Franconia Ridge - December 27, 2020

I've been looking forward to get back to the Whites for some winter hiking (both official and otherwise) and was able to get up for three days after the Christmas holiday. Sadly, it was a 2020 Christmas which among other things brought a ton of rain to New England - stealing pretty much all the snow here in Rhode Island that we had accumulated the week prior. The videos I saw from the Whites showed impressive river levels which had me worried about the conditions I'd face. The trip reports I viewed the night before I left gave me a bit of hope but I departed for this trip in a weird headspace. I had wanted to get in several day hikes and also wanted to take a stab at hammock camping. I had got it in my mind to camp on Night 1 which was making my drive/gameplan stressful. Before I even filled up for gas I made the decision not to camp on Night 1 which made me realize I had more flexibility on where to hike. Suddenly I was looking forward to the trip again.

Looking at the weather reports, I decided to attempt the Franconia Ridge on my first day in part because it's a straight shot up I-93 and I had read a promising report on the Falling Waters trail. The primary reason was that the first day looked to have the mildest wind and temps. I figured if I was going to get above treeline this was the day to do it and then I could spend the bulk of the other days in the woods.

The lot was about half full when I pulled in at 11:30. I was happy to find that spikes worked well the entire way up the Falling Waters trail. I had never been on this trail and the falls were suitably impressive, especially with the ice formations that covered them. A good number of people appeared to have made the trip to the falls. There was indeed not a ton of snow but the spikes gripped well on the crunchy ice left behind.

Once I got up to the ridge, I quickly decided to take off the spikes. There was a bit of ice along the ridge and a couple near slips but for the most part it was bare rock and I would have destroyed the spikes in the process. Barebooting worked well. No views today - it was all clouded in - but the trail itself was visible and there was almost no wind. It was very quiet at times and since I started so late I didn't see a soul on my ridge walk.

The descent down from Lafayette was not as enjoyable as the ascent. Spikes were necessary for the initial descent but there was enough bare rock to be annoying. Eventually the spikes came off again as I approached treeline. I passed a few intrepid folks still ascending but most of the folks I encountered were on their way down. The best views of the day came as I descended below the clouds. I could see open skies to the south. The setting sunshine was poking through the clouds closer which made for a beautiful scene in the late afternoon.

The Old Bridle Path seemed to have much less snow/ice than Falling Waters and trying to avoid rocks and dirt grew wearisome. I finished the hike just after nightfall and drove to Lincoln to grab some grub before making my way to my motel for the night. All in all, an enjoyable return to winter hiking and I was very happy with my time above treeline. These were #18 & 19 for my winter NH48 list.  Here's the video:

Lantern Hill Snowshoe Run

We've finally gotten some snow!  Was able to strap on the snowshoes for hill repeats up Lantern Hill.  I now have 14k feet of elevation left to hit my year goal of 300k feet of elevation for the year.

Castle Craig and Those Connecticut Hills

Had a good run over in Connecticut yesterday, venturing over to Castle Craig for the first time. Great place with lots of trails to harvest that vert!  Ended up with 5k vertical gain over 4.25 hours.  Beautiful views!  See my video of the trip below.

2020 Goals Update

Li'l Rhody Runaround 2020

I filmed the Li'l Rhody Runaround this weekend.  It looked different with all the COVID restrictions but I'm glad they still held it.  I got there early for a long run and figured out some good places to shoot from.  I managed to film the start, middle and finish of the race, though I didn't get back in time to catch the front runners.  Still the staggered start was helpful in spreading out the field, making filming easier.

Here's the video for those interested.  Thank you everyone who has subscribed to my channel!

Mt. Moriah and Rattle River - Fall Hiking in the White Mountains

Went up to New Hampshire last weekend with my wife Amanda. It was great to get away for the weekend and the weather promised to be extremely nice for November. I wanted her to pick the hike and she poured over the map before deciding on Mt. Moriah. To my surprise she wanted to take the Rattle River Trail, figuring that this longer route probably would be quieter. She was certainly correct. We say very few people until we hit the summit.

