I'm Published in Appalachia Journal!

I am excited to announce that I am published in the Summer/Fall 2019 issue of Appalachia Journal!  My piece is called "Night Visions," and it is about the end of my solo one-day hike of the Pemi Loop.  I am grateful to have had this wonderful opportunity.  Many thanks to Christine Woodside, Appalachia's editor, for her support!

Please check it out! 

Garfield on a Clear Day, 3/19/2019

Sage and I alternate documenting our hikes each week.  Check out Sage's blog for more trip reports.

Garfield

3/19/2019

Gale River Road, Mt. Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail

12.4 Miles Roundtrip

Around 3200 Feet of Elevation Gain

It felt like an average winter morning when I stepped out of the car to hike Garfield.  It was pitch dark, so we took out our headlamps, and I started the hike wearing a couple of layers.

Since the road is closed due to all of the snow, we had a 1.2-mile roadwalk to the trailhead.  Like it usually does, the roadwalk seemed to go by quickly, at least for me.

This is Sage and me at the beginning of the roadwalk.

Photo by Trish Herr

When we got to the trailhead, it was still dark, so I continued leading the way in the blackness.  We were surprised to see that the first few tenths of a mile of the trail had little to no snow.  There were just ice patches here and there in the beginning.

As we kept going, the snow became more and more plentiful, and soon enough, it was everywhere.  Also, it was refreshing and a relief when we no longer needed our headlamps.

Looking through the trees...

Up, up, up...

After maintaining a decent pace up the mountain, we arrived at the intersection near the summit of Garfield.  It was a beautiful day up there.

Photo by Trish Herr

Sage on Garfield:

Photo by Trish Herr

I was close to the summit tower foundation:

Photo by Trish Herr

There were beautiful views from the top.  My hands were getting very cold and I had difficulty taking photos, so I am including Mom's pictures on here.

Photo by Trish Herr

Photo by Trish Herr

Photo by Trish Herr

Photo by Trish Herr

Sage and me...

Photo by Trish Herr

The rest of the hike down the mountain was pleasant.  Soon enough, we arrived at the trailhead.  We just had the roadwalk to go from there!

Mom spotted a couple grouse on the roadwalk.  They seemed so content high up on those frail branches.

We had a great day!

Snowy North and Middle Tripyramid, 1/4/2018

A common argument climate change deniers have is since the temperatures are low and there is so much snow, climate change can't be happening.  This is a misconception!  To support climate research and to help fight against climate change's negative effects, one must understand how climate change works.  Read about this topic here.  Please donate to UCS to support their research!

North and Middle Tripyramid

1/4/2018

Pine Bend Brook Trail, Mt. Tripyramid Trail

9.6 miles round-trip

3,450 feet of elevation gain

Happy New Year!  We hiked the Tripyramids, starting our hike at 5:15 am to avoid the snowstorm that was predicted to occur later in the day.  There were no negative temperatures today, so that made the cold easier to deal with.  As usual, we put on our headlamps and began our ascent!

Please note: my phone went from 100% to 0% to 10% to 95% battery because of the cold, so Mom and I both took pictures just in case my phone would never be reliable.  Thankfully, though, it adjusted to the cold temperatures and started working properly.

Photo by Trish Herr

 Me looking crazy!

Photo by Trish Herr

Trailhead:

Yes, it was dark...

Sage and I, wearing headlamps, hiking up the trail, with me navigating in front:

Photo by Trish Herr

 When the sun came up, I could see the beauty of the trail.  The plus side to hiking in the winter is the snow covers everything, and this makes all of a hiker's natural surroundings even more appealing.  A little later, it started snowing.

Then, Sage took the lead:

After what seemed like an endless incline, we saw the flat summit top of North Tripyramid!  Summit pictures:

Photo by Trish Herr

After drinking some delicious light eggnog, we hiked to the second summit...

On Middle Tripyramid, there were still no views, just clouds, but the forest was beautiful and everything was white.

Photo by Trish Herr

A beautiful view of nothing:

Photo by Trish Herr

By now, it had snowed for a while, so we all had a little bit of snow in our hair.  The density of the snowfall increased as we continued our hike.

Heading back to North Tripyramid...

Gray sky...

Once we got back to North Tripyramid, we had a really fun time on the way down!  We haven't been able to butt slide down peaks in a while because either the snowfall was too light or the incline was too slight.  Today, though, the conditions were perfect for some sliding.  Mom took the picture below of me whizzing away...

Photo by Trish Herr

Once butt sliding became impossible, Sage and Mom put on their snowshoes (I just carried mine), and we walked the last mile or so back to our car.

Photo by Trish Herr

Photo by Trish Herr

Back at the parking lot...

Celebrating our snow-covered selves!  The hike was so fun today, and the peaks were lovely to visit as always.

I hope everyone is enjoying the snow!  I definitely am.

Frost-covered Tom and Field, 11/7/2017

Please donate to Union of Concerned Scientists!  Their organization is important for the preservation of the environment and climate change research.

Tom and Field

A-Z, Willey Range, and Avalon Trails

7.2 miles round-trip

2750 feet of elevation gain

We all started our hike wearing a fleece or a wind-proof jacket because of the cold and chilly breeze that hit us when we got out of the car.  I had an online Spanish class at 12:00, so we had to get up earlier than normal to get back home on time.  It was dark for about an hour while we were hiking.

Photo by Trish Herr

There were many stars in the sky, but I could only capture the moon in my iPhone camera. 

Dark trail:

The water was pretty high!

Photo by Trish Herr

 

It may be hard to see in this photo, but this tree was uprooted from the rain storm that hit many parts of New England.  We lost electricity in our home for four days (we spent most of our time working in a library that did have power).

There was another uprooted tree at the intersection -- the one with the trail sign attached to it, in fact.  Sage sat on it!

Onward...

Fallen trees...

Photo by Trish Herr

Intersection with Tom Spur Trail:

There was frost on the trees near the summit of Mt. Tom!  

Summit cairn:

Photo by Trish Herr

After taking a quick break on Tom, we headed back down to the intersection.

After that, we hiked onward to Field.  The frost-covered trees were gorgeous to look up at while hiking.

We saw a gray jay while coming up Field, but it did not follow us to the top.  It was adorable!  I wished it flew with us as we hiked up the mountain.  It must not have felt like it.

Looking up at frosty tree tops was like admiring glimering, snow-covered diamonds from below.

Beauty...

Us on the summit!

Photo by Trish Herr

Mom and Sage getting clothes and food out of their packs...

The sky was a deep clear blue.

We did not hike Willey (so we could get to my class on time), but on the way down, since we had some extra time, we decided to remove a log that had fallen across the trail with our axe.  The following pictures show Mom hacking at the wood...

...then Sage did some work...

...and then I did.

Mom attacking the log!

Moving the halved log off the trail...

I took the other part of the log!

Me holding up the log!

Watch out!

I'll post the next trip report, our recent hike of the Franconia Ridge Traverse, in a couple days.