The Friday Walkers on Sept. 20 at the last waterfall on the Book Trail at Castle in the Clouds.

Monty, Lea, John, Ricky, Traci, Kathie.  Photographer:  Ann

Sep 19, Mt Moosilauke

 The B group ventured out of the usual 52 WAV, and tackled Mt. Moosilauke for the win.  It was a spectacular day, with warm temps and clear (but slightly hazy) skies.  We even popped over to South Peak on the decent.  

Photo above, L to R: Richard, Alan, Laura, Katherine, Tracy, Michele, John, Jane, Steve, Mary

The trails are in great shape, and the amount of trail maintenance is very impressive with stone work, and erosion control, especially for such a heavily used trail system, it was fantastic.  The views are amazing, and every direction is simply gorgeous.  Fall colors are starting to emerge.

September 17 - Mt Moriah

 Michele and Dick hiked up the Carter-Moriah trail to the top of Mt Moriah on a clear, warm, not-quite-fall weather day. We saw all of four other hikers the whole day. The mid-section of the trail is noted for its many long stretches of somewhat steep rock slabs. But everything was dry, and the rough texture of the rock surface provided great traction, making both ascent and descent fairly easy. Below is Michele, at the top outlook rock, with one of several gray jays perched on her hand, lured by a treat from her goody bag. In the background are Madison, Adams, and Jefferson. Mt Washington is hidden by her head.

 The Turtles climbed Mt. Pemigewasset on Sept. 17:

Linda, Mary, Tracy, Karen

Tuesday Sep 10 Monroe & Washington

The forecast was calling for temperatures around 30 with winds steady at 40mph gusting to 60. There was no indication of precipitation the night before or during the day so five of us set off for the summits. Dick and Larry were in the early start group while Pam, Doug and Steve were in the late start group. The hike up to the Lakes of the Clouds hut was uneventful. While heading up and down Monroe, we all wondered what the conditions were going to be like since the wind took your breath right out of your lungs.

Fortunately, the conditions were pretty decent heading up to the Washington summit. The temperature was 38 with winds steady at 40 so the wind chill was 24. We were all dressed for those conditions. It was nice, though, to be able to eat lunch sitting in a chair, at a table and having hot water in the bathroom.

Below is a view of the waterfall that is part way up the steep section of the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail. There's a short spur off the trail for 80 yards and is well worth the walk.

Below is a view of what was supposed to be the summit of Washington from Monroe if someone wasn't in the way.

Below are Larry, Steve, Doug and Pam and with Dick wearing goggles at the summit of Mt. Washington!

With this hike, both Pam and Doug finished their 8th round of hiking all of the NH 48 4000 footers! What will they do next?

Notice the difference in clothing worn between the summit and the base.

Tuesday August 27 Wildcats

Three hikers made up the group hiking to Wildcat D (4062 feet) and Wildcat A (4422 feet). They were Pam, Pat and Dick. The group started at the base of the Wildcat ski area and used several ski trails to reach the Wildcat D summit. The ski trails and the tower at the summit offer excellent views of the east side of the northern Presidentials. The hikers continued on the Wildcat Ridge trail over to Wildcat A, the highest of the Wildcat peaks. This summit offers a great view of Carter Notch, Carter Dome and the summits to the east. The group then headed back on the same trails to the base of the ski area.

Below are Pam, Dick and Pat along the Wildcat Ridge trail.

Below is Pat on a Wildcat ski trail. In the background is Mt Washington with Tuckerman Ravine on the left and Huntington Ravine on the right.

Tuesday August 20 Isolation

As mentioned in other posts, some of the "A" hikes do not have many participants. The hike to Isolation included just Pam and Doug. This roughly 14 mile hike is on trails that are quite wet and muddy with standing water. The pair started at the Rocky Branch North trailhead off Rt 16, north of Jackson. The route includes the Rocky Branch and Isolation trails and the Davis Path. There is also a short spur, that is easy to miss, from the Davis Path to the Isolation summit (4025 feet). A couple of short cuts add a degree of exploring to the hike.

Tuesday August 13 Owl's Head

There was a good sized group that hiked to Owl's Head. This hike is another long one, at 16 miles, to a summit that does not offer any view. There are a couple of short cuts that reduce the hike from 18 miles to 16 miles, so that helps. The group consisted of Ellen, her son Derrick, Jane, Marie, Michele, Patsy, Pam, Bob, Dick, Doug, Steve and Wharton. The hike started at Lincoln Woods off Rt 112, just east of the Loon ski area. The group hiked along the Lincoln Woods, Black Pond, Lincoln Brook trails and the Owl's Head path to the Owl's Head summit (4025). We then retraced our steps back to Lincoln Woods. There were several river crossings that provided varying degrees of challenge to get across.

Below are Jane, Katherine, Patsy, Michele and Wharton on the way to Owl's Head.

Below are Pam, Bob, Doug, Wharton and Steve at the Owl's Head summit. It was quite cool there.

