On Oct. 2, the Friday Walkers hiked Pine Mt. in Alton.

Andrea, Kathie, Linda, Mary Lou, Irena, Ann, Jane

 On Oct. 9, the Friday Walkers hiked the Wilderness Trail in Thompson Wildlife Sanctuary.  We love hiking in October, and were very grateful for the well-blazed trail given all the leaves on the ground.

Stephen, Christine, Karen, Anne, Nancy, Ricky, John, Kathie  Photographer:  Ann

Mt Isolation - October 7, 2026

High winds on our normal Tuesday hike day put off our hike in/up to Mt Isolation for a day, but the delay was well worth it. We had a totally clear, dry, and mostly windless day for the hike, although the 7am start was about at the freezing point. We warmed up quickly (hiking uphill will do that!), and the layers started coming off. After an hour and a half on the Rocky Branch Trail, we reached the crest of one ridge, then actually went downhill for a way before resuming the ascent to the vicinity of Engine Hill. Then it was down again to a point somewhat short of what would have been the first of five stream crossings. There we took a short bushwhack toward the NW, to save a half mile of trail and the first two stream crossings. We actually lost the herd path for a way on that bushwhack, and out came the navigation apps, which led us back to where we needed to be. On the return trip in the afternoon, the herd path was much more visible, and we had no navigation problem. Even so, we learned a good lesson: on a bushwhack, have a phone app showing the route to be followed in the palm of your hand, and be sure the present location arrow stays on the marked route!

Over the rest of the morning, we followed the Isolation Trail northward, skipping crossings 3 and 4 by following a very short herd path that kept us on the east side of the river. Eventually we came out to the Davis Path, which runs down from near the top of Boott Spur, a lot closer to Mt Washington, and continues southward well past the short spur to Isolation itself. Actually, Chris went in to the upper end of Davis Path via the Glen Boulder Trail, which took him up to a junction with the Davis Path, somewhat over 1,000 vertical feet above the target peak (Isolation)! He caught up with the rest of us on that one mile stretch of Davis Path, along with a young gal (Thuy) who was hiking alone and headed also to Isolation.

Just after noon, some five hours after the start, all of us arrived at Mt Isolation. This hike marked the end of Michele's quest to hike all of the NH 48 4000 footers. Below is a summit photo of our group, (L-R) Marie, Mary, Michele, Andy, Chris, Dick, and Deb (pic by Thuy). In the background, Mt Monroe is toward the left, and above Marie is Mt Washington, with the communication towers quite visible. Below that is the star of our show, Michele. 

It took us most of the afternoon to retrace our route, and all of us were back at the parking lot before 5pm - a nearly 10-hour hike - thoroughly worn out. We were joined by Doug, Pam, and Steve, who had hiked up Mt Moriah while the rest of us were doing Isolation; Steve completed his second round of the 48 on their hike. Also joining us for the tailgate party to celebrate Michele's first round of the 48 and Steve's second round were several OTHH who came just to be part of the big day. Below (L-R are Thuy, Mary, Deb, Steve, Marie, Larry, Michele, Andy, Chris, Dick, Doug, Pam, and John.

 

Moosilauke - September 30, 2026

Eight of us OTHH started out in a cloud (fog) at the end of Ravine Road, heading up the Rocky Gorge Trail, which would take us to the top of Mt Moosilauke (4802 ft). As we climbed, the fog got brighter, until finally we emerged above the cloud, with sunshine and blue sky overhead. Below is the group summit photo, with Brenda, Ginger, Dick, Marie, and Katherine in front, and Donna, Andy, and Jeremy in back. 

 

The view to the east shows the cloud deck covering all but the higher summits. On the left, and closest, is the northern part of the Franconia ridge, with Mts. Lafayette and Lincoln. Somewhat toward the right, and far off, is Mt Washington. To the right of that, Mt Carrigain pokes its summit up through the clouds.

 

B group hike, Sep 24th, Mt. Chocorua

Great day for B group hiking Chocorua. Group picture L to R: Brenda, Sarah, Karen, Ginger, Michele, Barbara and Mary.

Lincoln & Lafayette - September 22, 2026

We had an absolutely perfect early fall weather day for this epic hike up to and along the Franconia Ridge, with it's famous unmatched and unending views. The start was quite cool, but with barely any breeze, and the air mass was clear and dry. Twelve of us (yikes!) started up the Falling Waters Trail, for a counter-clockwise loop, while later another four started up the Greenleaf Trail, going clockwise. This hike was a large draw, partly for its being such a favorite, and partly for the celebration to come afterward (read on!).

After three hours of  steady elevation gain (3000 ft), we came out of the trees onto Little Haystack. This peak, at 4,760 ft elevation, doesn't even count on the 48 4K list, for lack of 200 ft of "prominence" above the ridge connecting it to Mt Lincoln (5089 ft) just to the north. Here we began a ridge hike of over two miles above treeline. The views to the west are down to the highway up through the notch, across to Lonesome Lake (which can't be seen from the highway) and the two Kinsmans, plus Cannon Mountain, with its own famous cliff. The view to the south takes in Mts Liberty and Flume, and beyond that to the top of the Loon Mtn ski area. To the east is the Pemigewasset Wilderness, which can't be seen from any highway. In that eastward foreground is the long Owls Head ridge, and beyond it the three Bonds. Far away Mt Washington is quite visible. At the north end of the wilderness is Mt Garfield, where we had been just two weeks ago (in the clouds). Then, straight north, is the Franconia Ridge itself, with the trail quite visible over the rocks.

Hiking that 1.7 miles of ridge took us over Mt Lincoln, Mt Truman (many don't realize that bump has a name!), and finally to Mt Lafayette (5260 ft). Reaching this peak marked the end of an impressive milestone for two of our OTHH crew. Marie completed her "over 75" round of the 48 4K, and Pat completed her "over 80" round! Below are Marie and Pat, at the summit, and then we have the twelve of us in the "counter-clockwise group." From the left, we see Brenda, Leanne, Michele, Marie, Becky, Jonathan, Ginger, Deb, Andy, Jane, Dick, and Pat. Not shown are Doug, Pam, Chris, and Steve, who had crossed paths with our group along the ridge, then rejoined us later at the cars for the party.

 

 

After three hours of descent, we all were ready to be done, and ready to party, with cake, brownies, cookies, and bubbly! It was a notable celebration of what Marie and Pat had finished.

Doing the clockwise traverse, starting from the base of Cannon and using the Greenleaf Trail to ascend to the Lafayette summit were Pam, Chris, Doug, and Steve. Below are Pam and Doug approaching the summit of Lincoln.

Below are Chris, Doug, Steve, and Pam on the summit of Lincoln with the summit of Lafayette in the background.

For many years, we have ignored the 0.1 mile spur on the Falling Waters Trail that goes to Shining Rock. Today, we decided to go there and see what it's all about. We were impressed. It is a giant open faced (wet) slab. We decided to not try and climb it.

 On Sept. 22, the Turtles had a choice of two different hikes.  One group hiked Whiteface in Wolfeboro (or perhaps Ossipee?).

Lea and John; photographer: Ricky

The other group hiked Mt. Cube.

Irena, Karen, Tracy