The leaves were all but gone from the trees and made for a crunchy first few miles as they were all underfoot. The Rattle River was certainly not impressive with the general lack of rain but it's constant burbling was welcome. The rested briefly at the Rattle River shelter where an overnighter was packing up to ascend. He passed us not long after at a river crossing. When we reached the trail intersection a decision was to be made. Amanda had to choose between Mt. Moriah and Shelbourne Moriah - we knew we likely wouldn't have the time or energy for both - and she opted for Mt. Moriah. The next section of trail was lovely with more bog bridges and moderate climbs. 

I wasn't surprised that the summit was packed with people but we found a little corner to rest and enjoy our lunch. After about 15 minutes up top it was time to head back the same way. It was a long hike out - this was Amanda's longest single day hike to date and we were both ready to be done as sunset approached. We reached the car around 4:30 pm - it had taken us about 8.5 hours and we were tired but satisfied. 

In retrospect booking a hotel in Plymouth for afterwards wasn't the best choice as it made for a long ride but Amanda was able to rest and it afforded me the opportunity to hike Moosilauke the next day so it was worth it. We brought a pizza up to our hotel room and relaxed for the rest of the evening. This was Amanda's 14th 4000 footer and she did great despite the exhaustion. Always wonderful to hike with her. 

Here's the video of our hike. As always I appreciate everyone who takes the time to watch, like and subscribe!

Mt. Moosilauke - November 8, 2020

My wife and I spent the weekend in the Whites, spending Saturday hiking Mt. Moriah (separate report coming for that one). We stayed in Plymouth on Saturday night and I snuck out of the hotel in the wee hours and made the 30 minute drive to the Glencliff trailhead. I've never been up Moosilauke from this trail and figured it shouldn't be too hard to follow with a headlamp. I was correct although I still managed to go off trail once or twice as one does in the dark. Originally I didn't think I'd make it up for sunrise but I was making good time and started to push when I realized I was on target. There was a one short section of Glencliff that was fairly icy, making me regret my lack of spikes momentarily, but it was short lived.

Once I reached Carriage Rd I could see the spectacular sunrise poking through the trees. I pushed as fast as I could in order to get above treeline before the colors faded. I didn't encounter any more ice - just a lot of mud. I was able to get my look at the sunrise which was splendid. I continued on to the summit which ended up being more overcast than anything. But the weather was so warm that I was able to throw on my synthetic jacket and linger up there for twenty minutes despite the steady breeze and being in shorts. The last time on Moosilauke it was a bit of a zoo so having the summit to myself was a nice treat.

Originally I had planned to just descend Glencliff but I was doing well on time so I decided to head down Carriage Rd and take the Hurricane trail back to the car. There was one brief section of snow/ice on Carriage Rd but otherwise the trail was fairly dry. And a joy to run down. Hurricane trail had a couple peaceful streams and a partially obstructed viewpoint at height of land. This trail was marked well by blue blazes which I was thankful for as it was a little tough to follow with recent heavy leaf cover.

Happy to fit this one in before heading home. After showering and checking out we still had time for a tasty outdoor breakfast at the Main Street Diner (maybe the best homefries I've had). See below for a short video of my hike!

Wolf Hill - First Snow of the Season!

Ran for a couple hours in Wolf Hill on Sunday.  Still a little bit of snow on the ground here and there.  Made for a fun run and I took some footage with the GoPro.  I had the idea for some cool zoomed-in shots that I would then pull back from.  They came out pretty good but it definitely pushed the GoPro's limits when I zoomed-in - even at 4k.  Still some good ideas in this video and I'm happy with the result.  Check it out below!

Lantern Hill...and more foot issues

Last Sunday I ran repeats over at Lantern Hill.  Surprisingly busy with four difference groups heading up in the pre-dawn to get to the top for sunrise.  Once the sun came up I pulled out the GoPro and shot footage for the short video below.  A quick little tour of Lantern Hill as it were.

Went for a family hike over in Tillinghast later in the day and the bottom of my right foot began to ache midway.  By the next day it really hurt.  Hooray a new injury!  Anyway now it's Friday and the foot finally seems to be getting better so long as I'm wearing shoes.  It's when I'm barefoot that the pain is worse.  

