December 28 Tecumseh

Larry and Doug took advantage of a mild winter day and hiked 4003 foot Tecumseh. The trail was hard pack snow and ice, no need for snow shoes but micro spikes were required. The weather was cloudy then clear, with temps near 30 and winds near 20 mph.

We intend to do more winter hiking so if you are interested, please let Doug know.

Below, Larry and Doug are at the summit of Tecumseh.

Below, Larry is trying to get a ride up the mountain on a chair lift. He didn't have a lift ticket so didn't get very far.

Guest Post, by David Kiley

I thought I'd share this with the rest of the OTHH members a small "redlining" goal I recently met.  

After hiking #39 of the 52 With a View, and #33 of the 48 4000 footers

in the past 18 months, Moose and I just couldn't bare heading north on Columbus Day weekend with all the leaf peepers. He had never done any hiking in the Belknap Range, so we thought we'd give it a try. 

We loved it so much, we set a goal of redlining the 67 miles of the Belknap Range AND having it done by Veteran's Day. Today we completed our goal, so I thought I'd pass along these photos of Moose and I.

If anyone wants to see more photos of our adventures they can send a Friend Request on

Facebook to WM MOOSE. They can also see where we've been by checking New England Trail Conditions website, we post under the name of 'David and Moose'.

David Kiley and Moose

"A" Hike November 6 Mt Cabot

Three OTHH hikers, Dick, Larry and Doug, climbed Mount Cabot (4170) on Wednesday, a cold and windy day. This hike was significant because Larry completed his first round of the NH 48 4000 Footers!! Congratulations to Larry for this achievement and welcome to the club.

The normal trail from the hatchery was not easily available as there was a logging operation near the York Pond trailhead that closed the road to traffic. Instead, we drove to the end of Mill Brook Rd and hiked the Unknown Pond trail from the north trailhead to the Killkenny Ridge trail. Along the way, we summited The Horn and The Bulge. The Horn offered the best views of the day. We could see Wildcat A, the Carters, Moriah and the Presidentials from Madison to Eisenhower.

Below is Larry at the summit of Mount Cabot!!

Below is a picture of Unknown Pond.

Below, Larry, Dick and Doug celebrate Larry's accomplishment.

"A" Hike Tripyramids

The North & Middle Tripyramids were hiked recently by Pam, Marie, Larry and Doug. The hike started from the Kanc and ascended on the Pine Bend Brook trail. On Monday October 21, Pam and Doug did this hike. On Saturday November 2, Marie, Larry and Doug did the hike.

The hike was much more difficult on Saturday as it was much colder and there were dozens of fallen trees across the trail from the storm on Thursday.

Although the Tripyramids are not known for spectacular views, we were able to see Tecumseh, the Osceolas, Moosilauke, North and South Kinsman, the Franconia range, Garfield, Carrigain, Mt Washington and the southern Presidentials, the Carter-Moriah range, Kearsarge North, Sandwich Dome, Jennings Peak, Passaconaway, Chocorua and the Waterville Valley ski area.

Below is a view looking north toward Mt Washington.

Below, Pam and Doug enjoy some home made carrot cake and champagne as this hike completed Doug's second round of the NH 48 4000 footers.

Over the Hill Hikers is on YouTube!

Please enjoy the movie compiled from over 200 photos, wonderful interviews, and a fabulous job editing.  Special thank you to Laurie Norman and Tracy Ripkey for their efforts in making this 15 minute movie possible.

Photos from the 40th Anniversary dinner at HOBBS Tavern, Oct 22nd, 2019

Almost 80 hikers spanning decades of hikes together, and shared mountains top vistas, gathered together at HOBBS Tavern for a celebration dinner.  40 years of friendship and community, spanning Sandwich, NH and the surrounding areas.  

Thank you all for a wonderful evening!