Tuesday August 6 Zealand Bonds Traverse

This is one of the long hikes to summit four 4000 foot peaks. It's the Zealand Bonds Traverse, 19.7 miles long with about 3800 feet of elevation gain. Pam, Doug and Steve hiked this on a day with glorious weather and tremendous views along the way. The trio started at the Zealand trailhead off Rt 302 and used the Zealand trail and the Twinway to arrive at the Zealand Falls hut. They continued on the Twinway, taking a short side trail to enjoy the view from Zeacliff, and the Zealand spur to the summit of Zealand (4250 feet) and then back on the Twinway and over Mt Guyot. The summit of Guyot is treeless and offers some nice views as well. Just beyond Guyot, the group continues hiking on the Bondcliff trail. This leads to a 0.5 mile spur to West Bond (4540 feet). The trio continued on the Bondcliff trail over Bond (4698 feet) and Bondcliff (4265 feet). Most of the way from Bond to Bondcliff is treeless so the view is very nice. There was also a nice refreshing breeze. Leaving Bondcliff, it is a 9 mile descent, half of which is very flat, all the way to Lincoln Woods on Rt 112.

We want to thank Katherine for the taxi service and snacks that morning. She transported us from Lincoln Woods to the Zealand trailhead. This allowed us to head straight home after a long hike instead of having to drive back to Zealand and then head home.

Below is a view toward Carrigain from Zeacliff.

Wildlife (Grouse) along the way.

A view of Bondcliff from West Bond.

Approaching Bondcliff.

On Bondcliff!

July 8 - Liberty & Flume

Weather and summer activities often have resulted in reduced "A" group hike participation. Pat and Dick comprised the entire "group" on the hike up to Mt Liberty, over to Mt Flume, and then back to Liberty and down. Below is Pat, as we approached the top of Mt Liberty.

Tuesday July 30 Waumbek

In addition to the Tripyramids hike, two hikers climbed Waumbek. Leanne and Marie started at the Starr King trailhead in Jefferson. They ascend on the Starr King trail to the Starr King summit (3907 feet), which is on the 52 With a View list. They then continued to the Waumbek summit (4006 feet).

It was foggy there, too.

Tuesday July 30 Tripyramids

Four hikers ascended North and Middle Tripyramid. The group started at the Pine Bend Brook trailhead on Rt 112. Pam, Dick, Doug and Steve hiked up the Pine Bend Brook trail to North Tripyramid (4180 feet). They continued on the Pine Bend Brook and Mt. Tripyramid trails to Middle Tripyramid (4140 feet). After lunch, they retraced their steps back to the trailhead.

There was think fog at both summits so we did not get to enjoy the view.

Below are Doug, Pam and Steve at Middle Tripyramid.

Below are Steve, Pam and Doug after finishing the hike.

Monday July 22 North Twin, South Twin & Galehead

Two separate groups hiked on Monday in the Twin Mountain area. Patsy and Dick started from the Gale River trailhead and hiked up the Gale River trail to the Garfield Ridge trail to the Galehead hut. They then summited Galehead (4024 feet) and returned to the hut on the Frost trail. They retraced their steps from the hut back to the trailhead.

Steve and Doug started from the North Twin trailhead and hiked the North Twin trail to the North Twin summit (4761 feet). It appeared that the trail had been rerouted to eliminate the two river crossings as what was previously known as herd paths was quite well worn. They continued on the North Twin Spur to South Twin (4902 feet). They then descended the steep section of the Twinway to the Galehead hut and up to the Galehead summit (4024 feet). They continued the loop by descending on the Garfield Ridge and Gale River trails hoping to catch up to Patsy and Dick.

Alas, Steve and Doug did not catch the two speedy hikers.

Below is Doug at North Twin.

Below is Doug at South Twin with North Twin in the background.

 On Sept. 10, the Turtles hiked Hedgehog on a beautiful day!

Ann, Mary, Linda, Cheryl, Karen Y, Karen C, Peter, Tracy

Sep 9th, 2024 B group hikes Mt. Paugus

 A perfect fall like day, as we hiked up the Kelley Trail, to the Lawrence trail and up to Mt. Paugus.  The views were great, but the wind chill kept our visit brief.

The hike down was fast.  We ended up back to the Kelley trail junction quickly, and decided to continue over to the Old Mast trail for the final decent.  Such a lovely trail, and day it was.

Photo above, L to R: Tracy, Mary and Peirce

Sep 5, 2024, B group hikes North Moat, and Cathy finishes her 52 WAV!

 Cathy Crooker finishes her 52 WAV on North Moat!  

Above photo, L to R: Mary, Tracy, Cathy, Leanne, John, Jane and Bernie.

Below photo, L to R: Mary, Bernie, Leanne, John

Barbara, Cathy, Tracy Jane and Michele.

Below we are celebrating Barbara and Michele who finished their 52 WAV a few weeks prior, on Mt. Eastman, but their celebration was short changed due to severe thunderstorms.  

L to R: Barbara, Cathy, and Michele

Turtles hike Flume Gorge

 The Turtles at The Flume Gorge, after which we had lunch at Polly's Pancake Parlor!

Ann, Nancy, Jane, Chris, Jayne; photographer:  Ricky