Not sure what this latest injury is but it's a little dispiriting to keep get sidelined by nagging things as we roll through the last third of the year.  I spent my time this year collecting elevation with the goal of 300k vertical feet of gain. I was on track up until September and now that goal is slipping away.  Not a major thing overall but it does stink that I'm stuck at home instead of out on the trails.  Hopefully November/December will be more fruitful.

Anyway, guess I paid a heavy price for this latest video so make sure to watch it and subscribe!

Round 2 of 4000 Footers Complete - Mt. Carrigain and Vose Spur

 Finished up my second round of the 4000 Footers last Saturday on Mt. Carrigain.  After hammock camping in the birch woods two miles from the summit on Friday night, I woke up early and hiked up in the dark to finish Round 2. 

Then I went around the backside and bushwhacked up Vose Spur as part of the New England Hundred Highest.  There's a fairly well defined herd path so it's not a true bushwhack but it was certainly still a lot of work.  

Pretty happy with this video which gets a little silly at times - all in remembrance of a great pair of crocs that are gone forever.

Whiteface and Passaconaway - Wrapping Up Round 2

Went up the the Whites this past weekend and wrapped up my second round of the 4000 footers.  I had two left - Whiteface and Carrigain.  First up was Whiteface which I did along with Passaconaway.  I had wanted to get up there at least once this fall for the foliage but it came and went so fast this year due to drought conditions that most of the higher leaves were already gone.  Still beautiful especially since the yellow birch leaves were popping.  Here's the video of my first hike.

Run For the Pumpkins Trail Race - October 3, 2020

Oh no, I didn't run this race.  Besides my general lack of enthusiasm for shorter races, I smashed my big left toe on a log a couple weeks ago.  It turned many wonderful colors.  I was afraid it was broken but the X-ray came back negative and the diagnosis was not to run for 4 weeks.  Well it hasn't quite been two weeks yet but the toe does feel much better.  I'm planning a trip to the Whites this weekend which shall test it.

Anywho, I'm enjoying putting content up on YouTube and I was in need of something to film so I thought I've take a stab at recording another trail race.  Wasn't sure if the toe was going to be an issue but I didn't notice it at all.  I was definitely out of practice with regards to filming races.  I forgot about how once the race starts you have to just improvise and do your best.  A bunch of footage I thought I shot near the beginning actually didn't record which was a bummer but otherwise I'm fairly happy with the clips I got.  

For this video I experimented with slow motion and some zooming effects.  Probably over did it at times.  In terms of subjects I mostly focused on recording the usual suspects and then added some frantic music from last week's band practice.  Not too bad - if anyone still reads this blog please give it a view and considering subscribing to my channel.  I would certainly appreciate it!

Three Pond Trail Run - September 20, 2020

Decided to work on my video work during my long run this weekend. Went over to the Long Pond/Green Fall area and set up some shots along the way as I went. My gimbal allows for autorotation which made for some cool rotating shots. I added a live track my band recorded at last Friday's practice. It's a pretty good track and I'm happy with how this short video came together.

I'm sick of filming myself so I guess I need to run with other people again. I'm also thinking of geting to some fall trail races to film there as well...

Franconia Ridge Backpacking - August 26-27, 2020

As is our tradition these last few years, Ezri and I went up the Whites for an overnight in the mountains. Usually this involves a stay at an AMC Hut - a good incentive that gets her up there. This year with COVID the Huts aren't an option so with some reluctance she agreed to go backpacking and stay at an actual campsite in the woods. I choose Libery Springs campsite as it's not too far a climb and would allow us to climb Liberty and Flume unencumbered. Fairly windy up top but the forest provided some cover so it wasn't too bad down at the campsite.

I wasn't sure if she would be willing to continue along the ridge on Day 2 but she was game. Very windy once we got past Little Haystack. It was a long day and she was toast by the time we reached the top of Lafayette. As a result it was a long slow descent down Old Bridle Path. Our moods darkened. Luckily nothing like finishing the hut to pick up our spirits. Overall this was a fun adventure and I'm hopeful she'll want to undergo more such trips with her old man.