August 14, 2010: Cannon Mountain (#6)

My mom and I departed the Lonesome Lake trailhead at 8:50am and soon turned off onto the Hi-Cannon trail toward the summit of Cannon Mountain.

The trail was steep but reasonable.  After passing the Dodge Cut-Off, we were awarded views across the notch of the Franconia Range.

After a 15-foot ladder, we arrived at a ledge with incredible views of the Franconia Range and of Lonesome Lake.

After some steep climbing, we joined the Kinsman Ridge Trail and ascended to my sixth summit, Cannon, at 12:00pm.

From the summit tower, we had incredible 360-degree views.  There was even a dial that labeled the peaks visible in every direction.

Due to time restrictions, we descended quickly and were back at the trailhehead by 3:30pm.  A great day-hike with some of the best views yet.

August 3, 2010: Mount Field (#4) & Mount Tom (#5)

After getting stuck for half an hour in traffic on the drive up, my brother, a young family friend, and I departed the Avalon trailhead at 9:30am.

First, we climbed Mount Avalon (not a 4,000 footer) where we had views looking South into Crawford Notch.  Unfortunately, clouds and rain were beginning to move in.

We continued on the Willey Range trail for what seemed like much too long until we climbed steeply to my fourth mountain on the list, Mount Field.  Unfortunately there was nothing to see on the summit and it began to rain as we sat down for lunch. (12:30pm)

The trail seemed never-ending as we continued through the eerie mist engulfing the forest.

Soon after reaching a junction, we began the Mount Tom Spur, the climb to my fifth summit.

After a steep 25-minute climb, we arrived at the summit at 2:05pm, which disappointingly was covered in clouds.

After a long descent, we arrived back at the trailhead at 4:40pm.  I had two more peaks in the bag, so the day was a success.

July 27, 2010: Mount Lafayette (#2) & Mount Lincoln (#3)

My brother and I departed the trailhead for the Old Bridle Path toward Mount Lafayette this morning at 8:15am.

The trail was very reasonable for a while; it didn't even feel like we were going up for the first twenty minutes.
Soon we arrived at some ledges where we had clear views of what was ahead: Agony Ridge, Mount Lafayette, and Mount Lincoln.

As we climbed over the Agonies, we were rewarded with spectacular views looking South through Franconia Notch.

Three miles from the trailhead, we arrived at AMC Greenleaf Hut at 9:50am.

Lafayette summit was visible above Eagle Lakes just over a mile ahead on the Greenleaf Trail.

As we climbed, we got better views behind us of the Greenleaf Hut with Cannon Mountain behind it.

We arrived at Mount Lafayette summit at 10:47am, my second 4,000 footer.

About an hour later across the ridge I bagged my third 4,000 footer, Lincoln.

Once we reached the summit of Little Haystack (unfortunately, it doesn't qualify for the list), we had great views of Mount Flume and Mount Liberty (both on the list).

Flume and Liberty would have to wait for another day, because we descended via the Falling Waters Trail.
The trail was a lot more rough than our ascent had been, but we were back at the trailhead by 2:15pm.

July 7, 2010: Mount Washington (#1)

On July 7, 2010, I conquered my first mountain for the New Hampshire list of 4,000 foot mountain peaks.  Little did I know that completing Mount Washington would lead to a journey to complete the whole peak-bagging list, but I'm glad it did.
My brother, two friends from work, and I set out early for New Hampshire's highest peak (and the highest peak in the entire Northeast for that matter).
We arrived at the AMC visitor center at Pinkham Notch just before 8:30am.

As usual, the parking lot was filling up quickly, and we got our first glimpse of Mount Washington rising high above the Joe Dodge Lodge.

We made sure we had everything we needed for the trip and departed the Tuckerman Ravine trailhead by 8:45am.

The air was extremely humid and we found ourselves sweating heavily almost immediately.  We stopped from time to time to catch our breath and for much needed water.  The rocky trail continued steadily upward as we got closer and closer to the Hermit Lake shelters, the halfway point.

At about 10:20am we arrived at the caretaker's house at Hermit Lake where we had spectacular views of the headwall of Tuckerman Ravine.

We spent half an hour for lunch then back-tracked .1 miles so we could pick up Lion Head Trail toward the summit.

As we climbed Lion Head, we soon had views of Hermit Lake and the shelter down below.  Through the haze we could also see Wildcat Ski Area across the Notch.

The trail became very steep and rocky and it was still very humid, so we took breaks more frequently than I had hoped to, but we continued to make good time.  Soon we entered the Alpine Zone, and shortly after we approached the namesake of the trail, a rock formation called Lion Head.

By this time, we had breath-taking views into Tuckerman Ravine.

We met the Tuckerman Ravine Trail again at Tuckerman Junction and prepared for the rough .6 miles ahead.  It was slow going, but before we knew it, we were at the top and I had completed my first 4,000 foot mountain in the White Mountains.

We arrived at the summit just before 2pm and departed the summit just before 3pm.  Now the long descent was upon us.  Fortunately, we had stunning views of Boot Spur to entertain us while crossing the vast boulder field for the second time.

We took the scenic route down, via the section of Tuckerman Ravine Trail we had bypassed on the ascent.

After a lot of switch-backs and scrambling, we were at the legendary snow arch, where we all caught our breath and cooled down.

We rested shortly at Hermit Lake and arrived back at the trailhead just before 7:20pm.  We were sufficiently tired after a challenging day of hiking, but the feeling of accomplishment was unparalleled.