Tag Archives: Maine

Peak-Bagging

Posted on by under All Hikers, Family hiking, Hikers, Backpackers, and Campers, TakeaLongHike, The Outdoors, Trail Related

Sign at the summit of Mount Washngton, New Ham...

Sign at the summit of Mount Washngton, New Hampshire, United States. (1,917m/6,288ft) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Peak-bagging is hiker jargon for those who get satisfaction in summiting mountains. Peak-baggers will climb (bag) peaks usually in some type of organized quest. It’s how I developed a passion for hiking.

Some years ago, I met a hiker in the White Mountains who said he was going to summit all the 4000 footers in New Hampshire. There are 48, and he was up to 23. I checked my journals and realized I’d done seven. Over the next years, I finished the ones in New Hampshire and went on to complete all the 4000 footers in New England. There are five in Vermont and fourteen in Maine.

This whole idea can become addictive. There are separate lists of the 100 highest mountains in New England, the Northeast, and the USA. There are backpackers who try to “bag” all those peaks. I stopped after the 4000 footers in New England, but will begin a quest of the 4000 footers in the Adirondacks of New York state this autumn. There are 46, so it will take me a while.

The landscape photo with the towers is New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, the highest mountain in the northeast, at 6288 feet. The other landscape photo is from Washington’s peak, looking down on Lakes of the Clouds Hut on the shoulder of Mt. Washington. The profile photo shows the Franconia Ridge Trail up to the peak of another 4000 footer, New Hampshire’s Mt. Lafayette (5260 ft).

Most peaks are scenic and peaceful, the perfect place to dream, plan, hope—all that good stuff.

Related articles

Peak-Bagging

Posted on by under All Hikers, Family hiking, Hikers, Backpackers, and Campers, TakeaLongHike, The Outdoors, Trail Related

Sign at the summit of Mount Washngton, New Ham...

Sign at the summit of Mount Washngton, New Hampshire, United States. (1,917m/6,288ft) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Peak-bagging is hiker jargon for those who get satisfaction in summiting mountains. Peak-baggers will climb (bag) peaks usually in some type of organized quest. It’s how I developed a passion for hiking.

Some years ago, I met a hiker in the White Mountains who said he was going to summit all the 4000 footers in New Hampshire. There are 48, and he was up to 23. I checked my journals and realized I’d done seven. Over the next years, I finished the ones in New Hampshire and went on to complete all the 4000 footers in New England. There are five in Vermont and fourteen in Maine.

This whole idea can become addictive. There are lists of the 100 highest mountains in New England, the Northeast, and the USA. There are backpackers who try to “bag” all those peaks. I stopped after the 4000 footers in New England, but will begin a quest of the 4000 footers in the Adirondacks of New York state this autumn. There are 46, so it will take me a while.

The landscape photo with the towers is New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, the highest mountain in the northeast, at 6288 feet. The other landscape photo is from Washington’s peak, looking down on Lakes of the Clouds Hut on the shoulder of Mt. Washington. The profile photo shows the Franconia Ridge Trail up to the peak of another 4000 footer, New Hampshire’s Mt. Lafayette (5260 ft).

Most peaks are scenic and peaceful, the perfect place to dream, plan, hope—all that good stuff.

Related articles

Peak-Bagging

Posted on by under All Hikers, Family hiking, Hikers, Backpackers, and Campers

Sign at the summit of Mount Washngton, New Ham...

Sign at the summit of Mount Washngton, New Hampshire, United States. (1,917m/6,288ft) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Peak-bagging is hiker jargon for those who get satisfaction in summiting mountains. Peak-baggers will climb (bag) peaks usually in some type of organized quest. It’s how I developed a passion for hiking.

Some years ago, I met a hiker in the White Mountains who said he was going to summit all the 4000 footers in New Hampshire. There are 48, and he was up to 23. I checked my journals and realized I’d done seven. Over the next years, I finished the ones in New Hampshire and went on to complete all the 4000 footers in New England. There are five in Vermont and fourteen in Maine.

