The Hancocks - NH

One of the best parts of hiking is the camaraderie between fellow hikers.  I’ll pose a little social imagination test:

You are down the street.  It’s a nice day: the sun is shining, birds are singing, a slight breeze every once in a while is just perfect.  Despite the fact you are enjoying the gorgeous weather today, you are still heading to your destination and want to do so as efficiently as possible.  Sitting on a bench ahead, you notice someone you saw at parking garage earlier; aside from that, you have no previous relationship with this person.  This person notices you, recognizes you and approaches you with a warm greeting.  Do you A) casually say hi and keep walking; B) ignore them and keep going; C) pepper spray them and notify the authorities; D) invite them to join you?

On a hiking trail, I can just about guarantee at the very least “A” with a little bit more chit-chat about the trails or the weather.  Anyway, the purpose of this long-winded introduction is to highlight the fact that you never know who this stranger is.  Sometimes this world is smaller than you realize like the one time I hiked the Hancocks (North and South) and met somebody from a village near where I live.

The Hancock loop starts with a very relaxing 2-mile stroll through the woods on the Hancock notch trail.  A small river runs right next to the trail that you have to cross a few times.  A left onto the Hancock loop trail greets you with more beautiful crossings and false hopes of a flawless physical fitness.  After two more miles of serenity, a left onto the slope of South Hancock welcomes you to the real world of hiking.  A quick and painful 1150 feet in ¾ mile leads directly to the summit of South Hancock.  From there, a nice and easy mile or so connects to the summit of North Hancock.  While both summits are enclosed, there are good viewpoints from overlooks right off of the summit.

 

Summit of South Hancock

 

View from South Hancock's overlook

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summit of North Hancock

 

While at the overlook on South Hancock, I rewarded my efforts The Roast, a coffee porter from Henniker Brewing Company.  While a little heavy and dark for a warm late spring hike, this was one of the better coffee porters I have had.  I mean, it is very difficult to beat Wolaver’s coffee porter, but this beer put up a good fight!

 

The Hancocks:

            Views – 3.5 (Great views from the overlooks, but enclosed summits)

            Time – 4 (For a 10-mile hike that covers 2 peaks, worth the day hike)

            Difficulty – 3.5 (VERY steep at the approach, but nothing too extreme)

            Beer – 4 (Henniker Brewing Company The Roast)

Thanks again to everyone who keeps up to date with this blog.  I’ve found it hard to get out and hike this summer, but there is still plenty of time left in hiking season!  Stay tuned for Tom and Field.

Mount Abraham - VT

It was a long winter, but after a quick thaw and non-existent spring, I think it is safe to finally call it summer time.  Furthermore, it is a few weeks past Memorial Day, the unofficially official start to the hiking season!  Given the first opportunity (Vermont weather never likes to cooperate), of course I would hit the trails on another 4000’ mountain.

My target was Mount Abraham in Vermont, a mountain barely over the 4000’ threshold.  This mountain was the perfect tune up for the hiking season.  The Battell Trail gains 2550’ over roughly 3 miles.  The trail starts as a casual walk through the woods switching back and forth while slowly gaining elevation.  After two miles, the Battell Trail joins with the Long Trail.  This is when the hike gets interesting.  The final push to the summit features a decent scramble.  While there aren’t many outlooks or viewpoints along the way, the summit is wide open with a full panorama.  On a clear day, you can easily see the Adirondacks across Lake Champlain and even the White Mountains over 75 miles away!

 

A little past the summit on the Lincoln Gap (the ridge connecting Mount Abraham and Mount Ellen), a side trail leads to a crash site.  Luckily the pilot survived the accident.

Finally, the most enjoyable part of the hike: the summit beer!  My beer of choice for this hike was Mostly Cloud: Long Trail’s Belgian style white.  I found it to be on par with (maybe even better than) Hoogarden with its spices.  Perfect for a warm late-spring/early summer hike. 

 

In short, Mount Abraham was an excellent warm-up hike.  Because of its relatively easy trails and wide open summit, Mount Abraham is one of my favorite hikes in Vermont!

