Appalachian Trail GA

Is there a long distance hike on the Appalachian Trail or the Long Trail in your future? Do you want information on planning, physical conditioning, gear, clothing, food and resupply? Do you know what trail magic is? Have you met a trail angel? Do you have a trail name? Do you know how much your pack should weigh? Is it safe to hike alone? What equipment should I bring? Should I bring a snake bite kit? What about bears, and wild boar?

Gordon Dubois on the Appalachian Trail

The Gale Library, Main Street, Laconia, NH is sponsoring a day-long workshop on long distance hiking and developing a personalized plan to hike the Appalachian Trail. The workshop will cover a broad range of topics, including: financial and time considerations, equipment, food clothing, safety, and physical conditioning. The central focus of the workshop will be to prepare participants to thru hike or section hike the Appalachian Trail.

The workshop will be led by Gordon DuBois. Gordon is a resident of New Hampton, NH and has hiked extensively in the mountains of Northern New England. He completed his AT hike in 2011 and has also hiked the Long Trail and sections of the International Appalachian Trail. He has extensive experience in winter mountaineering, hiking 77 on the highest 100 in New England in winter. He has served as an INFO Volunteer for the AMC. He recently assisted the well known AT thru hiker Warren Doyle, teaching at the Appalachian Trail Institute, Mountain City, TN. He is a member of the Appalachian Trial Conservancy.

Hiking Gear

If you would like to attend this workshop you must register by April 15, with Deb Ross at the Laconia Public Library, 603 524 4775. There is a $10 registration fee to cover refreshments, lunch and learning materials. If you have questions regarding the content of the workshop you can email Gordon at forestpd@metrocast.net

Mt. Carrigain summit

The hike begins at the Sawyer River Road parking area off of Rt. 302 in Crawford Notch.  While an interesting snowshoe trail that parallels the river leaves from the parking lot, walk the few extra feet to the snowmobile trail which climbs the Sawyer River Road, as this will bring you directly to the trail head.  Don’t allow the two-mile road walk to “psych you out,” as it will only take you 40 to 45 minutes at the most.  Some hikers x-ski the road section and others pull home-made sleds with their backpacks in tow… but most walk the packed snowmobile trail along the road in microspikes.

The trail head is well marked by signage and a kiosk, making it impossible to miss.  After the road walk, we all dumped our packs for a short water and snack break, as well as to put on our snowshoes, but remember to stay off the trail lest you remain in the path of the snowmobilers.

Karen and Ken Robichaud, and Skip Otto approaching Signal Ridge

The first 1.7 miles of the Signal Ridge Trail is an easy pleasant walk through winter woods. There is one brook crossing that requires care as you cross its snow-bridge, but other than that, in 30-45 minutes, you’ll find yourself at the Signal Ridge / Carrigain Notch Trail junction.

Continuing along the Signal Ridge Trail, which diverges to the left, spread over the next couple of miles is where the real climbing will begin.  And if you haven’t stripped down and removed your outer layers – this is where you definitely will do so!

With the trees bare of leaves, you will soon be able to look ahead and catch glimpses of Mt. Carrigain and the climb ahead.  Having good friends as hiking companions, which encourages story-telling (and good-natured bragging) about prior hiking adventures, helps the time to pass.  Having MSR snowshoes with their clever ‘televators’ is a great help as well.

With just under a mile remaining, you will finally break out of the scrub trees onto Carrigain’s Signal Ridge.  Views of Vose Spur, and Mounts Lowell and Anderson – forming the west and east flanks of Carrigain Notch – will first catch your eye.  (These three peaks are on the New Hampshire Hundred Highest list, but that’s another story!)   Look further east and there looms Mount Washington.

Vose Spur

For our hike today, the temperatures were in the single digits and there was a light snow falling, but in the cozy protection of our gear, the beauty of the views surrounding us is all that we remember.

As you continue north along the ridge, you’ll soon notice the summit of Mt. Carrigain along with the remains of a fire lookout.  Leaving the exposed ridge, the trail drops into a small coll and then climbs steeply for the last few tenths.

Rime ice covers the fire tower as Beth Zimmer (contributor) enjoys the view

Once on the summit, you’ll want to quickly get your warm layers and winter shells back on, as you’ll feel the winter wind and weather.  And take the time to climb the tower (you can keep your snowshoes on, or use your microspikes), as you will be rewarded with 360-degree views.