This whole idea can become addictive. There are lists of the 100 highest mountains in New England, the Northeast, and the USA. There are backpackers who try to “bag” all those peaks. I stopped after the 4000 footers in New England, but will begin a quest of the 4000 footers in the Adirondacks of New York state this autumn. There are 46, so it will take me a while.

The landscape photo with the towers is New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, the highest mountain in the northeast, at 6288 feet. The other landscape photo is from Washington’s peak, looking down on Lakes of the Clouds Hut on the shoulder of Mt. Washington. The profile photo shows the Franconia Ridge Trail up to the peak of another 4000 footer, New Hampshire’s Mt. Lafayette (5260 ft).

Most peaks are scenic and peaceful, the perfect place to dream, plan, hope—all that good stuff.

Appalachian Trail Thru-hiker

Posted on by under All Hikers, Hikers, Backpackers, and Campers, Long-distance hiking, The Outdoors, Thru-hiking, Trail Related
Map of Appalachian Trail

Appalachian Trail--Image via Wikipedia

Thru-hiker of Appalachian Trail at Mt. Katahdin

Sonny Lopez, "Day-Man"

I apologize to any subscribers who were unable to open this post yesterday. There was a glitch with my blog-hosting company. 

Meet Sonny Lopez, also known by his trail name, Day-Man. Sonny began his Appalachian Trail thru-hike at Springer Mountain in Georgia on March 1st. He finished at the summit of Mt. Katahdin in Maine on September 20th. Along the way, he met new hiking friends and saw a lot of mountain scenery as he followed the Appalachians north through fourteen states.

Sonny saw four bears in New Jersey(!), one of them with cubs. He also saw a bull moose in New Hampshire, the seldom seen fisher-cat, and an aggressive raccoon.

His most challenging day was near Chestnut Knob in Virginia when he had to hike nineteen miles in the cold, wind, and rain to make it to the shelter. When he got there “soaked and beaten” it was already over-crowded, but somehow they made room for him. His longest hiking day was 30 miles–from Goddard Shelter to Manchester Center, Vermont.

Sonny lost 44 pounds! Carrying a backpack averaging 45 pounds for 2,178 miles will do that. He began the trail weighing 220 pounds and now estimates he weighs 176 pounds. A graduate of the University of New Mexico, he turned 24 on the trail, and on his birthday jumped off a rustic bridge into a river to celebrate.

Sonny says he “totally enjoyed” the adventure. He took more time than usual to finish but doesn’t regret taking the extra time to enjoy the experience. And good trail friends meant a lot.

Congratulations, Sonny. You set a very challenging goal and achieved it. We salute you!

Mt. Katahdin: The Holy Grail of Appalachian Trail Thru-hikers

Posted on by under All Hikers, Hikers, Backpackers, and Campers, Long-distance hiking, Thru-hiking, Trail Related
Ray Anderson on Mt. Katahdin at finish of Appalachian Trail hike

September 22, 2003

 

If you’re thru-hiking north on the Appalachian Trail, Mt. Katahdin is your destination. It was mine in 2003,  and I remember how excited a bunch of us were as we summited eight years ago yesterday. For me it was an end to six months and eight days of tramping ever north from Georgia. Some days were good, some were lousy (especially when it rained), but overall it was a great experience, and I understand why some hikers do it all over again.

The night before we climbed Mt. Katahdin, none of us could sleep. I played chess with a thru-hiker who’d just finished the previous day, but was ready to hike up again with friends who had been two days behind him. He was still pumped. I did finally go into the shelter to rest, but my mind was a kaleidoscope of memories of hiking north through the forests and woodlands of fourteen states. 

All of us slipped onto the trail before dawn. When I got to the top of Katahdin, after pictures, I went off to the side and tried to fathom it all. But nothing sank in, and I rejoined the group. It was only after, off the peak and on the way back to the staging area, that I took a few minutes to think about the trek. I sat by a brook and was very relaxed and content. I made some resolutions (one of which I’ve kept) and then poled on, eager to see my wife, who was on her way into Maine’s Baxter State Park to retrieve me.

I looked at the great mountain behind me for the last time, turned, and moved ahead.

Mt. Katahdin in Maine; the northern terminus of the Applachian Trail

A last look at Mt. Katahdin