THERE ARE 48 PEAKS above 4,000 feet in the state of New Hampshire. Those who climb all 48 can apply to the Appalachian Mountain Club for a patch commemorating their achievement.
Similar challenges existed in the Adirondacks and the Northeast with the latter’s 115 peaks including all the 4,000-foot peaks in the Adirondacks and New Hampshire. From 2001-2010 this quest to climb the 115 highest mountains in the states of the northeast United States dominated my waking hours. I completed the Adirondack 46rs in June 2005, five years later I completed my New Hampshire goal.
As has become customary we had a gentleman’s start for my 48th NH peak. After sleeping in to rest our muscles from yesterdays’ grueling 18-mile trek up Owl’s Head including real-deal bushwhacking that allowed us upfront and close discovery of the Franconia brook and falls, and after a mediocre brunch in town we off for our start up Mt. Carrigan.
Richie had joined me for this Memorial Day Weekend peak-bagging extravaganza where I planned to finish up my NH 48 and inch closer to my Northeast 115er. I had unknowingly begun that quest in February 2001 while snowshoeing Camel’s Hump in Vermont. When the following July had me climbing Mt. Katahdin in Maine including a terrifying scurry over Knife’s Edge, and the Adirondack’s Mt. Marcy trailing behind in September, it was only a matter time before I ventured into New Hampshire. My first NH peaks came by way of Bondcliff and Mt. Bond in 2001 in the late December snow only a day after I purchased my first set of snowshoes. While my preparation and execution of that trip left much to be desired, my eventual quest to complete the 48 and the 115 was a desire that would not easily evaporate.
Hiking those familiar dirt roads from Lincoln Woods en route to Owls Head (#47) helped me to recall my first New Hampshire peak, and even though they were a distant eight-and-a-half years ago amid an entirely different season, they seemed like yesterday. The Bonds were a lesson in humility and survival as well as in adventure and accomplishment.
Like the Bonds, just under half (23) of my NH 48 were climbed in the winter. The Whites were better white in my opinion and as Richie and I climbed the endless ascent up Carrigan all we could think was how great of a bum-slide down the mountain the monotonous Carrigan climb would be in the winter. Together, and alongside another friend Matt, we had just hiked the Osceolas in February and marveled at how fast the steep pitch descent was when sliding on one’s snowpants.
The trek in to the monotonous Carrigain climb was uneventful. A nice babbling brook occupied our attention for a ways, but not too long as time spent admiring the creek, meant time for gnats and mosquitoes to admire us.
This being Memorial Day Weekend, there were plenty of people on the trail. Most seemed intrigued by the large kite bag I carried, less so by the bottle of champagne that jutted from my pack. To some I clued in that this would be my 48th. One confused lady answered back she had her 40th birthday last week. At 32 years old I wondered if people really thought I was that old?
Soon views of the Presidents were coming into view. We crested the ridge with fine views in every direction after several hours. The views here were great – so great that the bulk of hikers who had selected Carrigan as their hike today chose to end their hike here without journeying on to the final summit hump. This lump with its fire tower jutting above the tree stood right in front of us. To me it beckoned, and I like to think even if I weren’t checking off peaks that I’d make the short final push to summit and take in the view from the fire tower’s perch.
We headed onward, away from the crowd and onto the summit. This actually made the hike even more enjoyable as when we reached the true summit we had it all to ourselves. The fire tower was shorter and wider than the kind prevalent in New York, but the view was commensurate in grandeur. Dropping my pack on the ground I climbed to the top with kite, camera and champagne in hand to culminate my 48th. On top I let out my characteristic yell, snapped a few photos of the unopened champagne bottle with Mt Washington in the background picturesque enough to appear in a magazine marketing campaign. Then between gulps of the champagne and snaps of the photos I unfurled my kite into the air.
The kite was a yellow diamond-shaped happy face kite, and the wind whisked it all throughout the sky providing varied scenic backdrops for my photos. The wind was strong, so strong that Richie kept layering up. As for me the euphoria must have been flowing for I stayed up top for over 30 minutes in the wind without a shirt before donning one for the picture.
Soon, another group of hikers made it to the summit and so we descended the fire tower to give them their space. But it was a good thing we didn’t leave the peak altogether. Nestling ourselves in the woods for a snack it was then that two Gray Jays found us – therein making the perfect ending to my 48 list. Having fed Gray Jays on Mounts Jackson and Tom, I knew they were local to the Crawford Notch area and I had hoped we might encounter them, but didn’t expect to. So when they came – one a young birdie, the other a much more cautious aged one – it was the perfect ending to my odyssey.
Just before descending we noticed a particularly shiny rock on the rock pile that surrounded the summit sign. Picking it up we found on the reversed a painted and glossed over rock from someone else’s 48th summit. We covered the names and Richie took some photos of me with the 48 rock, and then we began our descent. We paused for some time at the views below and snapped some fantastic panorama views.
I thought about celebrating the NH 48 with a meal at the Mt. Washington Hotel, but there was no time. Instead we headed out to Maine to do spend the next day doing Old Speck (#112 towards my 115) – another fine hike with a fantastic view.
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Mike Kelsey finished his quest to climb New Hampshire’s 48th peak on Mount Carrigain on May 30, 2010 and his Northeast 115th peak the following August. He remains committed to climbing each peak again in the winter.
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