For our group this day, we estimate that it took us about 4-hours to hike from the car to the summit, and being motivated by burgers and beer at the end of our hikes, it only took us 3 hours to return the 7 miles back to our cars.

When I was first winter hiking, I was intimidated by the prospect of this hike.  But I’ve since hiked it on several occasions… each of them rewarding… each of them easier than I had imagined… each trip well worth the modest effort.

Group photo on the summit of Mt. Carrigain: Skip Otto, Karen Barker, Fran Maineri, Karen Maineri, Ken Robichaud, Beth Zimmer (contributor), Karen Robichaud and Candy

To see more photos from this hike:  https://picasaweb.google.com/btzimr/20110130Carrigain#

Breashears states in his book Last Climb:

 It (the final climb of Irving and Mallory) symbolizes so much, the striving of man for the pinnacle between Earth and heaven; braving unknown elemental forces; conquering pain and will; the bond of friendship transcending age, transcending death, the sacrifice; the mystery.”

And from a collection of poems by Geoffrey Young,

“Brothern ‘till death and a wind-swept grave, joy of the journey’s ending: ye who have climbed to the great white veil, heard ye the chant? Saw ye the grail?”

These lines symbolize much of how I feel about our quest for the highest hundred; the Holy Grail to us. We certainly are not experts in mountaineering and will never reach the summits that Hall, Mallory or Irving climbed, but Bob and I are connected like Mallory and Hall to that calling of the mountains; to reach the summit of an unknown peak and experience the exhilaration of the final steps, to look out over the vast wilderness of the Northern mountains.

Bob and I have faced many challenges and setbacks: surgeries, injury, aging joints, lost trail markers, white-outs, bullet proof ice, bushwhacks through krumholtz, and five feet of fresh power snow. But we’ll continue our climbs, finding those special moments hidden in the unknown surprises that await us on the trail. Each mountain we climb is its own pinnacle between heaven and earth. Each time we climb we are bonded as one, reaching for the unknown, each mountain with its own identity; its own mystery. This is why we climb mountains in winter, because they are there.

Click here to view all the images from our trip.
Click here to watch a video of our Trip

A few days before Bob and I were to leave on a 5 day winter mountaineering adventure in Maine, I was cooling down after a work-out at the health club. I was stretching out, went into a lunge and felt a sharp pain on the inside of my left knee.  I thought I just pulled a ligament, but it turned out to be much worse. I tore my medial meniscus.  Little did I know at that point, our Saddleback adventure would be my last winter hike of the 2011 winter season.

Arriving in Rangley Maine with a view of Saddleback to greet us.

On Feb. 3rd Bob and I headed for Maine with the hope of climbing 5- 8 mountains, allwithin a few miles of each other.  As we made our way along the back roads of Maine, my leg began to swell, but I wasn’t going to let a little pain and swelling get in the way of the trip. We arrived at the Stratton Motel Roadhouse around 2:00. This was a great place to stay. We had the place to ourselves, kitchen, living room with woodstove and a private

Across the summit of the horn

bedroom all for $20/night/person.  Sue, the owner, was on vacation, but Circuit Rider and

Sherlock, 2 hikers I met on the AT in ‘07 were holding down “the fort.”

The following day we were up early and we chose to hike Saddleback and The Horn.

We begin our hike at the base of Saddleback Mt. Ski Area

Saddleback is a great mountain to climb and is best done in winter by using the ski trails of the Saddleback Ski Area. Once you leave the ski area you are above tree line for almost the entire hike. You should check in with the front desk first to let them know of your plans and ask which trails are available for hiking. We started our hike at 8:45 am and made our way up one of the ski trails to the warming hut, about ¾ to the summit.  We spent about ½ hour chatting with skiers, drying our clothes and eating.

Following the brief interlude we resumed our trek up the mountain. As we moved further up the trail we left the ski area boundaries and began to reach tree line. At this point temperatures were still in single numbers and the wind increased to around 20-30 mph. We put on face masks, goggles and an extra layer and continued on to the summit of Saddleback. When we reached the summit we found that the Horn was another 1.7 miles along the Appalachian Trail, which is well marked in places but difficult to follow as the trail dips into the cols. Most of the hike is above tree line and exposure to the wind can be dangerous. Therefore, it’s important to keep all bare skin covered. There were several places we had to bushwhack through underbrush and deep drifts. We made it to the summit of the Horn around 2:00 pm, took a few pictures and quickly turned around to begin our trek back.