 

Mount Abraham:
            Views – 4.5 (Wide open summit; great views of the ADKs, Greens, and even Whites!)
            Time –  4.5 (Easy half-day round trip)
            Difficulty – 2.5 (Mildly difficult scramble to the summit)
            Beer – 5 (Long Trail Mostly Cloudy)
            Overall – 4.5 (Beautiful views; great warm-up hike)

 

Stay tuned!  I have since hiked the Hancocks in NH along with Tom and Field.  Hopefully I'll get to those two posts in a more timely manner than this one...



Mount Pierce - NH

Ah the winter holidays.  Time for family, food, and showcasing my adorable kitty to my family!  And for those of us undeterred by frigid temperatures, it’s a perfect opportunity to hike.  So with a little cooperation from Mother Nature and some good timing between school vacations and work holiday, my faithful hiking companion Tim and I made for the White Mountains to knock another 4000’er off of the list.

The key to hiking in the winter is to be prepared.  It is always better to have some gear but not need it than need something and not having it.  As an example, on this hike, I brought a few extra pairs of socks.  While I did not need to use any, I was prepared if I had accidentally gotten snow in my boot, stepped in a giant puddle, or if my feet got too warm and started to sweat.  You should also bring a little extra food and water.  Because your body is trying to maintain its proper temperature, you burn more calories.  Finally, when hiking in the winter, you need to be smart.  This kind of coincides with being prepared.  When hiking in the winter, you probably should be wearing more than shorts and flip-flops.  Furthermore, the weather at the start of the trail could differ greatly from the weather at the summit.  Finally, if you have any doubts about your gear, your physical fitness, or the weather, it is probably in your best interest to turn around.  The mountain will still be there next time.

With my words of wisdom out of the way, time let you live vicariously through me!  Tim and I had mentioned hoping to hike around Christmas the last time we went hiking.  He was off of school for the holidays and I had a few days off.  It was just a matter of the weather… which turned out to be nearly perfect!  Mid-30’s with little to no wind at the base; about 20 with a few gusts and some clouds at the summit.  You can’t get much better than that!  We decided on Mt. Pierce, named after the greatest president of the United States of America from New Hampshire Franklin Pierce.  The trail we took, Crawford Path, is the oldest continuously used trail in the United States.  Because it was once a horse path used to bring supplies to the summit of Washington, the trail is a very moderate ascent covering roughly 3.1 miles with 2350’ elevation gain.  Unfortunately, cloud cover set in at about 4100’ leaving us with limited visibility from the summit.

Hiking in a Winter Wonderland!

Summit Selfie

Tim posing in front of Mt. Eisenhower (hidden by the clouds)

Izzy kitty!

At the summit, albeit still 10:45am, I enjoyed a delicious Wolaver’s Oatmeal Stout.  Wolaver’s is an organic brewery related to Otter Creek.  On a cold winter’s mountain top, I couldn’t have asked for a better beer.  This stout is smooth and about as close to black as a beer can be with hints of chocolate (and Wolaver’s description says coffee as well).  Nothing like a good, hearty stout to replenish some of the calories lost en route!

Mount Pierce
            Views – 3.5 (Some views during the climb; summit cloudy)
            Time –  4.5 (Less than 3 hours round trip!)
            Difficulty – 2 (Despite winter conditions, one of the easier hikes I have done)
            Beer – 5 (Wolaver’s Oatmeal Stout)
            Overall – 4.5 (Great winter hike)

Mount Marcy - NY

Better late than never, right?  In this case, this post is only two weeks late...

It’s official: clouds always loom over the Adirondacks.  Even on a day forecasted for sun and 70^oF, the mountain tops are doomed with high winds and cloudy conditions.  At least that’s all I know of the mountains of New York.   While the minimal visibility on some hikes makes you appreciate the view of others, it would be nice to have views from the tallest peak in the state. 

A good friend from college, Colin, suggested we hike in New York after he read about my hike up Cascade and Porter.  The next possible opportunity, I made my way back to New York for a hike up Mt. Marcy, the highest peak in New York.

The hike starts with a casual 2.5-mile walk through the forest until you reach Marcy Dam.  This is a beautiful lake nestled between some mountains.  From there, the trail gets steeper as you hike alongside a river.  A few times throughout the hike, there were trails forking off to smaller peaks neighboring Marcy.  While these trails were only a mile or two, the trip up and down Marcy was a 15-mile trek.  To play it safe and conserve our energy, Colin and I decided to stick to our plan to just hike Mt. Marcy.

