Getting one last hike in before the weather turns messy, six of us OTHH hiked up Mt Israel, on a sunny but cool November morning. Fortunately, there was only light air moving, despite the upper-20s temp up top. Below are (front) Dick, Jane, Deb, and Patsy; then (rear) Andy and Doug. Behind Patsy is Sandwich Dome, and off in the distance, with what looks like a bit of snow on top(?), is Moosilauke.
Four of us OTHH had a wonderful mid-fall day for the loop route for Mt Paugus. We took the Cabin and Big Rock Cave trails up over unremarkable Mt Mexico and down to Big Rock Cave. Below are Doug, Patsy, and Jane at the entrance to the main cave. Kids (including Patsy and Jane) like climbing up through the cave, out the back entrance, and around to the front.
Then it was up the Old Paugus Trail to the top of Paugus. The view from the open ledge a few yards below is what keeps Paugus on the 52WAV list. Below are Patsy, Jane, Dick, and Doug, with Whiteface and Passaconaway in the western view behind us.
Then it was down the Lawrence Trail, connecting to the Cabin Trail for the long walk out through the low woods.
On Tuesday Oct 25, a group of hikers headed off on a warm, cloudy and misty day up Mt Moriah on the Stoney Brook Trail. The group consisted of Bernie, Katherine, Wharton, Larry, Jonathan, Erika (Jonathan’s daughter) and Pam. It was so great to have a young’un with us. She did all the leading and did a great job, setting a good pace and keeping us in line.
This was the first time anyone in the group had hiked this trail. I had heard that the trail starts off fairly mellow the first couple of miles and then it gets steep up to the Moriah/Carter Trail to the top of Moriah. They were right. So, the wetness in the beginning was not a problem until the trail got steep. Luckily it did not give anyone any trouble and we all got up safely.
The weather outlook was good for the early afternoon and on, so we all were very hopeful that we would get some good views on the top. The forecast was right and we got lots of warm sun and we were treated to some lovely views. Unfortunately, Washington did not want to show itself and stayed under clouds all day.
On the way down we did encounter some very slippery sections but
we all made it down safely which is number one in importance and we all had a
good time which is number two.
In the furthest back row of the picture below are Katherine and Wharton. In the middle row are Pam and Jonathan. In the front row are Erica and Bernie. If you look really hard into the clouds, you will not see Washington.
There was a good turnout for the Willey Range hike (Mounts Tom, Field and Willey) on the west side of Crawford Notch, on a glorious fall day. The day started on the cool side, but totally clear and with little wind. Starting at the train depot near the AMC Highland Center, we took the Avalon trail up half way, then the A-Z trail up to the junction with the Mt Tom spur trail. Tom has nothing much in the way of view, although here and there are glimpses eastward toward Washington, the top of which had a light show covering. Back at the junction, we headed southward on the Willey Range Trail, over to Mt Field. Field has a decent view spot a few yards from the actual summit. But it was onward to Mt Willey, which does have a great view, just a couple hundred feet from the actual summit. There we had lunch at the ledges looking down at Crawford Notch and across the way to the rugged Webster Cliff, with the southern Presidentials and Washington beyond that. Below, at that outlook, are (rear) Pam, Doug B, Larry, Patsy, Doug W, and (front) Dick and Jane. Following lunch, it was all downhill from there, but people have been telling us that for some time.
A good group of Turtles, B hikers, A hikers and walkers from the Over the Hill Hikers carried on the tradition of marching in the Sandwich Fair Parade. This year we won a First Place prize for our category, AND we were honored to also win Best in Theme for the entire parade.
This year's theme was 50 Years of Saving Sandwich Notch and Preservation.
Thank you to all who came out to support this long standing tradition.
6 of us had a great hike on the perfect day to climb the steep trail up to the Doubleheads.
Jan, Jane, John, Patsy, Katy, and Leanne climbed up to the north peak for a great view east and then on to south for a very expansive view from the Squam Range to the Presidentials- the perfect autumn foliage hike!
Five of the OTHH took a little walk up the ski trail at Wildcat to the top of the lift, then up the last few yards to the top of the "D" peak. Then it was through the woods along the Wildcat Ridge for a couple of miles to the "A" peak. There we stopped for lunch, while taking in the view across Carter Notch to Carter Dome and northward over the Carters. Especially impressive from there also is the look down (darn nearly straight down!) to Carter Lake and the Carter Notch AMC hut. Then it was down the north side of the "A" peak to pick up the 19 Mile Brook Trail, for a nice 3.6 down and out hike through the woods to the cars left there earlier.