Almost to the Horn with Saddleback in the distance

My knee was really beginning to hurt, especially in the deep snow. The wind continued to blow at around 30 mph, so we were continually battling the wind and blowing snow. We made it back to the ski area and at that point Bob jumped on his little sled and sailed down the mountain on a wide open trail. I attempted to slide on my sled, but wasn’t successful, so I walked the whole way down to the parking lot.

My knee was aching, and my whole body felt whipped. When we returned to the hostel I could hardly walk. After dinner we hit our beds early, after a few games of backgammon. I couldn’t sleep because of the pain in my knee. At that point I realized that the adventure was over, along with the hikes we had planned for this winter, including Baxter and Mt. Katahdin. When Bob woke in the morning I told him I couldn’t continue and we would have to head home. I knew he was just as disappointed as me and I felt responsible for our failed plans.  Bob was understanding and shared with me that he would only continue winter hiking with me. So any further ambitions of hiking the NE 100 highest in winter would have to wait until next year. So be it. Next year we’ll return to Maine to continue on our quest.

Thinking about taking up winter hiking?  Consider your clothing choices carefully, it could mean the difference between life and death!

To learn a little more about what you should wear when dressing for severe winter conditions, click here or on the image to the left, on the new page, you can click the image over and over and review all the layers one by one with descriptions for safe hiking in the winter.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact us at anytime and we will be glad to try and help.

Gordon and fellow hiker approach Mt. Wahshington on the cover of AT Journeys

The following is an exert from the article written by Chris A. Courogen. To view the whole story, visit A.T. Journeys by clicking here.

Gordon DuBois has hiked to the top of Katahdin five times before. This time it will be very different. The last time DuBois climbed Katahdin was in 2007, at the end of the first part of a planned flip-flop hike of the Appalachian Trail that ended up being all flop and no flip when a knee injury forced him off the Trail and under a surgeon’s knife. Four years, two operations, and a refurbished artificial knee later, DuBois — or “Gorbo” as he is known on the Trail, plans to finish his quest this summer. In late June or early July he will head back to North Adams, Massachusetts, picking up the white blaze southbound where he started northbound in 2007. First, though, he is headed back to Katahdin for a sixth trip up the big mountain — this time in the middle of Maine’s inhospitable winter.

“The climbing conditions will be much different,” said DuBois, 64, who expects to start in deep snow and finish on ice above the tree line. He and his winter hiking partner, fellow New Hampshire resident Bob Manley, won’t be scurrying up rocks with a light daypack on their backs. They will be on
snowshoes, or crampons, with full winter packs. “Even on a day hike in the winter, you need to be prepared to spend the night,” says Manley, who is 46. Manley and DuBois will carry dry clothes to change into should they get wet, a sleeping bag, and a sturdy four-seasons tent. An ice axe is essential. Maps, a compass, and enough food for two days are also on Baxter Park’s list of recommended winter gear.  (to read the whole article visit A.T. Journeys)

Bob, Derek, Anne, and Gordon, prepare to assend Breadloaf

Bob, Derek, Annie, and Gordon

As Bob and I were traveling to Vermont on Saturday morning, around 5:30 am, it was snowing at a moderate pace and roads were slick. Bob leaned my way and said, “We may not make it to Breadloaf.” It was slow going and there was no telling how much snow had fallen in the Greens. The trails are not well marked or traveled in the Green Mountain Wilderness and we’ve had previous experiences of losing the Long Trail in deep snow.

We met my daughter Annemarie and her friend Derek in Ripton, VT around 9:30 am and then drove Forest Road #54 to the gate where we parked our cars. It was another 1.2 miles on the forest road, an easy walk, to the Skylight Pond Trailhead. The trail was well marked with blue blazes and had been kicked out a week earlier. It was a stiff climb to the Skylight Pond Cabin, which sleeps 14. Bob and I planned to stay there the night. The four of us ate lunch hurriedly. We were cooling off quickly and wanted to begin our trek to Wilson and Breadloaf as it was after 1:00. It was about 2.5 miles to Wilson on the Long Trail. The trail in winter can be difficult to follow, with few blazes. Luckily someone had preceded us a few days before and we had little trouble following their snow shoe tracks, Bob and Derek in the lead, Annemarie and me following, catching up on family news.

