For a delisted peak, you can still get some beautiful views on the hike, but not at the summit. We added a couple of miles due to parking at the nearby Glencliff Trailhead, so we were able to get about 5.5 miles AND beat the afternoon rain showers.
From Left to right: Chris, Tracy, Denise, Jean, Barbara, John, and Jane
The B group kicked off its 2026 hiking season with Stinson Mountain, a 52 WAV. It was a great warm up hike, and would be ideal in winter due to its gentle grade. It was a bit breezy at the summit, as much as we are all ready for shorts, it is still a bit early for them. I was glad to have my gortex shell to help break the chill.
It was a peak bagging day, with good hiking weather and not many bugs yet, for a trip up "scenic" Mt Hale, one of the 4K. For a departure from past hikes up Hale, we took the Fire Warden trail on the west side, from about a mile in on the North Twin trail starting at the end of Haystack Rd. The Fire Warden trail, while no longer an "official" trail, is a favorite of winter hikers. Perhaps one reason for this is that, with winter road closures, the North Twin trail can be accessed with a shorter road walk than can the Hale Brook trail, on the east side, off Zealand Rd. Another reason is that the grades on Fire Warden are quite even, with no very steep sections or ledges to navigate. Also, there are no difficult stream crossings on this route, other than a minor one going in that mile on the North Twin trail.
Below, at the top (where there is no view at all!) are Pam, Doug, Dick, and Pat.
Five of us OTHH took a nice walk up Mt Kearsarge (north), just outside North Conway. We had moved the hike from our usual Tuesday to a Monday, as the weather outlook for Tuesday was HOT, with the chance of thundershowers in the afternoon. Well, we ran into showers on the drive up, and there were some sprinkles here and there for an hour. Someone coming down from the top spoke of a downpour while he was up top. At least we didn't get that. However, the showers passed on by, the sun came out, and we had great views all around from the tower at the top. Below, inside the nice room atop the tower, are Bernie, Michele, Dick, Barbara, and Pat.
The A group had another great weather day for this trip up South Moat Mountain, in Conway. The weather was sunny, cool, and dry. The bugs hadn't yet made themselves known here just yet. Up top, after lunch, are (sitting) Katherine and Andrea, and (standing) Deb, Mary, Ginger, Andy, Pat, Barbara, Jon, Dick, Michele, and Tracy.
We had a somewhat warm, but clear and sunny day for another hike up Mt Israel. Turnout for this one was again higher than usual, and there were ten of us setting out. We went past the first viewpoint, and higher up was the open ledge area with the nice view northward toward the Sandwich Range. That point often is mistaken for the top, but for that we kept going another ten easy minutes to the actual summit. Still, we kept on for perhaps another 100 yards to another open ledge area, this one having a view not only of the Sandwich Range but also of the Paugus Range, with Mt Chocorua at its end. The photo below was taken at that point. Left to right are Mary, Michele, Barbara, Dick, Andrea, Richard, and Pat.
The A group hike season got underway with a fairly easy walk up Mt Pemigewasset, at the southern end of Franconia Notch. There were quite a few of on the hike (15), many more than is typical. We took two trails up (Mt Pemigewasset, Indian Head), coming together at the open ledges up top. Weather was ideal - full sun, cool and dry air mass, and no black flies yet!
Below, at the summit ledges, are (L-R) Dick, Brenda, Donna, Mary, Mike, Katherine, Larry, Marie, Pam, Deb, Andy, Carol, Pat, and Richard. Photo by Bernie.
