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Still reading vftt, tho not as regularly as when pursuing the w46 & HH.

It was the perfect day with a bluebird sky, no wind, and, with rain in the forecast for next week, maybe the last bug-free day of the spring. Christine and I started at the gate on Gulf Brook Road at 8:10, reached the dam 6.5 miles in at 11:00, and a clearing below the mountain, 2.5 miles beyond...

Trail to from register to cairn mostly ice. Also lots of running water but rock hopping was easy. The slide was exceptionally loose with gravel, cobbles, and small boulders all at their maximum angle of repose. It was about half covered with spines of frozen snow, soft enough for good grip w/...

The DEC stopped maintaining the Cold Brook Pass trail between Indian Pass and Lake Colden five years ago and it is encumbered with deadfalls that require getting down on hands and knees. The dozens upon dozens of small streams crossing all the trails, and sometimes running in them, were unfrozen...

It was the perfect day; sunny, low 70s, windless, and peak color. Christine was familiar with the route, having been that way more than once, which was off the club road (entry by permission of a member) following LeClair Brook but keeping to the open hardwoods to the left (south) side of the...

Last summer EC and I joined CG, who was doing a botanical study on Whiteface. We hiked up the Stag Brook Trail, which starts immediately above the NYSEF building (and which, if you've never seen it, is worth doing in itself) to midstation, thence up Excelsior and Paren's Run to the top of the...

This post will be read by many who don't need the message, and those who do will likely ignore it, but here goes. Earlier this summer it was discovered that a sign near the top of Gray, advising bushwhackers NOT to use the seemingly easy shortcut to Marcy along the connecting ridge was missing...

Yesterday CB and I climbed Gray and Marcy via the L. Arnold trail. The beaver flooding between the Opalescent crossing and the return to dry land further along was once bridged by board planking and semi-floating logs. That all started to fall apart years ago. It is now worse than we have ever...

Regardless of the decisions that got them into that fix, once they were up against it the mom did have what it took to get herself and the kids through the night. Under those conditions it could have ended a LOT worse.

Anyone bound for Gothics on Saturday should find it easier now. Above the Lost Lookout junction, soft, unbroken, knee-deep powder had drifted in and covered earlier tracks. Chris, who finished on Allen last Saturday, did an awesome job breaking trail. The summit ridge was spectacular. The...

...wish you well on Cheney/NR!! maybe...you could convince me I need to revisit them :-) I've done most of those bushwhacks myself. Not that I'm that much of a loner; it's just that I only know a few people who are into doing them and aside from Christine and Matt, even fewer who will revisit...

Christine, who had done it three times both summer and winter, kindly agreed to go a fourth time with me. It was my fourth time also, with only this minor difference; my first three attempts were for naught due to circumstances detailed in my previous TRs. But now I am happy to report success at...

Despite recently acquired access and new trail the DEC is "discouraging" use pending further infrastructure improvements, such as trailhead register and signage. To those with hiking in their blood, of course, any new trail that is not forbidden is compulsory. So, being at leisure on a bluebird...

This leaves 5, Lost Pond, Brown Pond & Panther, and North River & Cheney. After those there's still "the forbidden one". If I ever venture to bag TFO no one but myself and the most discreet of trusted companions will ever know. No pix. I never carry a camera anymore. I have too many shoeboxes of...

This was my last of the four Blue Ridges for the HH. Christine had done it once before with Gary. It was a 7 1/2 hour day, with 6+ hours of easy and less than an hour of hard. First the easy: NPT to Brown Brook bridge, old road (very nice!!!) for nearly 3 miles to abandoned car at end of road...

Of the 6 I still need, North River and Cheney Cobble are the most problematic. I'd rather not leave them for last but maybe I'll have to. I just heard from Christine. She's been in touch with Kris A. and others and it does seem there is a move afoot to open the Boreas Ponds access. I can't wait...

WPM is surrounded by private land so there are only two legal ways to climb it. One is via the Ragged Mountain F&G Club, which would require either becoming a member or being accompanied by a member. (According to a reliable source it's not enough for a member to give permission; they'd have to...

It pays to stay in shape! There are probably not many who could effect a similar self-rescue in the same situation. I'm curious; do you usually hike with a stick or with hiking pole(s)? Were you this time?

Last Thursday I set out to do Lost Pond Mountain by myself. Half an hour into the bushwhack I began to lose a sole. Continuing with a temporary repair seemed like a bad idea so I turned back, drove to Keene Valley, and purchased a new pair of boots. This was my second try. It left me with a...

The plan until 2 days previous had been to bag one of my remaining HH but the forecast of heat and humidity made the thought of whacking through thick fir to a viewless summit unappealing. It was a good day to get high with a view. Besides, I've been eager to see the new Ketch walk. I signed in...