We arrived at the summit of Breadloaf around 3:00 pm. A spur trail, which is signed, leads off the Long Trail over the summit of Breadloaf to an outlook facing northwest. The sky was now mostly clear with a few clouds blowing through. The views were breath-taking, especially with the new fallen snow hanging from the trees.

View from the summit of Breadloaf Mountain

After a few pictures and viewing the Greens we headed back to the junction with the Long Trail. Annemarie and Derek decided to head back to their car and we parted ways. Bob and I continued our hike towards Wilson. The trail continued to be somewhat broken out, enough to stay on the trail. We reached the Emily Proctor shelter, took a brief rest and continued onto Wilson. It was difficult to determine when we reached the summit as the mountain is a long ridge with several up’s and down’s. We stopped once, thinking we were on the summit, but then noticed that the trail continued upward. At last we made the high point and we could begin our trek back to the cabin. Darkness was closing in and we could not delay.

Gordon on the porch of Skylight Pond shelter

We returned to the Skylight Pond cabin, just as the sun was setting. We changed quickly into dry clothes, had a few snorts of whiskey and Bob began to prepare supper, veggies and beans. It was a cold evening and staying in a shelter is always more chilling then a tent. But we survived the night. It was nice to have the cabin to ourselves, spreading our equipment out. By 9:30 of the next day we were headed back to the my truck for the long ride back to New Hampshire. We had now summitted 75 of New England’s highest 100, 25 to go.

Click here to see the article as published with pictures in Heart of New Hampshire

Four thousand feet; Three quarters of a mile straight up; Forty-eight mountains in New Hampshire qualify as being at least that high, and over 8000 people have hiked to the top of every one of them. These people are an exceptional group of people belonging to a very unique club, The AMC Four Thousand Footer Club.

On April 14, 2007, The AMC Four Thousand Footer Club celebrated their
50th anniversary, while inducting a record number of new members, 337,
including three dogs. Hundreds of hikers from all over New England,
and beyond, gathered to honor this illustrious group for their
achievement and to induct them into this unique club.

All right, lets think about this for a moment. To join this club
you need to find a trail that leads to the top of a mountain in New
Hampshire. That mountain must be at least 4,000 feet high, and may be
as high as 6,288 ft. You must then walk that trail to the top of the
mountain and back – a distance which can range from as little as 6 or 7
miles to as much as 13 or 14 miles round trip, often climbing between
3000 and 4000 vertical feet before reaching the top. That’s once.
Now you need to do it 47 more times, and this represents only the
minimum requirement necessary to become a member of this elite group.

In addition to celebrating the climbing of the White Mountain 4000
footers, the club awards people for climbing all 67 of New England’s
4000 footers, including mountains in Maine and Vermont, the New England
Hundred Highest, and the Northeast 111 club.

As if this list of high altitude achievements was not enough, many
climbers have gone on to complete each of these hikes during the winter
as well. To qualify as a winter hike you must begin your hike no
earlier than winter solstice and end it no later than the spring
equinox, the criteria established by Miriam Underhill, the inventor of
the Winter Four-Thousand-Footer game.

At this year’s event, one celebrated hiker climbed all 48
White Mountain 4,000 footers and all 67 New England 4000 footers in
every month of the year, twice! Another climbed all 67 New
England 4000 footers in just one year; and, there was yet another who’s
claim to fame was to have juggled from the top of every summit.
In years past hikers have been celebrated for achieving one list or
another from every compass direction, or at midnight. The list of
lists to be achieved is only as limited as one’s creativity,
dedication, and iron will (and, some might add, degree of sanity).

For the truly inspired hikers, how about climbing the 770 New England
3000 footers? That’s right, a very limited number of truly
dedicated hikers have completed this list. Some of the less well know
lists include; “52 with a view,” a list of peaks below 4000 feet with
good views, or “New Hampshire Fire Towers,” a list of mountains in New
Hampshire topped with a fire tower. For the less ambitions, how
about the “Twelve peaks of the Belknap range?” The AMC 4000
footer club does not officially recognize these lists.

As you can see, once you start counting and making lists, the sky’s the
limit (pun intended). But before deciding to join this elite
club, I suggest you make plans to retire that easy chair and remote
control, you’re not going to be needing it where you’re going!

