We had a full group of 12 hike the three peaks of the Blackhead Range on a beautiful autumn day following an early snowfall. Due to the trail conditions, we wore microspikes for the first time this season.
Halcott Mountain – October 19, 2013
We hiked Halcott Mountain a beautiful fall day. For MK, this was #38; the next to last peak on his quest to earn his 3500 patch.
From the parking area we crossed the creek above the waterfall on the north branch of the Bushnellsville Creek. We continued through the cairn fields and then stayed on the north side of the next creek, paralleling it while climbing mainly towards the west-northwest.
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Esther and Whiteface – October 13, 2013
On Sunday of our Columbus weekend outing we led a hike to Esther and Whiteface Mountains. The weather was unseasonably warm (in the 70s in Lake Placid!) and most of the group wore shorts.
Street and Nye – October 12, 2013
Alternate title: There are no views on Street and Nye 
Overheard at the Loj: “We are saving Street and Nye for a rainy day because there are no views”.
Today’s lesson: There usually are views if you take the time to look (and don’t be an eavesdropper at the Loj). Please enjoy the rest of this somewhat tongue-in-cheek post: Continue reading
Liberty and Flume – August 31, 2013
Part of our pre-labor day White Mountains trip, this was an 11 mile thru-hike from the Flume Visitor Center to Lincoln Woods. It was a very warm, humid and mostly cloudy day, but very little rain fell. Beginning on the Whitehouse Trail we quickly reached the Liberty Springs Trail which becomes increasingly steep until it reaches the junction with the Franconia Ridge Trail. We stopped at the junction for a snack and to cool off and spoke briefly with a ranger who was making the rounds.
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Mt Carrigain – August 30, 2013
As part of an extended pre-Labor Day hiking trip in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, I took the group up Mt. Carrigain via the Signal Ridge trail. From the trailhead on Sawyer River Road this hike is about 10.6 miles and 3300 feet of elevation gain. In the winter, the road is closed and you should plan on this hike being several miles longer. Continue reading
Mt Willey – August 16, 2013
This was a day hike starting on the Ethan Pond trail at the Willey House station. It is a short hike at just about 5.5 miles, but includes about 2800 feet of elevation gain, almost half of which occurs during the last 3/4 mile before the summit. This steep section also includes an extensive set of ladders.
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Osceolas – August 14, 2013
This was an out and back hike to Mount Osceola and East Osceola starting and ending at the Greeley Ponds trailhead on the Kancamagus Highway. The weather was beautiful, except for a brief shower while we were on the way back to the trail head.
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Hunter Mountain and Leavitt Peak – June 29, 2013
We hiked Hunter Mountain and Leavitt Peak (also know as Southwest Hunter) on a warm early summer day. It was a sort of a belated Father’s Day hike as both of my sons came along and we had another father-daughter combination there as well. We hiked a loop starting on the Spruceton Trail and ending up back at Spruceton Road via the Devil’s Path and Diamond Notch trails.
Witttenberg, Cornell, and Slide Mountains – June 15, 2013
We traversed the Burroughs Range from Woodland Valley State Campground to the Slide Mountain parking area on Route 47. Along the way we enjoyed the many viewpoints and short rock scrambles as we followed the Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide trail over its namesake mountains. This is one of my favorite routes in the Catskills owing to those same views and scrambles. Continue reading