Are 3k's becoming trendy?

[Pig Pen]

I did two more today. Didn't see anyone. No cars at the trailhead. Only a few herd paths. Last sign-in about 6 weeks ago. The trend doesn't appear to be catching on in that area anyway.

 

[Neil]

I did two more today. Didn't see anyone. No cars at the trailhead. Only a few herd paths. Last sign-in about 6 weeks ago. The trend doesn't appear to be catching on in that area anyway.

The new trend is to do them at night and to not sign in. Looks like you missed out on all the fun.

 

[timmus]

I knew 3kers were getting trendy when Timmus asked me to carry her makeup case to the top of Lewey. Phew, was that thing heavy! The cripple bush sure made a mess of her cocktail dress though.

Oh, my make-up case !! You are not coming at my NH48 finish, who's going to carry it for me ??!!!!

You know the 3k's are not that popular, because I can always change from long sleeves to cocktail dress without having to worry about crowds looking. Plus summits are usually wooded. Moosilauke is pretty open I heard, I wonder how I will do

 

[ColdRiverRun]

Well, it's been a year since Kurt asked the question and I was wondering if any ones opinion has changed or if any one has formed an opinion since then?

What does the man himself think, you know, looking back.

I noticed some other important questions too from this thread, like who carried Timmus's makeup case up Rainer? Timmus or Moto? Is that why her pack weighed 45lb?

Is there more signs of humans in the unknown hills? Are there random tourist out there asking questions like, "does this river flow to the top of Mount Washington" in the middle of your bushwhack? Have pine cone earrings become the sexy thing in Manch Vegas? Have you come to any canisters that have more names than the number of Smiths in the telephone book? Has Marc accepted his sasquatch background and found inner peace? Has Albee's bushwhacking 3k addiction interfered with his social life or has his battle scared legs found a taker? Have any crossed the barbed wire fence and big ditch to go all the way over to NY to the land where they let Neil walk around for day-into-night-into-day hikes?

Discuss

 

[MichaelJ]

I don't think we've seen the predicted 20+ trip reports from the Captain. I don't even remember seeing one.

 

[una_dogger]

You know the 3k's are not that popular, because I can always change from long sleeves to cocktail dress without having to worry about crowds looking. :

I'm running out of 4ks, may have to give this 3k thing a serious try. So far, I will have to agree with Timmus on the popularity issue:
I've come to enjoy the bushwacks, topless summits, shirtless hiking...who says only the guys get to do it?? Lets hope they never become popular!!

 

[ColdRiverRun]

I've come to enjoy the bushwacks, topless summits, shirtless hiking...who says only the guys get to do it?? Lets hope they never become popular!!

What in the hell is going on over there in NE! And why the hell am I still in NY?
This must be why Marc comes back to a cell phone full of messages after a weekend of peakbagging.

 

[Peakbagr]

I've been whacking in the ADKs and Cats for 30+ years. And there are definitely more people going off trail. By magnitudes.

IMHO the internet, hiking boards, GPS, mapping software, and emails with
"did you hear about the new route(see att'd tracklog)" are all contributing to and changing off trail travel. After growing up with map and compass travel I'm part of it too. No value judgement here, it is what it is.

Can't say what its impact is in New England as almost all of my hiking in the NE states have involved trail hiking for the NE111. I hope to change that in the next couple of years with time being freed up to pursue the VT100 and NEHH. In my little corner of the backcountry world, technology and online information exchange has led to a massive increase in the number of people who go off trail. Take away GPS, Selective Availability, computer mapping and the information exchanged on online hiking boards / listservs, and the number of people who are bushwhacking would be cut 3/4's or more. I know that technology has made my bushwhacking trip preparation so much more easy that I have to compel myself to do the map homework so I don't get lazy and just stick a route in the GPS and go. I suspect that further advances in GPS and computer technology will make today's advances pale in comparison.

 

[Neil]

I would imagine that the internet hiking age has ushered in a new population of bushwhacking enthusiasts. However, I think the saturation point will be (or is already) reached for this activity due to the difficulties and "selective rewards".

On my past dozen or so trailless peaks I've seen no signs of human visitation, not even a small trampled area at the summit. Granted, those peaks aren't on the ADK Hundred List but still they are on a list (or 2).

 

[mookie]

camera

"'ve come to enjoy the bushwacks, topless summits, shirtless hiking...who says only the guys get to do it?? Lets hope they never become popular!! "

"I can always change from long sleeves to cocktail dress without having to worry about crowds looking."


I NEED TO START TAKING MY CAMERA HIKING!!!

