Gear that is always in Doug’s winter hiking pack.
All in Hike
Presi Training
At 20+ miles in length and with almost 10,000 feet in elevation gain, doing the Presidential Traverse in a day is a feather in any hiker’s cap. Here are some tips for taking it from pipe dream to reality.
Finding the Foliage on New Hampshire’s Mt. Roberts
If you’re looking for a moderate fall hike with amazing foliage and fantastic views of the Lakes Region, you can’t do much better than Mt. Roberts at the Castle in the Clouds Conversation Area near Moultonborough, New Hampshire. Just a 5.2-mile round trip, the hike is family-friendly with moderate elevation gain and comfortable footing. We hiked this 2,582 foot peak a couple of weekends ago and loved it. It’s a great option for anybody looking for an easy and enjoyable hike. Check it out.
Backpacks, Boulders, and Bribes: The Sugarloaf Trail, NH
Hiking with a four-year-old and a seven-year-old can be exhilarating, educational, and, at times, exhausting—and that’s before you even leave trailhead. Trekking up the Sugarloaf trail in Carroll, NH is a great family hike and a nice way to test out just how ready the troops are for one of the 4,000-footers down the street.
Hiking Mt. Pemigewasset
Maybe it was the deer we ran into on the trail. Or maybe it was the views from the summit ledges. Or just maybe it was the sections of trail that tunnel under Route 3 and Interstate 93, where everybody’s voices echoed off the walls. Honestly, it’s hard to say why my kiddos enjoyed hiking Mt. Pemigewasset (also known as Indian Head) in Franconia Notch so much. All I know is that they did.
Norris Reservation: A Hidden Gem in Greater Boston
Searching for a kid-friendly hike in the Greater Boston area, but aren’t quite sure where to go? Well, check out the Norris Reservation, a 129-acre Trustees of the Reservations property situated along the North River in Norwell. The hiking is easy, the scenery is great, and the kiddos will love it. Mine definitely did!
Lesser-Known Traverses of the White Mountains
For the past few years, we’ve been obsessed with trail running, hiking, and backpacking in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Put simply, our goal is to get on a ridge line and then pick off as many summits as we can before descending to the car. As we’ve already written about several of our favorites on goEast (most notably the Presidential Traverse, the Pemi Loop, and the Franconia Ridge Traverse) and, more historically, on the Ninja (e.g., the Zealand-Twinway Traverse), we’ll focus instead on two lesser-known traverses that we really enjoyed as part of our 48-in-48 effort late last spring: the Sleeper Traverse and the Kinsman Ridge Traverse.
Call It A Great Day on Franconia Ridge
Epic views, an exposed ridge, and tagging the summits of two of New Hampshire’s 48 4,000-footers always makes a hike across Franconia Ridge a worthwhile endeavor. Throw in good friends, great weather, a pre-hike breakfast of biscuits and gravy from Sunny Day Diner, and icy cold Moat Mountain Brewing Call It A Day Double IPAs waiting in the car, and it might have been one of my best hiking trips in recent memory.
My Worst Hike Ever
Everest Woman is responsible for my worst hike ever: a December 2007 ascent of the Hancocks in the White Mountains. To this day I have not forgiven her. I was cold. So cold. This is the story.
Weather or Not It’s Worth It
The awkward transitional time that happens as fall gives way to winter often leaves me searching for motivation. With not enough snow to ski and not enough ice to climb—at least for mortals like me—my adventures in the Whites are typically relegated to hiking. Lacking the speed of skiing and the excitement of ice climbing, at times I find myself asking is the drive for hiking worth it?
Some Days in the Mountains You Just Don’t Want to End
So often our trips to the mountains are focused on squeezing in multiple objectives, doing something in a fast time, or just moving quickly in order to get back home to our never-ending lists of other commitments. On this day, however, we chose to linger. To make conversation with other hikers. To bask on a sunny slab on Pierce’s flanks because days like this are few and deserve to be cherished.