Galehead in the Books

A many time returning guest wanted to hike Galehead Mountain — a New Hampshire 4000-footer — as part of her quest to complete this list. The guest, being a frequent flyer with us, so to speak, has been given the opportunity to be guided by many of our guides over the years. In fact, we jokingly told her we are letting her test drive the whole group one at a time. We promised her she’d be impressed. So far, so good.

Up to bat today was Redline Guide Mike Maciel. We told her to plan on being impressed. A bold claim, we know, but we have a ton of faith in our guides. And Mike did not disappoint. Right from the start she was inspired by Mike’s professionalism and confidence. Going over their planned route on the map and discussing group gear was a great way to start. It showed how prepared he was. He wanted our guest to be equally prepared so he also told her where he keeps his emergency stuff so that our guest could facilitate a proper backwoods response should the guide run afoul. Unlikely, but very thorough. We like.

Some of the day’s highlights, besides feeling the joy and pride of summiting a NH mountain, included a successful albeit challenging river crossing. The duo also ran into famed White Mountain athlete Philip Carcia. For those who don’t know, he finished the “Grid,” which means to hike all of our 4000-footers every month of the year — to which Philip did in less than one year. Currently he is working on “red-lining,” meaning to hike all the trails in the AMC White Mountain Guidebook, but he wants to do so in a single season. Hiking isn’t generally a competitive sport, but this certainly proves it can be. And these feats are seriously impressive. But we digress. Check out these photos of our simple, uncompetitive hike.