My favorite mountain

July 19th 2014
Pine Bend Brook Tr. 4 miles
Mt Tripyramid Tr. 1.4 miles
Kate Sleeper Tr. 2.5 miles
Downes Brook Tr 0.8 miles
Rollins Tr 2.8 miles
Walden Tr. 2.8 miles
Lawrence Tr. 2.8 miles
Bee Line Tr. 3 miles
Champney Falls Tr. 3.2 miles ~ 25miles

Me and Rich met at the Champney Falls trailhead at 7 am. We left one car there and drove to Pine Bend Brook trailhead and started hiking around 7:30.
The first couple miles went fast with only couple of stops. It was a nice day and we were going fast. We passed couple of other hikers when it started to get steeper. We reached the first peak pretty quickly. Short walk on the slide was one of the highlights of the day. I almost missed to cut off and went down the slide! thankfully Rich was there to guide me back on trail lol.
The walk on Kate Sleeper trail was one of the nicest, there are a lot of blow downs, and i mean A LOT! After the hurricane there is still a lot of damage to the trail but most of the work is already done and its easily passable. We went through both peaks taking some quick picks and found ourselves on the Whiteface ledges not long after that.
Funny because both of us thought that thats where the summit of the mountain was. I have hiked this mountain before but it was 3 years ago and i totally forgot that the summit was a little further back with no views. We were surprised when we met 5 people all gathered near the view less summit down the road. At that time i remember the spot from previous hike, silly us thinking we were the only ones on the summit and nobody cared to check it out and just passed the ledges.
We followed Rollins trail to the summit of Passaconaway. We missed the Dicey's Mill cutoff and went to the summit through Walden trail. There once more we met the group from summit of Whiteface. It turned out they were hiking up Tripyramids and Sleepers as well that day.
From the summit we followed Walden trail down to Lawrence trail towards mount Paugus. That part of the hike was in deep woods with little light reaching from the sky, there were a lot of leaves on the trail and some parts had a lot of low growing foliage. I did not like that area much, it reminded me of my unsuccessful hike to Passaconaway through Big Rock Cave and Square Ledge from previous year.
I was also getting tired and even though my body felt fine my mind was telling me it was time for a nap. I was happy when we reached Lawrence trail intersection and couldnt wait for Paugus ledges to come.
We initially had a plan to bushwack real summit of Paugus but when we got to the outlook area we were too tired to go for it. It did look like a tough wack and i did not feel like spending additional hour to do that.
We decided to head for the Bee Line Trail and focusing on our last mountain of the day.
It turned out the whole hike was going to be a little over 25 miles and not 20 as Rich told me before, and that we were going to finish in the dark.
I do not have much experience in hiking in the dark so i wasnt to happy to hear that but there was not much to do about it. I had the headlight and it was going to be only around 30 min.
When we slowly started approaching Chocorua summit i was tired. I decided not to take any breaks and just went for the final approach. It was much cooler at that time and when i finally reached the peak i put extra clothes on. I think this was the only time there was nobody else there on the summit at the same time, it was around 7:30 and we were on the trail for 12 hrs at that time.
I was glad Rich had his filtration system with him and we could get some extra water throughout the hike. My 2.8 liters were not nearly enough to last through that long day. I also almost ate all of my food prepared for this day.
We spend around 15 min on the summit but i was eager to go down, even though Chocorua is one of my favorites i did not want to get stranded on the mountain during the dark.
The walk down was not too bad and we soon heard the sound of the Champney Falls. I did not see much of it because it was getting to dark.
I was pretty happy when we got the the parking lot. It was 9 pm and i had 3 hrs drive home ahead of me.
Thankfully i did feel fine and with some help of strong coffee and made it home safely.
I was a little wind up and had trouble falling asleep but finally around 2 am my head hit the pillow.
It was a fine day of hiking, the longest hike up to day for me and i felt great knowing my body is in great shape for even more!!!

