Peakbaggin'

I am a natural list maker and follower. Love "to do" lists, "travel" lists, "wish" lists, ect. That is why I am a natural peakbagger. I discovered a few years ago Peakbagger.com. This fabulous site has hiking lists from all over the world of various challenge levels. Some I know I'll never accomplish, like the 7 Summits of the World. Others I have a great start on. You can check out my list and maybe make one of your own.

For me the list is another way to get outdoors. I'm able to try new trails and perhaps challenge myself a bit more than if I were to hike the same tried and true trails over and over. This all started, for me, when I picked up The 4000-Footers of the White Mountains by Steven Smith. I never even knew there was such a hiking list. From then I was hooked. At the moment I have completed 50% of the AMC's White Mountain Four Thousand Footers List. I hope to complete a large chuck of it next summer and maybe complete it in the next 4 years. Meanwhile, because of Peakbagger.com, I've found so many other lists that are in the area. It's enough to keep me hiking and outdoors.

Hiking Schedule for Next Year

At the end of every hiking season, I plot out my ideas for next year. I know that things change, especially with craziness of work and life in general but I think it's great to have an outline to go by. For those of you who hike with us on a regular basis this is what's in store for 2009.

March 28- Section 3 Going North on the Midstate Trail
April 5 - Section 4 Going North on the Midstate Trail
April 25 - Section 5 Going North on the Midstate Trail
May 9- Section 6 Going North on the Midstate Trail
May 22 - 25 Annual Memorial Day Camping Trip in the White Mountains
June 26 - 28 Mount Jackson
July 10 - 12 Mount Isolation (2nd attempt)
July 24 -26 Mount Clinton and Mount Monroe
August 7 - 9 The Wildcats
August 21-23 Mount Carter
September 4-7 Annual Labor Day Camping Trip in the White Mountains

Why Another Hiking Blog?

I just recently read a blog by Two-Heel Drive that made the case for why hikers should blog about their recent outdoor experiences. Add that to my constant hiking partner's comment about how he wanted to start a website based on my quest to complete the 4000' mountains in NH. I'm not the best writer or the best hiker but I do enjoy spending time on the web and hiking. I've hiked about half of the 4000-footers on the AMC list and then I found Peakbagger.com and my horizons expanded. I am working on multiple lists and am excited by the different places to get outside. I hike for many reasons but mainly because it is a stress reliever for me. I truly enjoy the view from the top of a high peak and the stillness you can find in the woods. It's Fall now so my hiking has become waylaid by work and then the cold (yes, I'm a wus). So I've started planning for next Spring!

Hiking Osceolas Last Weekend -Import from Myspace

Last weekend, Ben and I hiked the Osceola peaks (no. 20 and 21) and ran into something interesting that I want to share. No it wasn't a bear. We ran into a camera crew and a young family.

The older boy, Evan, is working on a fundraiser that he developed to raise money to turn his school green. He's hiking 10 peaks of the White Mountain 4000' and raising $5000. It's a really cool thing this kid is doing. I read about it through Views From the Top and I think I caught it again in the Boston Globe. He had a camera crew with him because there is a gentleman from WBZ who is trying to pilot a new program for the Green channel... Backyard Environmentalist. All in all it was pretty neat. Here's a picture of us with Evan.



Check out his blog if you want to be inspired by someone young doing something to impact his world. Summits for My School

Midstate Trail Part 2 - Import from Myspace

So since the first hike went so quickly and easily, I decided to up the ante. The next hike was set for April 13 and the snow was still sticking to even the Belknap range. It was time to take on Section 2 of the Midstate. Once my hiking email list confirmed or denied their ability to come along, I let them know that it was to be an 11-mile hike (ok that was a tiny bit evil!) and to let me know if they thought the could handle it. One couple did back out, they stated it was due to taxes. I have my doubts! So it was just the boys and me.


We met at Dan's and then put a car at each end of the trail. We started out in Orford walking on the roads and dutifully following the yellow triangles. Little did we know that we would be on roads for a very long time.
There was a brief journey into the woods.
But then we went back out on to the road. We saw some beautiful homes and several old cemetaries. In all honesty, the road was a bit wearing on us.

This road is designated as a Massachusetts Scenic Road. It was pretty but I wouldn't say it was all that special. At the end of that road we came across a cute little milk store. We knew it was a milk store because it said so....

That's also when it started to rain. But our buddies Black and Brown didn't seem to care...
We got to the border of Sutton and Douglas and I pulled out the map. I swear the roads were not described as this long but I've been known to gloss over things like this before.
We finally got to the woods with only 4 miles left to go. There were some water crossings ... and lots of flat land.

Just before we found Dan's car we saw this guy...
and he just kind of sums up the whole experience. Afterwards, we went to Pizzaria Uno for some dinner. I had forgotten about what huge portions are there. We also were kind of lacking in trying to find a new restaurant to try. There seems to be very little on the web for that area when it comes to restaurants. If you have suggestions please let me know.

It was a good hike. Road hiking is not something I really like to do and my hip was bothering me the next day. However, it was a huge section of trail to get done and the next segment looks as if it is truly in the woods again! Next scheduled hike is Memorial Day weekend, however, there may be one sooner than that!

Midstate Trail Part 1 - Import from Myspace

When I went to the Everglades I started plotting and planning for camping trips and other outdoor experiences. Then I returned to several feet of snow and 20 degree weather. That definitely brought about severe cabin fever. Well the snow still hasn't melted from the White Mountains and probably will be there until July. So it was time for my backup plan. Once the snow was gone enough, I would start hiking the Midstate Trail.

For those of you who don't know about this trail it is a 97-mile trail that runs from RI to NH in the middle of MA. There is very little information about this on the Web but you can look at the pretty website... www. midstatetrail.org

I emailed my regular hiking group (if you want to be added to the list let me know) and we made plans to head south for some hiking on March 30th. We planned a 6 mile hike from one car to the RI boarder and then to the other side of Douglas State Forest.


Here's the crew for the day.....

The trail was quite flat, we may have gained a few hundred feet of elevation and pretty dry. I missed the first shelter on the trail, totally never saw it. But there was a neat circular well (we think). Savoie and Dan M. really cranked up the pace and kept us all going.


Ben pretended to be the little hiker dude on the orange triangle blazes...

Doesn't he look like a professional hiker?

Afterwards, as with any of our trips, we went out for dinner (again if you want to be included let me know). Ben is now in charge of planning dinner which usually means good beer and pub like food. He got a tip from Crawford and we went to Brew City in Worcester. I have to say, it wasn't bad. Service was definitely slow but they were able to accommodate a table of 7 - 9 people on short notice and we did stay there for 3 hours. Some of the beers were VERY expensive but the food was decent and "normal" beers were cheap.


This was a great way to start the hiking season. We got outside and just started moving! It wasn't long but it was just enough to get me going and try to be out more. The next trip report will be coming soon.