Add caption

Squam Range: Morgan & Percival, Oct 21, 2019

The last scheduled hike for the A group was the familiar Morgan-Percival loop in the Squam Range. Deb and Dick each left home in complete fog, wondering whether there would be any views. But Squam Lake and the mountains were just far enough north to be fog-free and sunny. Below, Dick starts up the three-section ladder just below the top of Mt Morgan; the yellow arrow at the top shows the way to a short cave section through the boulders. Next, Deb looks out over Squam Lake from the top of Mt Morgan, with Winnipesaukee beyond there, hidden beneath a low cloud layer.

Sandwich Fair Parade, 2019

A wonderful turnout to the Sandwich Fair Parade.  This year's theme was women of Sandwich.  We honored women of today, as well as those that have passed on.  It brought tears to some as they saw so many names of inspiration, family, and friends. 

Mt Rowe - Last Turtle hike in 2019

Mt Cardigan, et.al. - Oct 15, 2019

Frank, John, and Dick did a four peak Cardigan ridge hike, amid lovely fall foliage on a pure-blue-sky day. We took the Manning Trail up to Firescrew, south to Cardigan with its fire tower on the bare peak, on down to Rimrock, then Mt Gilmore (aka "Orange"), and back to Cardigan Lodge. Below are the three of us atop Cardigan, then a colorful reminder of why fall hiking is so very nice.

"A" Hike October 10 Zealand and Hale

Three hikers, Pam, Larry and Doug, hiked Zealand (4260) and Hale (4055) on Thursday. We started at the end of Zealand Rd, went by Zealand Hut, which was still open for business, and up to the summit of Zealand. There were brief views of spectacular foliage colors. On the way down, we stopped at Zeacliff to enjoy great views to the northeast and east. We could see the Presidentials and the valley near Whitefield. The colors were terrific. As we were heading down toward the Zealand Hut, we took a left onto Lend-A-Hand trail to climb to the Hale summit. There weren't any views along this trail nor the descent back to Zealand Rd.

The picture below is of Pam and Doug at Zeacliff. Mt Carrigain is in the background.

Moats Traverse - A group, Oct 8, 2019

Frank, John, and Dick did a north to south traverse of the Moats on a nice clear and dry day. North and South Moat are on the 52WAV list. The north peak is the highest of the ridge, at 3196 ft, while the south peak is only 2770. Middle Moat is in between at 2805. All three peaks on the ridge provide nice views, but I'd give the nod to the north peak as having the best. It's like being tucked up right into the underbelly of the White Mountains, with a 360-degree wraparound view running from Chocorua to the SSW, sweeping around to take in the western whites, the Presidentials, the Wildcats and Carters, North Kearsarge towering over North Conway, and off into Maine to the east. Below is just part of all that, behind John and Frank, with Washington above and to the right of Frank.

Oct 10th, B group hikes Kearsarge North

A crazy windy day at the summit.  Thankfully the fire tower offered a reprise from it.  Beautiful views, and a great hike!  Love New England in the fall!

"A" Hike October 8 Tom Field Willey Avalon

On Tuesday October 8th, three hikers completed a loop that included Tom, Field, Willey and Avalon. The first three summits are 4000 footers while Avalon is a 52 WAV summit.

Pam completed her first round of the 48 4000 Footers with her hike to Tom. Congratulations to Pam!! We hope she wasn't counting how many Bud Lights she had.

The weather was very nice for the hike, upper 40s with clear skies after 11 am. We had terrific views of fall colors on many of the mountain sides. We were also able to view Jefferson, Clay, Washington, Monroe, Eisenhower, Pierce, Jackson, Webster, Carrigain, Passaconaway and Chocorua.

New Hampshire's 52 With A View, A Hiker's Guide, by Ken MacGray

Today Cathy Crooker and I had the privilege of meeting Ken MacGray, author of "New Hampshire's 52 With A View, A Hiker's Guide".  

We talked about the upcoming revision of the 52 With a View list, and got some great feedback from him.  We discussed peaks that have lost their view over the years due to forest growth, and we even bounced around ideas of potential hikes to include in our revised list.  It was a great conversation discussing our beautiful hiking trails throughout New Hampshire.
Ken gave Cathy and I a copy of his book, and we both are excited to read it, and use it as a reference as we continue to enjoy our own quest of hiking the 52 With a View.  