Back to Adirondacks-Mt Marshall

July 7th,14
18,8 miles

On Sunday night i decided to go Adks next day for a hike. I was not entirely sure what i wanted to hike, i had 4 different ideas, but eventually i settled on Mt Marshall.

Monday morning i woke up at 3am to sounds of sirens and lights, one of our neighbors had a fire, it turned out it was a barn which got burned down. Since i was awake i decided not to wait till 4am alarm but to start getting ready.
Me and MIsha left the house at 4:45 and started hiking at 9:18. The ride was long but it was so worth the hike.
The weather was nice, in low 60s with a lot of shade and cool breeze.There were showers in the forecast but i was hoping it wouldnt happen.
The area of Upper Works was filled with cars when we got there but in the registry book there were only two groups signed in that day. The rest must have been camping in the area.
We took off pretty quickly, crossed the bridge and took first right. After couple minutes there was another fork where i decided to go left, i was unsure but i saw that it was pointing to hunters pass and i thought i remembered that name from trip reports. What a big surprise it was when i got to the next intersection where it turned out we were not on the right trail. We ended up going towards Duck Hole and to get back on the truck i had to turn around or follow another trail for 2 miles where it would bring us to Calamity Brook. I decided on taking extra two miles. That part of the hike was in deep woods with zero views and mostly wet. Also it started raining lightly and sky got darker. Misha started panting more and it got humid. I was really happy when we finally got to the bridge and the right path.
From then on the trail was really interesting with several bog bridges, some cool rock formations and pretty roots. We also followed the stream for most of it which brought nice breeze and cooled the air down. Misha loved the fact she could cool of in the cold river all the time.
We reached the memorial area pretty quick, passing a couple of campers on their way back to the car.
The area was beautiful there, a lot of low shrub and body of water. We had it all to ourselves!
From there it was not long to get to the intersection where we would take the herd path to Marshall .
The path did not look long on the map, it was mostly following the stream and i was hoping to get to the summit in around 30 min.
Unfortunately it was not the case this time. The path disappeared and reappeared many times along the water. I followed the stream for the most part. It started raining again and it got tough to walk on the we ledges. Few times i slipped and almost fell. It got colder. My clothes got soaked. The scenery was beautiful though. The rocks were covered in moss in many places and running water made it look serene.
I was afraid i was going to have hard time to go down the same way, it was really slippery and i had almost no traction. My feet were soaked and i was covered in mud. I was not moving fast and it was talking long time to go up.
Misha was a good sport though, whenever she needed help she would wait and cooperate. I knew she was tired and i hoped the summit would come fast and we could take a lunch break.
It turned out that it was around 2 miles up the stream and then a walk in the more wooded area to get to the top. I was tired,cole and hungry. Also right before the end i got sucked in the mud almost all the way up to the knee.
When we finally got to the summit, it stopped raining and we had some food. I switched my soaked socks to new fresh ones and i took my wet t-shirt off and put long sleeve on. I was going to keep shorts on even though they were totally wet. We did a little over 10 miles at this point, so it looked like the whole hike was going to be 18 instead of 14 miles.
It felt good to eat something, Misha was happy too. We both were looking really dirty. I knew we could not stay much longer up, since it was getting close to 1 o'clock and i wanted to be back at the car around 5pm.
Thankfully on the way down, i discovered that the herd path up the mountain was actually almost all the way alongside the stream and i just didnt see it on my way up.I did not have to go down the ledges and with the water. I felt a little stupid that i didnt look for it more carefully going up.
The rain started again a little after we started going down. I covered myself with pack cover and managed to keep my fresh clothes dry.
When we reached Flawed lands once again this day i was feeling more relieved. I knew that from there it was going to be around 5 miles of fairly flat walk which we could do in a short time.
It stopped raining and it got a little brighter.We passed an older couple on their way to the lean to, they did not have much luck with the weather.
We stopped near the memorial area once more and i went looking for my coffee beans which i noticed went missing around that time. I was so happy when i found them in the brush near the water. Such a small things give you so much happiness sometimes.
We passed a group of 4 young men going back to their car. They hiked Iroquis that day and bailed from going up Alonquin because of bad weather. I had brief chat with the when we all go to our cars.
It was so good to switch to clean clothes and to sit down for a min.
It was just before 5pm when we were pulling away from the parking lot.
It was pretty good hike after all even though it rained a lot and we didnt have much views. I would love to get back there on a sunny day.

