The Krypteia - Mission Complete

18 Miles; 2 Days; Mt. Whiteface & Middle Tripyramid from the Kanc

You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner.
I tend to think of myself as a one man wolfpack.
My wolfpack grew by 5 this weekend.

20 miles looks great on a map, not so much from ground level. Not with 65 lbs strapped to your back and 3000 feet of elevation laughing at you from above the clouds. This past weekend was one of legend, toughest hike I've ever attempted, still can't believe we all survived. My calves look like Popeye's forearms, my feet bottoms look like the meat lovers pizza I violated upon my return.

We had a good start. Jesse was at the house by 730 and we were at Sabbaday Falls by 930, movin on the trail with the rest of the pack by like 1030. Oliverian Brook wasn't really difficult until we reached Square Ledge, and thats where I should have noticed a few things. We weren't making good time at all. Nobody was dogging practice, and we were all moving at a pretty good clip, but the elevation was bearing down on us like the midgets attached to our backs. All of us had way too much weight in our bags, and I had planned this trip with a dayhikers brain, looking at stats and fun peaks to climb, not really leaving room for error or forgiveness. We reached the junction with the Dicey's Mill trail and decided Passaconaway was not in the cards if we wanted to camp with any daylight. After a quick fill up at a stream not on the map we crossed onto the Rollins trail towards Whiteface. The Rollins trail turned out to be a rollercoaster ride, killing morale and momentum with every decline. Finally passing the stack of rocks at the Whiteface summit, light was getting scarce. We reached the Kate sleeper with barely any light, set up tents, built a fire, and drank some well deserved whiskey after a long day.

SVEA!

After a night of ski slope dreams and warm snuggling we awoke to a good breakfast and some java. After Saturday we were full of confidence, we knew we drank and ate a good few lbs off our backs, and we all thought most of the elevation was behind us. We were dead wrong. Kate Sleeper was a mistress of pain that sunday morning, a one-two punch we weren't prepared for, South Mid finishing up an already tired crew around noontime.The Sleeper trail meets the mids near the top of the south slide, giving the first real open outlook of the weekend. Mt. Welch & Dickey is a favorite dayhike of mine, and those two mountains looked like ants from where we stood, Waterville valley stretched out in front of us. At this point the sun was up, and those packs weren't really as light as we had predicted. Day2 with those packs felt like bears instead of midgets, straps tearing into flesh like nothing I've ever experienced. We pushed ourselves over Middle Tripyramid, but we all knew North mid wasn't going to happen this day. A camping trip had turned into a quest, and a waterfall was nearly in our grasp.

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First we had to conquer Sabbaday herself, but she wouldn't go down without a fight. Those last few miles were the longest, dehydrated and out of water since Middle Tripyramid. By the time we hit Sabbaday we were all ready to go home, but that last 4.9 was a true endurance test. My knee brace wasn't taking the edge off the Sabbaday, and when we finally found that first bit of running water I collapsed. The rest of the trip to the falls slogged along like the Battan deathmarch, and the forest just wouldn't let us go. That sign saying you cant swim 500 feet near the falls would've been firewood had I the energy for it, but I probably would've drowned had I tried to swim, all for the best I suppose. Got to the car about 7, ManchVegas about 9, humble, tired, and hungry. After a rumble in the jungle I was a sad Joe Frazier.
Mountains 1; Erick 0.

The Krypteia

19.4 Miles; 2 Days; ridiculous total elevation gain.
Mt Passaconaway, Whiteface, North & Middle Tripyramid.
Saturday start on the Oliverian Brook Trail, Square Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Camp on the Kate Sleeper Trail. Sunday we hike Kate Sleeper to the Mt Tripyramid Trail, then home on the Sabbaday Brook Trail.

My first ever overnight this weekend. Putting the warrior skills to the test with 5 friends in the Sandwich range wilderness. We'll be climbing 7 peaks, 4 on the list, waterfall reward for a mission complete. Saturday's trails border some of the oldest forest in NH, no history of logging or fire in the area. Many trees are 400 years old or older.

Took last weekend off from hiking due to a recurring knee issue I've been having, feels like I pullled something underneath the left knee cap. Ice and rest haven't done much for my benefit, we'll see how things go trial by fire style, as always.

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Inventory - Navigation

Treasure. Loot. Quest Items. This is the fourth post in a series I'm attempting outlining my current armaments for the warmer months. When God was giving out brains, you thought he said trains, and responded "I don't need a ride".

