A little while ago the Appalachian Mountain Club published the 31st Edition of the AMC’s White Mountain Guide Book. There was talk of modifying the list now that GPS technology continually improves and LIDAR allows us to “see” like never before, but thankfully for peakbaggers, it did stay the same. Well, mostly. The 48 mountains listed remains the same, even though one of them, Tecumseh (grandfathered), […]
Leave No Trace (LNT) is a detailed subject with certain nuances, some of which we go over in an article we wrote some time ago. As a lighter introduction, however, we decided to put together this little educational video (below). This was done with the help of Redline Guides Mike Cherim (host, script, direction), Mike Maciel (videographer and consultant), and Pat Ferland (consultant). Pat is an […]
That little question about whether or not people should feed gray jays is one of those hot-button topics. Answers will range from a flatly given “HELL NO” claiming this action will disrupt the very balance of nature to an enthusiastic “HELL YES” claiming it’s harmless, fun, and cool. The right answer is in there somewhere and we will try to flesh it out. The hope is […]
She was taking a full day navigation course with us in preparation for a solo thru-hike of the 100-Mile Wilderness in Maine. In that class, even though it is not an orienteering course, per se, we do discuss what to do if you find yourself lost on a hike. We always suggest looking behind you for starters. People are turned and misdirected by water bars and […]
It’s getting to be that time of year: Spring, a whole new season of hazards to contend with. A time of year when staying dry is a real challenge thanks to all the various forms of water out there. And crossings… oh, my. That ice cold and sometimes turbid spring snow melt rushing toward the sea — standing between us and our next 4000-footer or 52 […]
Realize, when growing cold, that you will never freeze to death no matter how often you claim that it is so. Hypothermia will readily claim you first. Hypothermia — an insidious cooling of the body’s core temperature — is measured in stages that may correspond to some degree to the numbers on your thermometer. What begins as the body’s simple fight for preservation, a body so […]
Nowadays there are undoubtedly thousands of how-to resources about hiking, maybe even hundreds of thousands. Or more! There are blog posts, articles, books, videos, documentaries, podcasts, as well as clubs, groups, and organizations all vying to teach their readers, viewers, listeners, or members a thing or two about hiking. We’re guilty of it ourselves on this blog, and on our Resources page. And we bet that […]
The question: “Should hikers wear mountaineering boots in NH’s White Mountains? Well, the short answer is yes if they will be using crampons. The performance of mountaineering boots with crampons greatly exceeds the performance of hiking boots with the same crampons. The main reason is the unyielding stiffness of mountaineering boots offering the wearer superior support. This is critical to effective climbing (or hiking on trails […]
Their batteries fought hard but, sadly, in the end they died! The weather forecast called for colder-than-usual temperatures on the higher summits that day. Added to that were the near-constant winds dragging those temps down even further. The winds wouldn’t be blowing the clouds away, however. Not that day. The forecast stated the summits would remain in the clouds and that visibility on the ground was […]
Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, and early advocate for the preservation of America’s wilderness areas, John Muir (1838–1914) is touted as being the “Father of the National Parks.” You are likely already quite familiar with one of his more popular quotes: Namely, “The mountains are calling, and I must go.” This oft-repeated statement helps us relate to the allure of the mountains and […]
They would come up to us guides, trying to stay composed, but their eyes would be wild with mild terror edging toward panic. “My hands/feet/whatever are so effing cold… please help me.” Experience with this sort of thing as guides meant we understood precisely what was going on and how to solve it. But it was never done in the way our guests would think we […]
bush·whack (verb) /ˈbo͝oSHˌ(h)wak/ 1. live or travel in wild or uncultivated country. This isn’t going to be a promotion. We wouldn’t do that to our friends. We’re not trying to sell you on anything. What we will be talking about doing in this article would in fact be dangerous and a bit foolish for most people. So, don’t do it. To be clear, this isn’t a […]