Northern Presidentials and Great Gulf Wilderness

June 28th, 2014

Great Gulf Link Trail,
Great Gulf Trail,
Gulfside Trail,
Osgood Trail,
Daniel Webster Scout Trail ~18,5 miles

It has been long time since my last hike, it's been very long. There were just too many things going on in my life, my family visiting, changing jobs, knee problems, gardening and no time for hiking.
Last weekend i almost decided to hit the trails but my body did not feel 100%, i am not sure exactly what is going on, but i spend a lot of time reassuring myself that i can do things and dont have to stay in bed past 8 am in the morning, i have that strange feeling of lack of energy every day and have to push really hard to even go for a trail run with Misha, something that I absolutely love doing!

On a Friday night i finally decided that i was going to go for my first hike and that its going to be big, worth of all the time i have already missed  in the season.
It was too late to look for company and i wasnt even sure if i could find one to do what i was planning on doing.
I was considering taking Misha with me but, after all, i was thankful  i didnt.
I didnt even notice 12 o'clock rolling in when i was sitting with the map next to the computer, i didnt have much time left for sleeping planning on getting up at 4 in the morning. Then i could not fall asleep, i think i managed to close my eyes around 12:30. I woke up at 3:30 waiting for the alarm to go off, i fell asleep again and was not happy hearing the sound of the phone when it finally rang.
I left the house around 4:45 after packing and preparing food and water. Later than i hoped. I was heading for Dolly Copp Campground on route 16, from where i would start the hike.
Right before i pulled into the parking lot, i saw mother moose with a baby, what an awesome view that was, i have not seen baby moose before.

