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!