#8 Mount Jackson, New Hampshire

On Memorial Day weekend in 2013, I headed over to the White Mountains to see some friends and to get in a hike.  It happened to be the day after running my first marathon, so my legs weren't exactly fresh, but I can virtually always summon the energy for a hike.  Having not been in the Whites since 2008, it felt great to get another one in.  We ended up doing the six(ish) mile Jackson-Webster lollipop loop.  It was super windy and the ridge trail at the top was a mess of mud and snow, but the views (as you can see below) were killer.  Clear, stunning views of snow-capped Mt. Washington.  Another 4,000 foot summit tagged.

#7 Algonquin Peak, New York

After living in New York City for several years, it wasn't until May of 2013 that I got my next 4,000 footer.  I remember having this out-of-nowhere realization that I had spent so much of my life staring across the lake at the Adirondacks, but had yet to conquer any of the high peaks.  It was time to change that.  Sara and I headed across the lake on a weekend day back in March of 2013 and pulled in to the Adirondack Loj, just outside of Lake Placid.  We took the trail from Heart Lake up to Algonquin Peak, about 8 miles round trip, tagging the second highest summit in NY.  The views were minimal and unfortunately I didn't snap any photos.  However, a great day to be on the mountains, and a feeling of accomplishment, having finally conquered one of the high peaks of the Adirondacks.

A word of warning to those hoping to hike the Adirondacks in the winter: bring skis or snowshoes!  Hikers greatly frown upon post-holers, even when the trail is so packed down that post-holing is impossible.  Lesson learned.

#6 Killington Mountain, Vermont

Hard to believe that I grew up in Rutland and didn't hike Killington until 2009, when I was 23 years old.  Oh well.  At least I got to it.

My first trip over Killington was an end-to-end hike over Killington and Pico with Bill.  The weather was so cloudy and rainy that we didn't bother taking any pictures.  We went up the Bucklin trail, the backside of the mountain, joined up with the AT near the top, tagged the summit, then took the AT three or four miles over to Pico, then down to Route 4, making for a 10-11 mile hike.  I realized about halfway through the hike that I didn't have the keys we needed for the car at the other end.  Thankfully we had cell service at the top of the mountain to solve the problem.  What did we do before cell phones?  Weird.

On Christmas Eve day in 2012 I went up and down the Bucklin trail, just over 7.5 miles, in breathtakingly beautiful weather.  I almost didn't make it to the summit because of all the ice, but I powered through.  My dad and I did the same hike this past Christmas, though we were not rewarded with nice weather, or good trail conditions.  The entire trail was an absolute mess; basically a sheet of ice.  The way down was significantly more harrowing than the way up.

Here are some pictures of the Christmas Eve 2012 hike.

#5 Mt. Carter Dome, New Hampshire

On Columbus Day weekend back in 2008, Christian and I traveled to northeastern New Hampshire to hit the Carter-Moriah range, giving me my first 4,000 footer in NH.  Even though foliage typically comes to NH a bit earlier than in VT, the leaves were still killer and we had some awesome views looking southwest in Tuckerman Ravine on Mt. Washington.  It was so clear we could see all the way up to Maine.

We primarily used the 19-Mile Brook Trail, past the AMC hut and up to Carter Dome.  We continued along the ridge for a mile to Mt. Hight, where the views were even better.  Although Mt. Hight is above 4,000 feet, it's lack of prominence in comparison to nearby Carter Dome does not qualify it for 4,000 footer status. 

A ten mile loop hike in beautiful fall weather made for a killer Columbus Day weekend.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to scrounge up any pictures.  Dang.

#3 Mt. Abraham and #4 Mt. Ellen, Vermont

Come to think of it, the three times I've hiked Mt. Ellen have been in some sort of ridge traverse including a hike up Mt. Abraham.  I've never hiked it alone.  But what a wonderful ridge it is!  Once you get up to Mt. Abe, you basically just roll over the tops of some less significant peaks until you climb back up to Mt. Ellen.  Ellen has okay views, looking east, but the best views of the ridge are from Mt. Abe, where you can see in all directions on a clear day.

In September of 2008 I did a gap-to-gap hike, starting at the Lincoln gap and ending at the Appalachian gap for a total of just under 12 miles.  Another summit of Abe and Ellen was during an overnight Long Trail trip with Dave in 2009, and my most recent summit was on a 14 mile day hike with Sam last month.  We took the Battell trail up Mt. Abe, took the long trail across the top to Mt. Ellen, and then backtracked to our car.  It made for a long one, particularly in the snow, but it was gorgeous. 

Along with Camel's Hump and Mansfield, Mt. Abe is starting to become another "go-to" hike for me.  A nice easy, accessible 6 mile hike that gets you to the wonderful little town of Bristol, VT.  Nothing better!

Here are some pictures of some Mt. Abe and Mt. Ellen hikes...

 

#2 Mt. Mansfield, Vermont

Just like with Camel's Hump, I've hiked Mt. Mansfield countless times.  The first was in June of 2008, taking the Sunset Ride trail up and back.  Although most of my hikes nowadays still come from the Underhill side, I've traversed just about every trail on the mountain.  My favorite loop to do is to go up the Maple Ridge trail to the forehead, head north on the Long Trial to the chin, and fly down the Sunset Ridge trail.  A great way to conquer the mountain.

I'd say Mt. Mansfield and Camel's Hump are my "go-to" hikes.  If I'm in great need of a hike but don't have the time to get to the Adirondacks or the Whites, they are the mountains I turn to.  I never get sick of the views, and never get sick of the trails.  It's therapeutic.

Here are some pictures of Mansfield hikes from 2008 until now...