I started hiking around 8:45, and hit the Great Gulf trail around 9 after walking along Great Gulf Link trail for a mile. At first i wasnt even sure i was on the right track not seeing many signs around, but after i met two hikers who assured me i was actually on Great Gulf trail i was feeling better.
I passed 11 people on my way up, one hiker was going to hike mt Jefferson through Six Husbands trail, of which i was jealous, i have been waiting to hike that trail for a while now. Other two hikers were going for Chandler Brook trail joining the auto road to watch Auto Road race that was happening that day as well. The race was the reason for the noise i heard throughout my hike, i was suppose to be the wilderness and i did not like the fact the loud motorcycle noise was reaching me from time to time.
Two older guys were there hiking the AT stretch, doing their section hiking, there were on the trail for 10 weeks now and were heading for the town to resupply.
After the crossing with Chandler Brook i have not met anybody else until Mt Washington. It was just me and my thoughts.
The trail was pleasant, with light breeze and just right temperature. Couple times i got a little bit off and had to turn around, but for most of the way it was easy to follow. Most of the trail was wet with abundant of mud. Also a lot of trail was covered with  running water and i found myself slipping often. The trail traveled for most of the way near west branch of Peabody River and reminded me of Beaver Brook going up Mt Moosilauke. There were several beautiful spots with little cascades and waterfalls. I had two major slips where my feet ended up under water. Before i reached Spaulding Lake i was covered in mud, my feet were wet and i was scratched in many places. I swore a lot that day, i did not expect to let myself being not careful enough. I did not have much energy left when approached Spaulding Lake so i decided to take a short break to drink and eat.
It was very pleasant experience to be in the middle of wilderness with no other soul around, i had it all just to myself.
From there i could see my goal destination for the day.
The head wall seemed bigger that i remembered it and was pretty intimidating.  I remembered from reading that there were not many cairns and markers from then on and i had to rely on my gut for the most part.
I did not expect seeing running water over there, it looked like the trail was an actual waterfall and i had to climb among wet rocks.
Right after i started i turned around and noticed the beautiful view of the presidentials. I have not seen those mountains from that angle before. It was stunning. I wished i had something more than just my cellphone to capture the beauty of that scenery.
I decided to focus on the climb after that, it was easy at first i saw 3 or 4 markers on the wet rocks and made my way up easy, but after that there was nothing there and i had to figure my way. Some spots were tricky, running water didnt help, i was trying to be extra cautious with each step, knowing that several of the rocks were not stable and each step was important. Once more i was grateful i did not bring Misha with me on that hike. Around the middle of the climb i could see some people taking pictures from above, i was wondering if they could see me.
At that point i decided to ditch the waterfall line and i went to the left. There were more loose rocks there but it seemed like it was going to be easier to climb.
I was tired, hot and hungry. I had to take short breaks every 3-4 rocks, there were just too many of them. It seemed like it would never end. Iwas wondering if i was going too much to the left and if i was gonna join any trail up top. In few areas i had to walk on the fragile alpine grass and moss,i tried to be careful and not demage the growth, i made sure to check for hidden holes between the rocks and the grass. My legs were tired, muscles were throbbing and i was running out of breath. But with slow progress i was getting closer to the edge.
When i finally emerged i saw familiar cairns not too far away from me and a lot of people going towards the summit. Nobody noticed me coming out of the hole and i made my way up to the railway silently.
From then i had much more energy and hopped on the rocks with ease.
I got to the summit to see a lot of tourists, hikers and crew all around the summit. The race must have been over because i didnt see any bikes around. I didnt have much luck with taking picture of the sign, it was crowded and i knew i didnt want to wait in the line, i run up the top quickly and touched the marker, took quick picture from the distance in between people awaiting their turns.
I did not spend much time on the summit, probably around 10 min, i knew i still had a long way ahead of me. I quickly found the right trail leading me to Mt Clay.
I passed a lot of people going in different directions, i did not meet anybody i knew, i exchanged some 'heloo's, and 'good luck's but for the most  part i just was on my own. At the summit of mt Clay i met a lone hiker who asked me for information on the distances to next peaks. I said i wasnt sure myself but offered to check on the map. It turned out that he did not have a map himself, and was hiking on his own, he traveled from Connecticut the day before and slept in the car. He didnt look like an experienced hiker but as it turned out later on, he was in great shape and kept up with me, staying even well in front of me when i hit my weak points.
 He was a trail runner like myself and like i he liked to hike on his own. We kept each other company till the summit of Mount Adams from where he went the other way back to his car.
The hike over the northern presidentials was really tough on me. At this point my knees hurt me a lot, i was feeling very weak and dint have much strength left in me. The distance from Washington to Jefferson was ok but after that i had to take several breaks and try and eat as much as i could. I didnt feel like eating but i knew i had to if i wanted to come back to the car safely.
At the summit of Jefferson i met the hiker i bumped into at the beginning of the hike. He just reached the summit and was planning his way back to the base where he was suppose to stay overnight. We chatted briefly and wished each other good luck.
I hit one of the low points on the way to Mt Adams, i did not feel like i had enough in me to do it, but i pushed myself and finally got to the top. I was covered in sweat everywhere, i ran out of water and knew i had to make my way to the Madison hut to refill. I said good bye to my hiking companion and went down towards Madison.
I have not hiked those summits in that direction before, going down Mt Adams seemed especially difficult. I slowed down significantly. When i finally reached the hut i was at the end of my inner strength. I refilled my water and took short break. I did not want to spend much time there being afraid i might not be able to leave.
I dont think i have ever been that tired going up mt Madison before. It was my fourth time up that mountain, and every time before it seemed like an easy walk up. But not this time, each step seemed like it was taking forever and i kept looking at the summit non stop wondering how long it was going to take me. When i finally reached it i didnt even spend much time at the top. The views were great but i was anxious to see what was awaiting me on the other side of the mountain.
I have not descended the summit from that side before. I was going to go towards Osgood Junction and from there take my left to Daniel Webster Scout trail.
What a discouragement it was for e when i saw it. There were more rocks on the way up that i imagined. The way seemed like it had no end and it was steep. There was nobody there on that side of the mountain beside one family right at the beginning of my descent.
I was not ready for that. I had absolutely no energy and my legs felt like heavy iron. My feet were tired and i felt miserable. My knees hurt badly and i even started considering if i would be able to stay on the mountain somewhere till next day. At this point i had enough water and food and clothing to survive the night, but i have never done it before and that thought was very scary to me.
I dont know where did i find the energy to get down, i am not sure how i managed to crawl down those rocks, but it took me very long time and i was extremely happy when i finally got to the flatter section.
I even managed to run parts of the wooded areas where there was less rocky.
I reached the campground around 6pm and walked fast to the car. For a little bit i was thinking of staying the night in the car because i felt very sleepy but i decided not to.
I stripped down my sweaty clothes and changed to comfy shoes.
In a 3:40 min i was pulling into my driveway being so grateful i survived that day. It was such an awesome feeling to take the shoes off and walk on the grass towards the house.
Shower never felt so good before.
I was happy and proud of myself and of the fact that i did not give up. I probably should have not taken such a long hike as my first coming back to hiking trip but i made it and i believe it made me stronger hiker.
I found more abilities in me than i expected and know now what i can tackle next.

