traverse, and there were many contenders, was peering into the expanse of the Great Gulf from its upper rim on the northwest shoulder of Washington. For my next hike, I decided to check the Great Gulf Trail off my bucket list and get a more intimate perspective of the Gulf from its floor and particularly from the headwall scramble up to the rim, checking off another Terrifying 25 route in the process. Since the Great Gulf suspension bridge is still closed, I would hike into the Gulf using Old Jackson Road from Pinkham to bypass the closed bridge, and this would allow me to descend back to Pinkham using the Boott Spur Trail, my favorite trail on Mount Washington, instead of having to retrace my steps down the headwall. Read more...

Start: Appalachia Trailhead, Rt. 2

End: Crawford Notch, Rt. 302

Peaks: Madison (5,367'), Adams (5,774'), Jefferson, (5,712'), Washington (6,288'), Monroe (5,384'), Eisenhower (4,780'), Pierce (4,310')

Elevation Gain/Loss: 9,665 ft / 9,220 ft

Point-to-Point Mileage: 24.03 mi

Duration: 21 hours, 0 minutes (+1 day)

Rock Difficulty: Class 1

Backpacking a Presidential Traverse has been on my bucket list for years. Last summer was going to be the summer until my left ACL had other ideas. Heading into the week after the 4th, two multi-day weather windows became visible on the horizon before a wetter pattern looked to take shape by mid-month. One was a perfect weather window beginning Saturday the 11th and lasting through the end of the weekend. The other would begin Wednesday the 8th and last only until Thursday afternoon before being cut short by thunderstorms. Prioritizing solitude over safety, I chose the latter for my attempt on the traverse. Read more...

Start/End: Lowe's Store, Rt. 2

Peaks: N/A

Elevation Gain: 4,305 ft

RT Mileage: 11.66 mi

Duration: 12 hours, 37 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 2

Last year, one day shy of the 250th anniversary of Lexington & Concord, I flew the American flag on Adams. 63 weeks later, one day shy of the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, I did the same one mountain over on the only remaining snowfield in the 13 original colonies. Read more...

Start/End: Bradley Pond Trailhead

Peaks: Santanoni (4,607')

Elevation Gain: 3,090 ft

RT Mileage: 11.33 mi

Duration: 9 hours, 34 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 1+

It would be a waste of an Adirondacks camping trip to not bag at least one High Peak. The Santanonis were the closest High Peaks to our campsite on Lake Harris, and we originally planned to bag all three in the range (Santanoni, Panther, and Couchsachraga), but the terrain, bugs, and mud had other ideas. Read more...

Start/End: Pinkham Notch Visitor Center

Peaks: N/A

Elevation Gain: 2,405 ft

RT Mileage: 6.69 mi

Duration: 5 hours, 8 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 1

Snow/Ice Difficulty: Grade I

Last year, on May 23, I hiked to Hermit Lake during a late-season snowstorm and was treated to a winter wonderland. This year, when a nearly identical snowstorm showed up on the models exactly one week later, I had to run it back. This time, I hiked all the way to the base of Tuckerman Ravine, where, somehow, I haven't been in over two years. Read more...

Start/End: Rt. 4

Peaks: Saddleback (4,120'), The Horn (4,023')

Elevation Gain: 4,160 ft

RT Mileage: 15.17 mi

Duration: 9 hours, 39 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 1

For my first hike after coming back home for the summer, I decided to bag the next two closest Maine 4,000-footers after Old Speck (which I did last month), the Saddlebacks. I chose to ascend the AT all the way from Route 4 instead of taking the Saddleback ski trails up to the ridge for a longer but gentler and more scenic hike. Read more...

Start/End: Grafton Notch, Rt. 26

Peaks: Old Speck (4,170')

Elevation Gain: 3,060 ft

RT Mileage: 7.67 mi

Duration: 6 hours, 3 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 1+

Snow/Ice Difficulty: Grade I

A weather window finally presented itself on the second and final Saturday of my spring break after a series of rainstorms. I decided to take the opportunity to bag a Maine 4,000-footer in Old Speck, hoping that trail conditions would be more manageable in the northeastern Whites where temperatures had been colder and less rain had fallen over the week compared to the New Hampshire side. I was right. Read more...

Start/End: Marshfield Station

Peaks: Jefferson (5,712')

Elevation Gain: 4,080 ft

RT Mileage: 9.98 mi

Duration: 7 hours, 45 minutes

Snow/Ice Difficulty: Grade I

It was my good fortune that a rare perfect weather day presented itself in the Whites on one of the three days I was home for February break, and I pounced on the opportunity to log a winter ascent of Jefferson, usually considered one of the hardest winter 4,000ers. It would be my first bluebird day hike since Monroe and Washington last March. Read more...

Start/End: Lafayette Place Campground

Peaks: "Little Haystack" (4,749'), Lincoln (5,089'), "Truman" (4,994'), Lafayette (5,260')

Elevation Gain: 4,010 ft

RT Mileage: 8.75 mi

Duration: 5 hours, 51 minutes

Snow/Ice Difficulty: Grade I

Almost four years ago, I hiked Lafayette for my first winter 4,000er. My original plan at that time though had been to hike the entire Franconia Ridge, and it was only because of inexperience that I was not able to, so when my friend suggested we hike the ridge for sunrise I was on board immediately. Read more...

Start/End: Rt. 3

Peaks: Garfield (4,500')

Elevation Gain: 3,270 ft

RT Mileage: 12.73 mi

Duration: 6 hours, 2 minutes

Snow/Ice Difficulty: Grade I

For my last weekend before heading back to school, I decided to bag Garfield and check off one more winter 4,000er. Garfield was also at this point probably the only above-treeline 4,000er I had not yet seen the views from (it was socked in the last time I hiked it), and I wanted to remove that final blemish too. Read more...

Start/End: Waumbek Golf Course, Rt. 2

Peaks: "Starr King" (3,907'), Waumbek (4,006')

Elevation Gain: 2,970 ft

RT Mileage: 8.07 mi

Duration: 4 hours, 32 minutes

Snow/Ice Difficulty: Grade I

After a brutal day on Pierce and Eisenhower two weeks ago, I spent a well earned week and a half in warm, beautiful South Carolina and Florida. Upon returning, I was immediately back in the Whites, attempting Waumbek to check off another winter 4,000er. I had already hiked Waumbek in winter conditions in April 2024, but April does not count as winter in the world of peakbagging. January 4 does, of course. Read more...