It was surreal at the summit.  Winds were gusting at 80 mph, and the clouds were so thick, visibility was barely twenty-five feet.  While there were no views from the summit, Colin showed me some of Lake Placid’s Olympic parks, specifically the ski jumping facilities. 

Lake Placid

Stunning view from the summit... 

Colin barely visible through the fog

Trying not to get blown over by the gusts

The Mount Marcy sandwich

Since I visited Lake Placid, I found it only fitting to enjoy Lake Placid brewery’s Ubu Ale.  It was a delicious English strong ale (7.0% abv…  oops!) that was one of the tastier red ales I have had.  Sweet, fruity, slightly hoppy, but the flavors play very well together.  I just hope I can have another sometime soon!

Mount Marcy
            Views – ? (Clouds...)
            Time –  4 (For a 15-mile hike, we made great time, being back for a late lunch)
            Difficulty – 4 (Long and pretty steep at some points.  Grueling)
            Beer – 4.5 (Lake Placid Ubu Ale)
            Overall – 4.5 (Nothing like the accomplishment of hiking the highest NY mountain!)

Now that summer has long since passed and winter is right around the corner, I do not know when I will next be able to hike.  Hopefully this winter, I’ll be able to do a few more hikes, but they will probably be few and far between.  Hopefully I will get some new gear I can write a post about or hike in a warmer climate.  Until then, thanks everybody for following along, and don’t be shy to ask questions or comment!

Porter Mountain and Cascade Mountain - NY

For the longest time, I had been telling myself that I need to make time to hike in the Adirondacks.  Well, of course I have to because 46 of the Northeast 115 are in NY.  I just meant for more personal reasons.  Pictures of them look gorgeous, and I have heard they have hiking very similar to the White Mountains.  Thankfully, I was able to finally make the time and plans to hike in New York!

My friend Mary suggested we hike Cascade and Porter: two of the easier yet more scenic hikes in New York.  Of course in order to appreciate the scenery, you have to be able to see it.  I’ll get into that a bit later, but the ride to the mountain, starting with a ferry ride across Lake Champlain, a 30 minute detour by means of getting lost, and the start of autumnal foliage was absolutely stunning.

When we got to the start of the trail, Mother Nature decided that we had seen too much and the skies began to cloud.  The hike up the mountain was still enjoyable.  The trails were very well maintained and not very difficult to maneuver through.  To the summit of Porter was 2.8 miles with only 1900’ elevation gain, and Cascade was 2.4 miles with about 2000’ gained.  With about 0.3 miles to the summit of Cascade, a trail forks off leading to the top of Porter, another 0.7 miles away.  There was nothing difficult about this trail, however there was a great scramble (made much more difficult by the whipping winds and disorienting clouds) to finish off Cascade.  Unfortunately, due to the high winds and misty conditions, we weren’t able to see any great views and spent very little time on the summits.

 

Camels Hump from the ferry

At the summit of Porter Mountain

Stunning views from Cascade Mountain

Summit of Cascade Mountain

Fitting for this hike was a Saranac Adirondack Lager.  This would have hit the spot at the summit on a halfway decent hike, but given the circumstances, I decided it would be best to enjoy in the comfort of my own home.  It is a crisp beer that goes down smooth.  There are some gentle notes of hops, but nothing over the top.  All things considered, a very solid beer in memory of a very solid hike!

Porter Mountain and Cascade Mountain
            Views – ? (The clouds we were in looked cool, I suppose…)
            Time –  4 (Was able to travel to NY, hike, and travel back before 2 in the afternoon.)
            Difficulty – 3 (A quick hike capturing two summits.)
            Beer – 4 (Saranac Adirondack Lager)
            Overall – 4 (Enjoyable hike with less than favorable weather)

In summary, I enjoyed the hike of Porter and Cascade.  With Mary saying how great the views were, these two peaks are some of the many I will have to hike again! 

Thanks to everyone that keeps reading about my hiking adventures.  If you have any questions, concerns, and/or comments, please feel free to leave one!