Winter 2014 hikes

I have not been very active this winter officially starting the season much later than previous years. I only managed to squeeze 6 hikes in but all of them where good hikes that i was happy to go on.

N.Kinsman

With the weather calling for high winds me and Garett decided to change our original plan of hiking Franconia ridge and ended up going up mt Kinsman. Because it was my first hike since the end of October i was not ready to hit both peaks and we managed to reach only North Peak. We had Misha and Boone with us as well. I opened the season on February 2nd.

Mt Pierce

My second winter hike didnt go according to plan as well. On February 15th i was suppose to hike to Both mt Eisenhower and Pierce with the group of 5 people from Meetup page. Unfortunately when we got to the ridge the winds were to high with temperatures low and we only managed to summit Mt Pierce.

Franconia Ridge

Week later me,Garett and Lars headed up to hike Mt Lafayette,when we got to the summit i managed to convince the rest to go over the ridge to Lincoln and Little Haystack. It was very pretty day an high winds did not keep us from extending the original plan. Dogs were with us.

Mt Monadnock

March 2nd brought me to Mt Monadnock which i hiked with Meetup group. It was fast short hike, even though the views were not there i met fine people and we had great time.

Mt Osceola and East Peak

I had a day off during the week and managed to convince Garett to join me on a hike to Mt Osceola and hr East peak. It was cold only 9 F at the summit of East and it snowed all day. We did not have much of a view but it was a good workout hike. We wore crampons on steep section and i had to drag Misha up when she refused to go. It was partially my fault because i put rubbery booties on her and she didnt have much traction. (March 5)

Mt Height and Carter Dome

As a last hike of the season i ended up hiking to mt Height,which i have not hiked before and Carter Dome. Original plan was to hike Carter Ridge but after prominent snow fall we opted for other peaks. I hiked this one with Rich. It was the coldest hike of the season with temperatures around 0 and minus temps with the windchill. We had to break the trail to mt Height and it was the hardest experience of trail breaking i have ever had. I got back home crippled.
We also had a crazy moment on a highway where the truck lost traction and we ended up spinning and turning the wrong way on a highway!!!!!(March 16th)