In life we fear the unknown. This applies to this hike on a few levels, but we’ll let Redline Guide Rhonda Willette expose some of them for you. The short story here is that this new guest came to us having always wanted to hike Mt Washington but the unknown kept getting in the way of this trial. Until now. With a guide to lend support […]
A returning group reached out for a multi-day adventure. The plan went through a few iterations but we ultimately settled upon a Mt Washington hike as the main course, with a side dish of Monroe, and a couple AMC hut overnights at Lakes of the Clouds keeping it civilized. The group was comprised of a mix of youths and adults, the weather cooperated, sunsets and sunrises […]
The title of this post, Great Start, applies to both guest and guide in this situation. For our guest, a young man getting into climbing and mountaineering — a fellow working on his Terrifying 25 list — this was a guided entry on that path (through Huntington Ravine on this day) and we should see him come back in the future as he ups his game. […]
A new guest came to us looking for someone to hike Mt Eisenhower with. She’s working on her 48. During the planning part of this adventure a new summit was added for day two, namely Mt Hale. Leading this trip was Redline Guide Rhonda Willette. What follows is her two-part summary along with photos from both hikes. Wednesday was hot and muggy, the kind of day […]
A few folks out there will read the title of this blog post and know exactly what trail and on what mountain we are referring to. Some will tell you there are actually 19 switchbacks, others will say 16, or 21, or… well, doesn’t really matter. One hint for the geo-guessers out there still thinking about it, this mountain is on the NH 52 With A […]
A returning couple working on their 48 4000-footers wanted to break up their most recent hiking trip by grabbing Mt Isolation over a two day period, instead of one. To do this they reached their Wilderness tent site, lightened their loads, and proceeded to grab the summit. This was wise. They were really new to backpacking so there would be a chance of not getting a […]
If you were to ask a non-hiker what mountains we have in New Hampshire, a common reply might sound like this: “Um, there’s Mt Washington, and, um — are there others?” Being that Mt Washington is the tallest mountain in the Northeast, this stands to reason. That there is access by train and auto furthers this notion. Then there’s the mountain’s infamous weather and how some […]
A family from Cape Cod wanted to do a couple hours of hiking with a guide. After discussing some of the options available, the family decided on Mt Willard of 52WAV fame. Looking over at Mt Washington it was still socked in like yesterday, but on Willard the skies were blue and the sun was out. Being it wasn’t super hot, it was pretty nice up […]
A private father-son hiking team on Mt Washington made the summit and were thinking of hiking down, but they came prepared for an alternate option using the Cog Railway for the descent. And this is what they opted for. The weather up on the Rock Pile was interesting (as noted in another post). It was windy, foggy, and exciting. No roasting in the sun, and the […]
The mountain decides everything. And everything is what we get. Being we’re talking about Mt Washington, everything can be quite a lot. On some days it can be oddly pacific, while being completely uninhabitable, unsurvivable on others. This day was somewhere in between. Windy, foggy, on the cool side. A wind chill number was announced. Restricted views forcing one to see local, and to avoid mysteriously […]
A returning guest who’s been chipping away at his Terrifying 25 trails list teamed up with Redline Guides Pat Ferland and Gregg Ludvigson for a successful go on the notorious Huntington Ravine Trail. This was going to be his finisher. And finish it he would. Being so exposed in no-fall terrain can be a little heady, nerve wracking, but with minimal coaching from Pat and Gregg, […]
A Portland-based organization — the Breakwater School — that provides life-enriching day camp experiences for youths ranging in age from toddler to teens came to us hoping we could lead some of their young campers on a rock climbing adventure. For logistics purposes the school requested we climb at Jockey Cap in Fryeburg. This is a place we’ve climbed at many times before so we were […]
