The Tripyramids July 13, 2005

Today we reached our peak number 24, the half-way point towards climbing all 48 peaks over 4000 feet. The hike features a curcuit hike to the remote (you first need to hike aproximately 3 miles to the trailhead for the climbing section) peaks of North, Middle and South Tripyamid; only North and Middle are on the list of 48. The list of 48 with descriptions is at http://www.outdoors.org/tripplanner/plan/4kfooter-guide.cfm or http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/whites/summits_alf.html Today's hike features challenging slides up the North peak and down the South peak. The slides gain about 1000 feet in .5 miles. We opted to avoid the North slide via the Scaur Ridge and Pine Bend Brook trails. I'm glad the South slide was heart-stopping enough. It was not just the steepness but the openess and the feeling of not being contained by the forest. It took us almost 2 hours to come down the .5 mile slide. Until we reached almost the summit of the Middle peak there was not a fellow-hiker to be seen. At the Middle peak we met a group of men who were simply incredulous that Kate and Jordan were at the summit and that they were at the half-way point (24 peaks) . Kate and Jordan politely smiled. At the Middle peak storm clouds brewed and we briefly considered skipping the South slide and returning how we came, before the clouds cleared.

Distance: 12.1 miles; Climb 3000 feet; Elevation North Tripyramid 4180 feet; Middle 4140 feet.