Friday, 7/11/2014
Day One: 6.8 Miles & +4812 Vert/-1791 Vert
Looking at my Full Moon app this past spring, I marked my calendar with all of the full moon weekends for the summer. I honestly wasn’t expecting to hit such a perfect weather window AND a full moon but it looked good so we upgraded a Northern Presi trip to a Presidential Traverse and Gus and I rolled up to Appalachia Parking Lot at 10:30 PM Friday.
Man what a year. 2013 Highlights in no particular order:
– Easily the greatest powder year of my life. Hitting multiple 12″+ storms gave me a record number of incredible runs this year. Also in the 16 days ridden I rode 9 or 10 different mountains with very few days that weren’t outstanding. A NYE 2012 storm kicked it off at Sunday River, an epic Nemo 18″ day highlighted it and a Colorado trip in March sealed off the season strongly. I also explored hiking my snowboard to local “backcountry” glades runs during some big local snows for a quick fix.
Friday, 10/26/2012
Day One: 2.74 Miles & 1516 feet vert
After a Kinsman Ridge Traverse trip fell apart last minute, Gus LT and I decided to try a Tom Field Wiley Loop out of a lack of a car spot. I’m positive these peaks are rarely done as a loop which made it even more enticing; I’m starting to develop a habit of hiking weird loops.
Willey Field Tom Loop from Ethan Pond
Bondcliff & West Bond (L to R)
It’s always difficult to decide which peaks to bag as I have a large amount left. With this hike however, I picked peaks that have been very highly recommended to me, the three peaks that make up the “Bonds”. This also let me stay within the Pemigewasset Wilderness, my go-to White Mountains area and a place I plan on redlining. One of the things I love about the Pemi is the remoteness of some of it yet it is still close to 93 and a quick hop back to civilization when you get out. It also has some great camping options if you backpack. On Friday night, I got the last walk-in spot at Hancock Campground, and posted up for the night. I knew that the area would be busy due to “Flags on the 48”; a tribute to those lost on 9/11 where hikers sign up to climb each of the 48 4,000 footers with a flag and raise it from 12-2pm.
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The RED Mutiny II Helmet is my first helmet and I’m glad I decided to invest in one as I’ve been fighting it for years. I wear a Marmot DriClime helmet liner with it, the only time I didn’t, I got really sweaty and cold, the helmet liner is a nice insulator.I have a big dome and this was one of the best fitting XL helmets I tried on. The brim style means it doesn’t ventilate like others do but it still has interior vents that work good enough. Also no holes in the exterior to get packed with snow if you crash or let in water if its raining or snowing. This helmet saved my ass (and goggles, just drop your head) in the glades when branches and sticks are clawing at your skull and I was in the glades a lot this year.
Best part about this (and most helmets) is the headphones in the earpads. I can listen to my music softly on the chair and conversate or blast it on the ride down. I can fit this helmet in the nose end of my snowboard bag for easy travelling also. I pack my goggles inside them so they won’t get crushed.
The ear pieces also are removable for either warm spring skiing or cold weather mountain biking. I biked with it this winter and it worked great without the ear muffs.
UPDATE: I’ve had this helmet for a few years now and its saved my life probably 5-6 times where I’ve smashed really hard off either ice or hardpack snow. I’m considering upgrading as I recently tried on a few pair of Smith helmets like the Smith Variant Brim and found them to be much nicer and more comfortable with better ventilation options. A helmet is one piece of gear that is worth spending on as a cheap one won’t last you as long as you think and its the one piece of gear that is saving your life.
AT info and maps
Definitely an awesome resource for anyone interested in backpacking or just casually hiking parts of the Appalachian Trail. The Interactive Map is an awesome feature and you can filter the trail by Parking, Vistas (not the best pictures), and Shelters. If you click on the shelters you can even see a thumbnail and some basic info on them. Another great feature is the break down state by state on mileage, range of difficulty, and general advice on when optimal times to hike certain areas are. While backpacking the entire AT has always been a day dream of mine, looking at their Interactive Map really gives a sense of scale to this 2,179 mile, 14 state journey. If I survive section hiking the NH section this spring, maybe I’ll consider the rest…
Recently I discovered something called “The 4000 Footer Club” after perusing some hiking and backpacking websites. If you’re neither from New England nor an outdoor enthusiast, this is a group of people who have hiked all 48 New Hampshire peaks over 4000 feet above sea level.
Thankfully, this discovery has inspired me to get back outdoor after living the city/college life for the last decade. Thinking I needed some kind of physical goal since I can’t run road races for shit, I decided to take a run at my first 4k and I’m now determined to crush this list in 2011.
Among other things fun, this blog will hopefully encourage others to bag some peaks of their own as well as document progression and highlight some of the gorgeous vistas along the way. If you’ve experienced these peaks yourself, I would love to hear any comments, suggestions, and stories. See you on the trail!
Haven’t blogged in forever but my last blog BigSteez, did great and I got some 1st page Google search results due to some baller SEO work and some great content from myself and my boy TNell. Wanted to get another one rolling for awhile but took me until now to decide on a time-worthy concept.
This blog concept is showing/archiving fun trips with friends; getting old friends involved and engaging new friends met on the journey. The emphasis here will be on the outdoors, travelling, music and maybe some food. Ideally I would also like to organize trips, promote existing ones, getting people together for concerts, and share great locales, photography and links with total strangers scouring the interwebz.
thefunmovement.wordpress.com 