Trails in the mountains are usually marked with what's called a blaze, a small paint mark on a tree or rock to help hikers on the journey. If you're out in the open or can't see a blaze you should be looking for a cairn, a pile of rocks filling the void when there aren't trees to paint on. I don't care who you are, nobody has some sixth sense telling them which way is North, nobody is a natural, and unless you've been there before you are most definitely lost. North is a good place to start though, at least your heart was in the right place. Its the thought that counts.

A compass will tell you if the white spots you've been following are sending you deeper into the woods or out towards the road. Mine is based on what the military uses, not as accurate, but plenty useful for maneuvering well marked hiking trails. I'm that guy pouring over a map on his lunch break, so usually I know where things are going to lead, but it's nice to have if I take a wrong turn.

Speaking of maps, let me introduce you to my sacred texts. The AMC White Mountain guide is really all you'll ever need, gets you 6 topo maps and a guide to every trail in the whites. Its the hiker's bible. I find a trail on the map, check the index, and I'm off at 5am the next morning, that simple. The Southern New Hampshire guide is a smaller book with smaller trails, only 1 map but great for days its just me and the wife/dog. Plenty of smaller trail ideas that may come in handy during winter. The yellow book was written by legendary Australian adventurer Harold Gatty. It expands upon a survival field guide he wrote that became standard issue for Army Air Force life rafts in World War 2. This book teaches how to get North & South from the world around you, Sun, Stars, Wind, you name it. Charles Lindbergh called Gatty "the Prince of Navigators", the guy was a living legend, and this yellow book is a culmination of his life's work.

In my experience the best tool I'll ever have outdoors is my dog's nose. Zelda is always close by, can carry her own gear, and never, ever forgets where she's been. If I can't find my way on a trail I just give the leash a little slack, and like magic she's found her way along, sniffing where other hikers have past by earlier in the day. Recognizing how your dog reacts to his/her surroundings is a vital asset in the wilderness. She'll find her way back to the car if pointed in the right direction, she'll alert me of other hikers on the trail, and her posture completely changes if she's been on a trail more then once, letting me know if we've some how managed a circle in the woods.

Hancock Notch 4420' & 4319'

9.8 miles, Cedar Brook to Hancock Loop trail; 2,650' elevation gain
Trailhead is at the hairpin turn on the Kanc not far from Lincoln, NH.

Started out early with a friend who hadn't been hiking yet this year. Great hike to get your feet wet, a little bit of everything, just wish the views had been better. From the trailhead on the Kanc it takes almost 4 miles of forest walking before you start to see any real elevation. Almost 8 rockhops across the same brook, lucky we had such a dry week before we attempted this, would have needed scuba gear in a few spots. Had to double back closer to the river because of a campsite, made what was one clear trail into several trails, most leading nowhere. Hardly any blazes to follow, had the compass but left the map in the car. We hiked the south peak first, bearing right off the main trail when the loop started. The trail up had good grades, steep in spots but nothing we couldn't manage. The col between the two peaks was very muddy, the wizard staff was 1/2 way covered in goop in a few of the deep bogs. The outlook on Mt Hancock is just ok, clear view south towards Osceola & the Tripyramids. Both peaks were wooded right to the top, above average traffic and not alot of space at the summit was aggravating, limited views made things frustrating after a long climb. My hiking buddy for the day (Jesse) did manage to sneak 2 beers & an ice pack along for the hike, and a cold beer on a mountain top is the best cure for worries, a tradition I may continue from now on.

Hiking the peaks themselves wasn't all that bad, but the trail does need alot of work in spots. Going down the second peak the trail was loose like a hooker in Vegas, not as much fun though. Every step down was like surfing on potsoil, glad we didn't have to ascend that route. I did mention this before, but the first three miles of this hike leapfrog across a river. When its too high to cross you can manage crossing it only once, effectively splitting the trail in two following the river for a good mile. Only thing is, if the river is low, its hard to tell which trail to follow. If I go back out there to camp (plenty of good sites about 2 miles in) I'm bringing a spraycan for blazes.

Almost witnessed a car accident. Made it back to the trailhead and the second we put our bags down we heard what sounded like 2 gunshots, then trees cracking. Shortly after all you could hear was a muffled scream, someone trying to make noise but unable to breath. A few hikers ran down to see what had happened but we were spent that late in the day, knew we'd see the layout when we left anyways. No wreckage to speak of, several motorcycles stopped near the edge of the road with a white sheet drapped over someone on the ground. Looked like someone may have misjudged their speed on that turn and flew over the guardrail into the forest. Ambulances & Fire rescue past us on the way out, trucks were still responding almost a 1/2 hour later while at a drivethru line in Lincoln.

Had we taken an extra break or stayed a little longer at one of the overlooks, this would have happened literally at our feet. The accident took place where the trail meets the road, and we're lucky we weren't part of the carnage. Can't find anything on the web concerning the crash, I'll update this if I ever do.