This truly unique activity has a name – peak bagging. A concept
that first took shape in the White Mountains coined by a Dartmouth
College librarian and mountain-climbing enthusiast named Nathaniel L.
Goodrich who published his list of peaks “bagged” in the December issue
of Appalachia, 1931. Over the next twenty-six years, numerous
others took Goodrich up on his challenge and the list of peaks was soon
expanded from Goodrich’s original 36 White Mountain summits to as many
as 51. Peak bagging was born.

It wasn’t until 1957, when a dedicated group of AMC members decided to
form the AMC Four Thousand Footer Club, that an official list of
summits was created. At that time there were forty-six in total.
Shortly after the formation of the club, Roderick Gould and 40 others
summated North Hancock, Gould’s 46th White Mountain Summit, making him
the first person to be inducted into the AMC Four Thousand Footer Club
at the club’s first awards diner – held on April 28, 1958. Since
then the actual list has changed slightly and grown to include 48
summits.

Along with Mr. Gould on that fateful day on the summit of North
Hancock, was Barbara Loo (Barbara Richardson at that time), also a
charter member of the club. Barbara and numerous other early
finishers of the many lists of summits were in attendance this year at
the 50th anniversary dinner, and helped celebrate the club’s
achievements, honor its new inductees, and share their hiking
experiences with club members both new and old.

Okay, now you are probably asking yourself, why. Why do all these
people pursue what to some might seem like an impossible or even
ridiculous goal? Truly, the answer to this question is likely to
be as varied as the number of people who have done it.

Quite simply, if you have ever spent any time hiking in the White
Mountains of New Hampshire, it’s not hard to imagine what draws people
back. The beauty and grandeur of these mountains alone is reason
enough to inspire you to come back. In fact, most people
will tell you, it’s not about the lists at all . . . the list simply
becomes a method of choosing new and different places to hike. Often
people find themselves having hiked the majority of mountains on a
given list before becoming aware that such a list existed at all.

The primary inspiration for the creation of the 4000 footer club was to
introduce hikers to some of the lesser-known hikes and summits of the
White Mountains, thereby reducing the pressure on the more popular and
well-traveled summits, like Mt. Washington or the other mountains of
the Presidential Range. At the clubs inception, such peaks
as Hancock, Owl’s Head and West Bond were trail-less and practically
never climbed.

Hiking some of the more popular trails in the White Mountains on a
sunny summer day the crowds can sometimes rival that of your local mall
on a pre-Christmas weekend. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a little,
but if you are looking for a little solitude and the peace and
tranquility of a wilderness experience, you are not likely to find it
on the popular White Mountain trails in the summer.

The crowds of summer tops the list of reasons why many people
pursue the 4000 footer lists in the winter. Having myself only
just recently completed the 48 White Mountain summits in the winter,
and never having hiked a 4000 footer mountain in any other season, I
would be one of those people. Among other reasons to hike in the
winter, no bugs and crystal clear views.

No doubt one of the reasons people pursue these lists is the incredible
sense of accomplishment you feel with each summit climbed.
Speaking from my own personal experience, the memory of the day I
completed my 48th winter White Mountain 4000 footer will be etched into
my brain forever. On March 17th 2005, my hiking partner, Gordon
Dubois and I reached the summit of West Bond, our 48th summit, after a
very long and arduous trek through many miles of unbroken snow.
This moment concluded for us a five-year effort and will always be
remembered as one of the finest achievements of my life. For a
brief moment, this was my Everest, and will remain so until new goals
and even greater accomplishments take its place.

Thanks to the dedicated members of the White Mountain 4000 Footer
Committee, these achievements do not go unrecognized. As I sat in
the audience on the evening of the 4000 Footer Club’s 50th anniversary,
I watched the faces of each person as their name was called, each one
coming to front of the auditorium to receive their official recognition of their accomplishments. It was never more clear to me why so
many people pursued these goals. Some approached the dais leaping with
joy and excitement. Others simply walked calmly down the aisle. In
every case, however, it was perfectly clear the pride each felt as they
were handed their official scroll.

For some, this achievement will be the conclusion of a lifetime goal.
For others it will be just the first of many. Nevertheless, the moment
seemed equally important to both.

If you would like to learn more about the 4000 footer club you can do
so at www.amc4000footer.org. To learn more about peak bagging and
some of the many other lists being pursued go t0 www.home.earthlink.net/~ellozy. To learn more about my personal experience hiking the White Mountain 4000 footers in the winter go to www.winterhiking.org.

Published in Heart of New Hampshire magazine Summer 2007 issue.