There’s something regal about the Northern Presidential Range in the White Mountain National Forest. What with so many things kinged, knighted, and castellated, it stands to reason. But it goes further. The mountains in that range are majestic to those who set feet upon their upper flanks and summits. Maybe it’s the alpine air, or maybe the stunning vistas. And quite often, it is the route […]
We love it when our guests are guided up the 6288′ Mt Washington and one of the things they remark about after is how awesome the weather was. It tickles us because it’s a bit ironic that the mountain’s notorious for its horrible weather, yet it is capable of producing such joy. We also love it on days like this with limited views because it reveals […]
We had led this guest previously, occasionally wanting our leadership for certain parts of a quest he was working on. Namely he was working on completing the Terrifying 25. He will earn the cool patch, inset. On this trip our guest had some things to clean up, like the upper walk-in-the-park section of the Huntington Ravine Trail. He had taken on the scary sections with us. […]
With a high-endurance event coming up, one prospective guest asked if we had something that might qualify as training, wondering if a jaunt up Mt Washington would do the trick. Knowing the rugged trails in the White Mountain National Forest the way we do, we were inclined to agree thinking New Hampshire’s most famous Rock Pile might be a great choice for someone seeking high endurance […]
We were contacted by a young man from New York City who, along with three friends, wanted to try hiking. This was a last minute booking, they literally wanted to give it a go in two days, but they had no hiking clothing, no hiking gear (we solved that), and really zero experience. For these fellows, being new to hiking was a complete understatement. We will […]
We had a few things going on this past weekend while a number of guides also happened to be unavailable for one reason or another. Thus, Redline Guide Pat Ferland was out there guiding on both days (even Mike Cherim was guiding, but that’s another story — one we’ll get to). The first trip was a returning guest looking for a companion on the Whiteface-Passaconaway standard […]
While only a fraction of any Owl’s Head hike is technical, its length and remoteness often inspire a person to hire a companion/guide. And this comes up a lot more than most people would think. The reason is that a ton of people hike this mountain; it is on the New Hampshire 4000-footers list. We daresay that if this mountain wasn’t on that list, the number […]
There is a wooded lump in the middle of the Pemigewasset Wilderness. It’s located in one of the most remote areas we have — at least by New Hampshire standards. The mountain, being a hair over 4000 feet above sea level in height, appears on a list of the “NH 4000-footers.” Subsequently, it gets hiked. A lot. If it wasn’t for this list, we daresay, this […]
There are so many incredible hikes and backpacks to be enjoyed in the White Mountain National Forest. A few are standouts, though. One being the Zealand Notch Traverse — it’s one of our backpacking go-tos. It never disappoints. Mile for mile, few trails match this route’s quantity of sublime diversions. The distance is about ten miles, and with all of the elevation gain (about 1300-1400′ total) […]
Phoebe said: “I can take that one.” She was referring to a last minute request for a guided Mt Washington hike leading two teens. While we absolutely cherish Redline Guide Phoebe Seltzer’s drive and desire to get out there and guide, we were concerned about her sanity; she was already booked for a hike that day — it, too, a fairly last minute request as it […]
We just guided a large group of pilates practitioners — Kara Duval Pilates — to the summits of Middle and North Sugarloaf (2539′ and 2310′, respectively) in Carroll, NH. We led them to the summit of Mt Pemigewasset in Franconia Notch last year and this time the group was naturally looking for something new. Trying to stick to half day hikes, of course we were looking […]
That’s what two returning guests wanted to do — they wanted to take a quick break from hiking and learn how to do some rock climbing. Inasmuch, they booked a one-day Rock Intro course learning things like climber’s safety, crag etiquette, belaying, communication, relevant knots and hitches, and of course, the fundamentals of climbing itself. This was done while on top-rope for safety, naturally, making sure […]