We look forward to a continued friendship with Ken, including an invitation to our Spring Potluck as a guest speaker, and a book signing!

If you are interested in purchasing your own copy of the book, please check out his website at http://www.kenmacgray.org/52/ .  Ken also maintains two active Facebook pages, one page  for the book: https://www.facebook.com/52wavbook/  and another for hikers working on completing the list. The group is tailored around the community of hikers who are climbing the 52WAV peaks as well as the peaks themselves.  Check it out at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nh52wav/

-->

Oct 4th, Turtles hike Whitten Woods

Oct 3rd, B group hikes Mt. Tecumseh

On a crisp fall morning, we hiked up Mt. Tecumseh from Tripoli Rd.  What a nice trail!  We had a great day for hiking, and we were optimistic to see a view.  The drive up was beautiful and we could see Lincoln and Lafayette summits clear as day from I93.  As we hiked though, and the weather got cooler, and the fog thicker, our chance for any view started to fade.  With our extra layers on, and our cold fingers, we stayed at the summit for about a half hour to watch the fog come in and out and offer us just a glimpse of the fall colors.  It is beautiful, no matter what.  It was a wonderful hike, or for the more enthusiastic, a trail RUN!  (GO BOB!)

Peter, Barbara, Ginger, Griff, Pat, Tracy, and Bob

"A" Hike September 30 Osceolas

Three hikers climbed East Osceola and Mount Osceola. Denise, Dick and Doug started from the Kanc and used the Greeley Ponds and Mount Osceola trails. The weather was excellent and the views were superb. The leaves had definitely started to turn. Along the way, we were able to see Moosilauke, the 2 Kinsmans, Cannon, the entire Franconia ridge, Owl's Head, Carrigain, the 2 Hancocks, South Twin, Galehead, Zealand, Guyot, West Bond, Bond, Bondcliff, Jefferson, Clay, Washington, Monroe, Franklin, Eisenhower, Kearsarge North, Carter Dome, the 3 Tripyramids, Whiteface, Passaconaway and Chocorua. We could see the Carter Moriah Range but it was quite far away and we could not distinguish each individual peak.

Below is Denise at Mount Osceola.

Below is Doug at Mount Osceola with Chocorua and the Tripyramids in the background.

A picture of Dick will be added!!

Next week's "A" hikes are the Moats or Tom/Field/Willey. Let's hope the weather cooperates.

September 27 Whiteface & Passaconaway

Doug did a solo hike on Friday September 27. He did a clockwise loop of Whiteface and Passaconaway, using the Blueberry Ledge, Rollins and Dicey's Mill trails. The weather was excellent and provided views of Washington and some of the southern Presidentials, Carrigain, the Hancocks, Garfield, Lafayette, Liberty, Flume, the Kinsmans, Moosilauke, Tecumseh, the Tripyramids and Chocorua. The Osceolas were probably visible but I didn't record them.

There was an encounter with a 4 legged animal. Doug tried to give him an OTHH card as he was near the summit of Passaconaway and probably could do other 4000 footers.

Note to T.S.  I did not yell "moose"!!

Turtle Hike Bald Knob Tuesday Sept 24

Fourteen Turtles ventured up to Bald Knob on Tuesday, September 24.  We enjoyed some nice views from the lookout part way up the Cut-Off Trail.  Bill stepped in as our narrator and educator explaining the process of columnar jointing as we viewed several hexagonal columns strewn across the ground.  We proceeded upwards to the rocky Bald Knob out-cropping for lunch and photos.  The lone gentleman hiker (whose solitude we must have disturbed) kindly offered to be our photographer.  After lunch, six Turtles added a second peak (Turtleback Mountain), before descending.  Once again, the Ossipees didn’t disappoint.  The Turtles will be back!

Sept 25th, A & B hike to Mt. Chocourra

Lovely hike, views and company today! On this hike: Karen, Alison, Ginger, Karen and Marie.

About two and a half hours to the top on the Champney Falls trail, just under 8 miles.