Below are Doug, Marie, Darrell, and Jane (pic by Dick), where the ski lift ends. Behind us, across Pinkham Notch, is Mt Washington (over 2000' higher than we were), with its famous Tuckerman and Huntington Ravines.
Then we have Dick, Darrell, Marie, and Doug atop the lookout tower on the "D" peak, just above where the ski lift ends (pic by Jane).
Over at the "A" peak, are Marie (seated), Doug, Dick, Jane, and Darrell, with Carter Dome behind us.
Nine of us headed up the Dublin trail to Mt. Monadnock. According to Wikipedia, this is the 2nd most frequently climbed mountain in the world!! 2nd to Mt. Fiji in Japan. Today's crowds at the summit could definitely make you believe this statement. Of course the beautiful fall day in September could also contribute to this. It was a beautiful day with blue skies and fall foliage showing off all around us.
Seven of the OTHH made the hike up the Pine Bend Brook trail from the Kanc, then the Mt Tripyramid trail to North Tripyramid, then onward to Middle Tripyramid. Then it was back out the way we came in. Below are Carol, Dick, Pam, Doug W, Marie, Larry, and Doug B just below the top of the middle peak.
A number of us made our way to the furthest North 52 With a View, Mt. Magalloway. This "easy" 2.2 mile hike in the rain had us testing our rain gear to the fullest potential. The summit, which has a fire-tower, cabin, picnic table and fire-pit, was socked in with a wall of clouds / fog, so we will have to go for the views another time.
After a night of rain, the hike up the Mt Kinsman trail started out in cloudy dampness. Things thinned out somewhat as we got to the junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail, and we had some sun overhead, but still with no views laterally, due to the low cloud deck. At the lookout a few feet below the top of the north peak, we could see the very tops of the Franconia ridge across the notch in the clear above the clouds.
A group of seven hikers from the B group made our way up Champney Falls to the summit of Mt. Chocorua. The views of course never disappoint with 360 degrees of mountains, lakes and scenery to take in. The trail was slightly muddy in the usual places, and the 30mph winds had you looking for rocks to tuck behind to enjoy lunch at the summit. It was a great hike on a beautiful day.
This is one of those NH 48 4000 footers that conjures thoughts of "why?" It's not a lot of vertical gain or steepness. It's just a long relatively flat and very wet hike to a summit that is 4003 feet high. Dick hiked to Isolation on Friday while Pam, Wharton and Doug hiked to Isolation on Monday. All of us were pleasantly surprised at how dry the trail was. It is still a lot of rock hopping but at least they weren't super slippery.
Here are Pam, Wharton and Doug on the trail.
The trail is covered with very large and colorful mushrooms. Many of the hikers were taking pictures of them.
Sunday, September 11, eight of us hiked to the summit of Garfield. We chose this day as it was the remembrance of 911 and each of the NH 4000 footers were going to have a US flag on the summit. There is a group called Flags On The 48 that organizes this activity. It was quite thrilling to see the flags as they appeared on so many mountains in the distance.
Below are Larry and the flag on Garfield.
Six of the OTHH made the hike to the top of Mt Cabot, on a very damp day. We started out in rain gear, but after a half hour or so the light rain ended enough so we could shed that layer. By late morning, any precipitation had ended. But still the cloud ceiling remained low, so there were absolutely no views anywhere on the trail. But that's the nature of hiking - they're all good hikes. Below are Carol, Pam, Wharton, Dick, Doug, and Katherine at the summit.
7 of us had a great hike today up to Rogers Ledge.
Doug W., Doug B., Pam A., Jane S., Katy H., Patsy B., and Leanne T. climbed 8.4 miles RT, with about a half hour at the summit soaking in wonderful sun and views, and returned to our cars in about 4 and 1/2 hours. Mushrooms and mud were plentiful, and the trail was in great shape. We only saw 2 people and their very small dog all day.
A small group of us headed up to the summit of Smarts Mtn, a 52 WAV. The trail was full of AT Thru hikers heading North Bound. The actual trail was in great condition, and the trail maintenance was very impressive. New log crossings, and a lot of rock work led you up to wonderful scenic over looks, open ledges and 360 degree views from the fire tower.