Mt Eisenhower 4760'

The road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began,
Now far ahead the road has gone,
and I must follow, if I can






6.6 miles; Eisenhower via Edmands Path; 2,750' elevation gain
Mt Clinton Rd trailhead off 302 near the Highland Center

The guide says it's a moderate trail, aaand it was spot on. Not too easy, but nothing too strenuous. Took a good 5 hours with the wife in tow, plenty of breaks for food/water. It had rained the night before and 1/3 of the trail was really just a babbling brook we had to hike through, but other then a few rock hops we had no trouble. Once you get out from under the tree line you have awesome views of almost every other mountain in NH, giving this hike a huge payoff for the effort. The only drawback to the views was the cold air at the summit, wind chill dropping the temp to around 45, not something I had planned for in early August.

Alot of foreign folks on the trail. Seemed like every other group was French-Canadian, and there were two rather large families of Asian descent speaking Mandarin or something at the summit. Spotted on of the french guys burning cigarettes on more then one occasion! I used to smoke 1/2 a pack a day and even I can't understand that. Looked like he was slowing down the rest of his group too, I wonder why.



After a spectacular meal at the Muddy Moose, we spent the night at The Old Field House in Intervale, NH. Really great place to stay, gave us our own entrance to a condo style suite, fireplace, jacuzzi, skylight over the bed, fairytale happyplace, etc. DVD in the room meant I didn't need to bust out the laptop, and the jacuzzi meant my knees weren't completely shot to hell Sunday morning.

The Quest

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring, 
Renewed shall be blade that was broken, 
The crownless again shall be king.







48 mountains in New Hampshire are higher then 4,000 feet. I'm going to hike them all before my 30th birthday. I'm not going to try and hike them all, I'm going to slap every summit like it owes me money and hit a few that aren't on the list.

I've got 4 notches on the belt as of this writing and I plan on ending the summer strong. 10 peaks in 4 weeks, with a Saco trip to celebrate on labor day weekend if all goes as planned. Taking the wife to Carter Notch this weekend,  hiking Mt Eisenhower via the Edmands Path, traverse a portion of the AT to Mt Pierce then back to the car the way we came. Weather permitting, I'll hit Mt Hancock & South Hancock 8/14, North Kinsman & Cannon Mtn 8/21, then a 4 peak overnight in the Sandwich range 8/28 & 29: North & Middle Tripyramid, camp on the Kate Sleeper trail, then Whiteface & Passaconaway the next morning.

If all goes well I can relax on the river for labor day knowing I've put 14 in their place and well on my way to all 48 by 2012. Epic.

Awakening

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

Mt Liberty 7-4-10

Aggressive Summer. I've added a schedule to the blog, a list of quests completed. More to come I assure you, I feel betrayed if a weekend goes by without a trail or two. Idle hands are the devil's tools, and if I'm too tired to go out I'm not filling the porcelain with bile on Sunday morning. Last few weekends I seem to have replaced the old demons with a beast much more powerful: I'm an athlete.

I know, believe me it sounds crazy as a type the words. I have a twin brother (Mike) who can bench a Buick, something like a permanent 50 lbs on me my whole life, but I never had that "warrior spark".
I have awoken a monster.

I knew it when I got back to the car after hiking Moosilauke via Beaver Brook, the accomplishment was overwhelming. I had just taken #10 on the list via its most difficult trail, solo, in 90 degree weather. I felt like a friggen superhero, and it gets better with every notch on my belt. Sure my legs hurt on Monday at the office, but by Thursday they're made of iron - ready to crush another challenge beneath my massive hobbit paws.

From here on I'll be hitting the page with trip reports, pictures of the summits and interesting stories along the way. Don't get discouraged if you dont see the puppy right away, she's a winter dog after all....

Foreword & Forward

Franconia Ridge 7-31-10

"A wizard is never late, Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."

Summer 2009 I found myself...... in the hospital for 6 days with what the medical peoples call "Atrial Fibrilation". Google that shit. Or ask your grandfather. I spent almost a week in the cardiac wing at Elliot Hospital. I was 27, my roomy was 87. Wake up call? Everyday above ground is a gift and Erick is on borrowed days.

Just like when an old Nintendo game shuts down on you in the last level, sometimes the only way to keep going is the reset button. That's exactly what happened with me. They stopped my heart with gas, then shocked me with electricity to kickstart my heart on a normal rhythm. You beat the boss but move on to the next level. The next level will be wicked hard. Up your game and bring the jedi, pump them buttons like a madman and ride your crazy. Unleash the Champion.

The Mountains are my allies. Every hike adds a few more days to my life and keeps me off the couch.