Hiking the NH 48 Wrap Up #4

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One of the many views from Wildcat

I feel bad.  I thought I had finished the wrap-up for the NH48 project months ago!  Mostly I feel bad because I know that no one else really wants to hear about all these hikes.  This is for me to remember.  Still, I am storing them here.  This final collection features the last push to the finish.  Some of them were very difficult.  Others less so.  I sort of picked up in the middle of Allison's 48 list so had to go back to do the "easy" ones later.  

It was quite a time and quite an adventure.  I am glad I did it.  Anyway...if you are interested...here they are!

Another view of the Presidents from the ski trail.

Wildcat D and Wildcat (A) #37 & #38
This was quite an undertaking!  We decided to hike up one of the ski trails at the Wildcat ski resort.  I suspect its presence on the slopes of Wildcat D is why the mountain has this strange alphabetized naming system.  Actual Wildcat Mountain is sometimes referred to as Wildcat A.  Anyway, there is a video you can watch if you wish.

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Early on there were a number of dark, flat, bodies of water.

Owl's Head #39
One of our favorites, Owl's head has very little to offer on the face of things.  It is an 18 mile round trip--the longest hike on the list.  The trails up the mountain are not maintained.  Finally, there is no view.  However, the trip is beautiful.  You just need to plan to be out there all day.  If we were to do it again we would take two days and camp along the stream.  It would be a nice place to sit and get away from everything for a while.  There is a video for this one, too.

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You can't see it, but it is snowing...

​Hale #40
Hale is the smallest of the mountains and generally thought to be the easiest hike.  Frequently it ends up late in people's lists, saved for a rainy day like I did.  Allison was with me but she had already hiked it.  Since it is relatively straightforward, many people also get it done early when they are getting in shape for bigger things.  This is what Allison did.  It was a fun climb though.  We were treated to a June snowstorm!

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The view off Guyot, which is hard to get to, but maybe my favorite mountain in this project.

​West Bond, Bond, and Bondcliff #41, #42, #43
In an ideal world we would have ended on this two-day traverse that took us over these three peaks as well as Zealand, which we had climbed earlier.  We also climbed Guyot on our way to the bonds.  We stayed at the Guyot campsite below the peak.  This mountain was probably the best.  Again, we have a post and a video...but this is nearly the last post and definitely the final vid...

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Al took this on her earlier hike.

Waumbek #44
This mountain is also considered one of the easier ones.  It, too, rather lacks a view.  In order to get to it, however, one goes over Mount Starr King.  Starr King is named after a minister and is referenced elsewhere, particularly in my Hedgehog post.  He had a mountain named after him less for his contributions to American religion and more because he wrote "The White Hills," a proto-hiking manual that popularized the region.

The hike, itself, was pretty straightforward.  This--like Hale--was another one that Allison had already done.  However, she had nothing better to do that day and accompanied me. 

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Looking off Eisenhower toward the bigger Presidents.

Pierce and Eisenhower #45 & #46
Al had also hiked these two before. You might recall that she started the list while I was rehabbing my back. When I hiked by myself, I frequently chose different mountains, which also put me behind.  It was a somewhat crowded day when we went up.  There had been warnings of thunderstorms--not a good mountain combo--but it became clear that if we got off early, we would be fine.  Others had figured out the same thing.

The climb up Pierce was straightforward and uneventful, though it did feel a bit more difficult that it should have.  When we rested at the top, we met a number of people.  One was from where we live.  Another was an old guy filled with unsolicited advice. Old guys giving advice is a feature of the Whites.  The one from around our part of the world joined up with us for the ascent of Eisenhower. He was a good talker. On the top of Eisenhower, we overheard an extensive debate about where to finish your 48. One side was pro-Isolation.  The other was pro-Carrigain.  We had already figured out that we were going to split the difference.

On the way back to Pierce our companion got ahead of us. We are not fast, so we waved him on as he drifted from our sight.  Anyway, it was a beautiful day on a hike that many people do much closer to the start of their NH48 adventure.  I had wanted to get back up there this winter.  However, I don't see that happening at this point. 

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More Presidents off Isolation

​Isolation #47
This hike was ridiculous.  I don't know how else to describe it.  It was long (about 15 miles) and wet.  There is about a mile or so, in fact, that is a stream you wade up and down.  That said, it was an adventure to remember.  Allison finished on the top and there was much rejoicing. On the way back we switched to crocs and waded for a long chuck in the middle.  We have many stories from this trip that no one who hasn't don that hike will understand...

This is a very popular mountain to end on.  However, I am not sure why.  It does provide a unique view but not a spectacular one.  That said, we will probably do it again some time in the next decade.

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I could have had a more spectacular pic...but I loved this stand of trees.

Carrigain #48
So we end on Mount Carrigain.  I chose it by process of elimination.  Al wanted to get hers over and done.  She chose Isolation.  Carrigain was what was left.  At the time it seemed a bit anti-climactic for a hike, but it will always be special to me.  It marked the end of the project and a turning to other things. 

I am a trifle annoyed, though. In order to receive the patch, I needed to write a narrative of my final hike.  I posted the narrative here on the web page.  It has been months of waiting now and I doubt that patch is ever going to arrive.  Probably some confusion somewhere...oh well...I still did it right?  

I think of this mountain every day, mostly because we named our puppy after it. Of course, most people we know think we named her after Nancy Karrigan. That's OK.  The mountain has grown on me. Whether it or the dog made that happen is immaterial at this point. It is a nice memorial to a time that I look back on with fondness...

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