Leaving Liberty, Jordan and Kate (with a passing hiker) on the Franconia Ridge Trail.
Sunday, July 25, 2004
Mt. Liberty July 25, 2004
Today marked two milestones – our tenth 4000 footer and our first hike up a peak on the rugged and spectacular Franconia Ridge Trail. (For the record our three 4000 footers that did not take place in 2004 were Mt. Tecumseh August 21, 2002; Mt. Moosilauke June 28, 2003 and Mt. Eisenhower Aug 28, 2003)
The trail up Liberty, after an easy .8-mile woodland walk and then another mile up an easy grade, is a rugged and unrelenting steep hike. The footing was never dangerous but the hike was our longest and most difficult to date.
The weather was unusual. The sky was completely overcast but yet there was no threat of rain. The clouds were high enough so that our views were not restricted. The temperature was in the low 50s at the summit but yet the winds were unusually calm.
Distance: 8 miles Climb: 3250 ft. Elevation: 4459 ft.
The trail up Liberty, after an easy .8-mile woodland walk and then another mile up an easy grade, is a rugged and unrelenting steep hike. The footing was never dangerous but the hike was our longest and most difficult to date.
The weather was unusual. The sky was completely overcast but yet there was no threat of rain. The clouds were high enough so that our views were not restricted. The temperature was in the low 50s at the summit but yet the winds were unusually calm.
Distance: 8 miles Climb: 3250 ft. Elevation: 4459 ft.
Sunday, July 18, 2004
Mt. Starr King and Mt. Waumbek July 18, 2004
After two weeks of showers and threatening skies we were happy to hear on Saturday that today's forecast was for sunny skies. When we woke up today I checked one more time the on-line forecasts. Accu-weather was still calling for sunny skies while weather.com was now calling for mostly cloudy with showers rolling in by 1pm.
Being eager to hike we choose to believe accu-weather. Hedging our bets we choose a hike that was not very exposed. Starr King had the misted views and Waumbek, a mile down the ridge from Starr King, is a 4000 footer; so we dutifully went out and back to its wooded summit.
Score one for the Weather Channel. As the photos show the storms did roll in on schedule. Lucky for us although the thunder was close by it never rained on us.
Distance 7.2 miles; Climb 2550 ft. Elevation Starr King 3907 ft.; Waumbek 4006 ft.
Being eager to hike we choose to believe accu-weather. Hedging our bets we choose a hike that was not very exposed. Starr King had the misted views and Waumbek, a mile down the ridge from Starr King, is a 4000 footer; so we dutifully went out and back to its wooded summit.
Score one for the Weather Channel. As the photos show the storms did roll in on schedule. Lucky for us although the thunder was close by it never rained on us.
Distance 7.2 miles; Climb 2550 ft. Elevation Starr King 3907 ft.; Waumbek 4006 ft.
Sunday, July 04, 2004
Mt. Garfield July 3, 2004
Spectacular 360-degree views awaited us at the summit. Today marked a milestone for our family hikes; we hiked 10 miles and climbed 3000 feet. Garfield was a good introduction to those distances as the trail is one of the gentlest in the Whites for a high peak. Most high peak trails are far rougher and steeper.
Although the views are 360 degrees the photos at the summit are in one direction only east. If you plan on using a digital camera to photograph high contrast shots be careful what you buy. Our old 2-year-old Kodak easily captured the various hues of the mountains and the contrasting sky. Unfortunately the camera recently failed. The shots on our Mt. Cannon hike were taken with a new Canon A75. Most of those shots failed. The photos were too dark and the forests turned out almost black. We sent that camera back and purchased a new Kodak 7430. Most of those shots were as bad. A hiker at the peak told us his new HP R707 with "adaptive light technology" easily handles the contrasts so we will probably try that one next. Curious though –our two-year old digital Kodak had no problems in the mountains. It consistently took great shots. Indeed I can remember taking photos in the Whites with disposable cameras that easily handled the contrasts
Distance: 10 miles. Climb 3000 ft. Elevation 4500 ft.
Although the views are 360 degrees the photos at the summit are in one direction only east. If you plan on using a digital camera to photograph high contrast shots be careful what you buy. Our old 2-year-old Kodak easily captured the various hues of the mountains and the contrasting sky. Unfortunately the camera recently failed. The shots on our Mt. Cannon hike were taken with a new Canon A75. Most of those shots failed. The photos were too dark and the forests turned out almost black. We sent that camera back and purchased a new Kodak 7430. Most of those shots were as bad. A hiker at the peak told us his new HP R707 with "adaptive light technology" easily handles the contrasts so we will probably try that one next. Curious though –our two-year old digital Kodak had no problems in the mountains. It consistently took great shots. Indeed I can remember taking photos in the Whites with disposable cameras that easily handled the contrasts
Distance: 10 miles. Climb 3000 ft. Elevation 4500 ft.
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