Connie and Ed co-led a bushwhack of Fir and Big Indian mountains for the Catskill 3500 Club as part of their annual winter weekend. We had a large group of 12. A few inches of snow the day before made for great snowshoeing and picture postcard scenes despite the cloudy skies.
Friday and Balsam Cap – January 3, 2015
Three of us hiked Friday and Balsam Cap on a snowy winter day. Not every day can be a bluebird day, but there is something special about a bushwhack in softly falling snow.
Gray, Skylight and Marcy – October 12, 2014
I led our small group on a hike of Gray, Skylight and Marcy starting and ending at the Adirondack Loj. We did a loop of sorts via Lake Arnold / Feldspar up to Four Corners over Marcy and back to the Loj via Van Hoevenberg.
The weather was fantastic, although the trails were icy in spots above about 4000 feet. Continue reading
Bushwhack Range Plus Two – October 5, 2014
This hike was a great workout and a nice dry run for hiking “the nine” one day, not to mention bagging 6 separate peaks for those who were working a list. The route was a through hike and we spotted cars at Moon Haw and Peekamoose Roads. The weather for this hike was beautiful, especially compared to the prior day when I had hiked Rusk in the rain with a friend. Continue reading
Mt Moosilauke – August 30, 2014
This was a great day for a hike to an open summit. Two of our group passed on the hike after one of them developed a bad blister the day before, but they thoughtfully met us at the trailhead at the end of the hike with some refreshments from a local brewery that they had just toured.
The rest of us (8) started from the Beaver Brook trailhead on Rte. 112 hoping for a scenic and less traveled route on the busy Labor Day weekend. Beaver Brook was a success on both counts. Continue reading
Presidential Range Traverse – August 27 – 29, 2014
This was a three day traverse of the Presidential Range that included all of the peaks in the range. After hiking Mount Madison on day 1, we spent the night in the newly renovated Madison Springs hut. On day two we hiked the northern Presidential range including Mt Adams, Mt Jefferson, Mount Clay (a 5000 footer but not officially Continue reading
Owls Head – July 20, 2014
A smaller group of 6 hiked Owl’s Head from Lincoln Woods on day three of our White Mountains trip while the others opted for a relaxing day down in the valley. Owl’s Head is the longest standard route to one of the New Hampshire 4000 footers, although we did cut a couple of miles off and avoid a tricky water crossing by bushwhacking both ways near Black Pond.
Continue reading
The Hancocks – July 19, 2014
Day 2 of our Whites trip featured a circuit of the Hancocks (Mount Hancock and South Hancock). The weather was a little more humid and not as clear as the previous day in the Tripyramids, but remained dry and was still a nice day to hike.
Continue reading
Tripyramids – July 18, 2014
This was the first day of our July group trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. After a comfortable night at the AMC Highland Center, our group of 9 hikers started bright and early at the Pine Bend Trailhead on the Kancamagus Highway. The weather was perfect with great visibility from the many view points on our loop hike of North Tripyramid and Middle Tripyramid Mountains. Continue reading
Friday Mountain – July 13, 2014
Our group of 4 planned to bushwhack Friday and Balsam Cap on a very warm humid day. There was a threat of thunderstorms during the afternoon and rather than push our luck, we settled for just Friday and a shorter day. At times the clouds obscured the summits and the haze dulled the views into the valleys, but it didn’t rain while we were on the mountain. Continue reading