Guiding is awesome! We spend hours in the woods, on the mountains, doing what we love, serving people that want to be there; people having one of their best days possible, one that they’ll always remember. Unlike, by contrast, serving impatient, even angry people standing in a never-moving line at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). In those hours we are able to have deep conversations […]
Not every experience is meant to challenge us. Sometimes the maximum appreciation is derived from simply slowing down — stopping to smell the flowers as they say. The summary below, written by Redline Guide Debra McCown, captures such a trip taking place in Zealand Notch. One where sweat was replaced with serenity. Enjoying the Experience On Wednesday I met a returning guest at Zealand Falls Hut […]
What follows is a summary of our New Moon on Franconia Ridge hike event. The hike was a success albeit with a smaller-than-hoped-for turnout of one person along with Redline Guide Debra McCown. For a more in-depth summary, the following words and photos are her’s. No Crowds On a nice day in the summertime, Franconia Ridge is known to get a bit crowded, with lots of […]
They — whoever “they” are — say the mountains will be there another day. This is good because people don’t always succeed on their hikes and some need to come back to finish what they started on another day. It’s a reality. For them the mountains need to be there when they return. This hike was one such endeavor. The ambitious plan was compete a one-day […]
This trip was a gift from girlfriend to boyfriend… a present for his birthday. It took a while for it to happen thanks to an unexpected delay, but they were finally able to make it so. Leading this educational trip with Redline Guide Ken Hodges. The destination was Church Pond off the Kanc. Thanks to two immediate water crossings, not many make this delightful nature tour, […]
A guest came to us wanting to trail run/fast pack the Presidential Range, but still hoping to utilize the hut system by stretching the thing out over three days. She would stay at the Madison Spring Hut and Lakes of the Clouds hut. With her on this exciting tour was Redline Guide Chase Hall. The summary and photos below are his. A Three Day Presidential Traverse […]
A family came to us wanting to do a half day hike. As it turned out the patriarch wanted to also go on a half-day gravel bike tour the day before the planned hike. No problem, it’s not a standard offering for us (yet), but insurance-wise we’re covered so we figured it’d be a cool add. On the bike tour we had Redline Guide Ken Hodges […]
The plan for our returning 85-year-old guest from Connecticut was to do some hiking over one-and-a-half days with some specific wants and needs thrown in. Day one was the half day portion and Redline Guide Tim Jones led him up Black Cap as a rewarding warm up. A few days later — the start delayed due to the heat and humidity — the plan involved… well, […]
Some trails are inviting, non-intimidating, and we daresay easy. Some others, however, simply are not. They’re not inviting, they are intimidating, and, at least in the eyes of some, they’re definitely not easy. Some of the Terrifying 25 trails earn these adjectives, for instance. Do bear in mind, though, that this may change for people over time and through experience. At first they are challenged, but […]
Our first of two “Sturgeon Moon” adventures went well, albeit with a very small turnout of only one guest. We did want at least one more person to join the fun, but as the Rolling Stones put it: “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, well, you might find, you get what you need!” Here’s hoping our next scheduled night adventure, […]
People just getting into hiking as a hobby often find out they end up having a passion for the sport. Some even develop a bit of an obsession because as sports go, it’s that good. Moving forward we don’t know where today’s students will take it but after a full day Hiking Intro course, the stoke’s ignited. This father-daughter team is already talking about taking on […]
A two-day, one night backpack with the option for our father-son guests to lead themselves out after another night was necessary — the second night wasn’t an option for Redline Guide Debra McCown because was partaking in medical training. As requested, we came up with a plan. Since we wanted to make the exit as easy and as straight-forward as possible, we decided on hiking Signal […]