 

[Gamehiker]

Of the 12 Maine 3Ks I have done this year I can honestly say I was the first visitor to all of them in 2008. Some had not been visited for over 14 months. Same is true for the last NH 3K I did, South Hale, first person there in 10 months.
I don't believe the 3K's will ever be much of a trend. But I do appreciate the interest from the women in the group. Male dominated sports are boring.

 

[the_swede]

Don't worry, all. A special group of hikers, bushwhackers and peakbaggers are focusing on hiking New Jersey's humble 1K's.

Unfortunately, as I have found while scouting out "newly discovered" 1K's, there are hardly any mountains with zero evidence of human contact.

 

[Rik]

I guess they aren't too trendy as I thought this thread was about the ku klux klan?

 

[Amicus]

Same is true for the last NH 3K I did, South Hale, first person there in 10 months.

Poison Ivy and I bushwhacked to the summit of South Hale last October 14. Were we really the last before a recent visit by you? We had a pleasant hike, despite a harrowing assault by a vicious spruce grouse.

It seems that the Adirondacks may have seen more of a GPS/internet uptick in hiking to trailless summits than has New England. I'm on the brink of owning my first mapping GPS, but I doubt I'll do many more such hikes than I have in the past (and I started in the late '80s, with seniors working on the NHHH and NE3K lists). There may be fewer of those "where am I?" moments, which is good and bad, I suppose. (They've never lasted long, fortunately.)

 

[marchowes]

This must be why Marc comes back to a cell phone full of messages after a weekend of peakbagging.

Oh how I wish that were true.


Let me clue you folks in on something. Go to any trail less unpopular 3k in Northern NH or Maine that has an old register dating back 20 years or more -- which is most of them because the canister bandit (who is probably reading this post right now) doesn't venture far from the Whites. You will notice that there have been bursts of activity just as strong as the one now especially in the late 80s and at various points in the 90s.

In other words, even the current internet fueled burst of new names that has happened within the last 3 years (and has pretty much completely stalled out in the last year) is not at all anomalous. No matter what the clueless board finger wavers who have never been to these peaks say (you know who you are). In New England obscure lists will never be as popular as the big 3 (NH48, NE67, NEHH) but will always attract crazies who want just a little more even tho rewarding views are not always present.


In other words the 3ks are really no trendier than they were 5, 10, 20 years ago. Just people notice it more because people are bored at work and are too busy reading the bulletin boards.

 

[timmus]

I still think people here talks (type) more about it than actually climb the peaks, gps or not (we all know half the gps owners don't know how to use it).

 

[Neil]

Speaking of gps. I swallowed mine by mistake thinking it was a jelly donut. This serendipidous event was good. It's a lot more fun not to use one and with practice, just as fast. On cold winter days though I'll cough up and use it.

Anyhoo, everyone who can operate a keyboard knows that off-trail hikers are destroying the wilderness and its all the internet's fault.

(P.S. My gps was painfully rendered, sideways, on the drive home.)

 

[Rik]

Speaking of gps. I swallowed mine by mistake thinking it was a jelly donut. This serendipidous event was good. It's a lot more fun not to use one and with practice, just as fast. On cold winter days though I'll cough up and use it.

Anyhoo, everyone who can operate a keyboard knows that off-trail hikers are destroying the wilderness and its all the internet's fault.

(P.S. My gps was painfully rendered, sideways, on the drive home.)

Kinda explains why you sometime have your head up your a$$.

 

[RoySwkr]

Let me clue you folks in on something. Go to any trail less unpopular 3k in Northern NH or Maine that has an old register dating back 20 years or more -- which is most of them because the canister bandit (who is probably reading this post right now) doesn't venture far from the Whites. You will notice that there have been bursts of activity just as strong as the one now especially in the late 80s and at various points in the 90s.

I agree with this, I did most of the ME3k between Wave 1 and Wave 2 and there were often registers with no signatures for 2 years. When I did the rest after Wave 2 had crested there were often 5 groups in a year then none for awhile.

I think the Internet makes select peak lists available to people who wouldn't have heard of them otherwise, and makes it easier to get route info. The 7.5' quads and DeLorme Atlas with contours make it easier to find road approaches. GPS may give people more confidence to venture off-trail. More people have 4wd now - the early NHHH winter finishers all had 2wd, can you imagine driving in Nash Stream, Success Pond, etc.?

But if anything the mountains on the average are getting thicker, and there are a lot more alternate recreations available. I find it hard to believe that most people will stick it out for 451/771 peaks.

 

[MarkJ]

Poison Ivy and I bushwhacked to the summit of South Hale last October 14. Were we really the last before a recent visit by you? We had a pleasant hike, despite a harrowing assault by a vicious spruce grouse.
This spruce grouse must consider S Hale his private mountain. 10/07 I was up there and it followed me down the ridge so close I felt I was being stalked.Got some good pics of his big red eye.Finally he let me go on.