This class was a small one, specifically meant for leaders of future leaders: an Intro to Rock course meant to help leader members of the Friends Forever International group prepare for a larger group visit next month. This class’s students, instructed by Redline Guide Pat Ferland, will be helping belay more students on their next visit and will have much better oversight into how things run. […]
The team carpooled to the trailhead as it made the most sense. It was to be a simple out-and-back, no “car spots” needed. The plan was to hike up to Mt Jefferson (5713′) — number three on the list of 4000-footers and number three on the list for our guest. They were going to do this via the Caps Ridge Trail. For those not in the […]
Porterers of dreams. Your imagination coupled with our local knowledge and brute strength can make some pretty cool things happen. Examples might include helping someone enjoy a less-effort backpacking experience, or helping someone avoid carrying a lot of extra weight on particularly technical or worrisome terrain. Expect to hear more about this service in action very soon. Right now, however, we just helped one couple — […]
It was as if a white veil was dropped over us as we reached the “Cow Pasture” located next to the Mt Washington Auto Road, which bisects this flat area. This is all happening not terribly far from the 6288-foot summit, and that was our goal. The original plan, to be specific, was to hike down to Lakes of the Clouds from said summit and tie […]
Back at again, Redline Guide Arlette Laan just did two trips back-to-back. The first was a hike, the second a 3D/2N “Semi Pemi” educational backpacking trip. For those who don’t know, a Semi Pemi is a shortened “Pemi Loop.” In this particular case, the team skipped Franconia Ridge altogether. From this point, since Arlette kindly shared these details, we’ll let her tell it. DAY ONE: Lincoln […]
There are 48 mountains in New Hampshire that quality as so-called “4000-footers,” even though some that exceed 5000-feet aren’t prominent enough to actually count. It’s complicated, as they say. If you really want to know the sordid details, you can find them here. In any case, hiking those 48 peaks begins the process for some. It’s not just “Hiking the Whites.” For many people, it is […]
First we want to congratulate our couple on their beautiful June 10th Wedding. We know there were concerns about the weather, the wind, the clouds, the rain, and the thunderstorms. All of it, we knew, was a possibility. And all of it, as it were, amounted to nothing more than a possibility. As it were, we all enjoyed sun and clouds and breezes enough to keep […]
The bulk of the instruction during our full day Wilderness Navigation course — a.k.a. map and compass — is in the classroom, though we do venture outside for a bit first thing, and again during most of the afternoon. Say, it’s about 60/40ish… depending on the weather, its affect on our sight lines, and our ability to teach triangulation and sighting in the afternoon. We are […]
How do you turn an imperfect day into a perfect one? Ya hike. So that’s what they did. The weather was imperfect, but the day was spot-on awesome. Redline Guide Tim Jones offered a loop around Hedgehog Mountain or an out-and-back hike to Mt Potash — both beloved 52 With A View peaks. The latter mountain was selected and away they went. There’s really not too […]
Sawyer Pond and many locations in the White Mountain National Forest, is named after the people who lived and worked in the forest harvesting timber. Logging used to be a massive industry here. And the Forest is still logged today, but with best practices for sustainability in mind and tight controls in place, not like back in the old days. No more massive clear cuts. Logging […]
The father-son team had climbed Mt Washington several times, with this they felt confident. Huntington Ravine, on the other hand, is different. They hadn’t done it, the stories and photos others have posted online not helping matters. They decided, finally, the time had come and they wanted to get on it as soon as possible this spring. To help with the unknown, they opted to hire […]
Reality check. You might think that with more experience, more assurance would naturally follow the hiker or outdoorsman, but often the opposite is true. The more experience you have, or the more others depend on you, the more you are likely to waffle on some of your decision making, struggling at times. Second-, third-, even fourth-guessing yourself is commonplace, especially among the pros. The more one […]
