yellow dog
New member
Most of you here probably don't know much about me because I don't post that often but have been a major lurker for the last couple of years. I feel like I know a lot about the people here because of how much you share on this site. I'm always amazed at the hikes that some of you do like the pemi loops and presidential traverses, and how knowledgeable and dedicated you are to this sport and how much you love it.
I thought I'd share a little about myself if anyone is interested. I finished the NH4K about 10 years ago when I was 20. After that I did a couple of hundred highest but soon lost my drive. I only did a few hikes over about 7-8 years. Then I got Chester, my yellow lab. We started going for walks in the woods and to the beach once in a while. Like most labs he couldn't get enough of running around outside so we started going on some short hikes. When doing these hikes I realized how much I loved and missed hiking and how much Chester loved going also.
Once I thought he was old enough to handle some longer hikes we did a few of the smaller 4K's closer to home like Whiteface and Passaconaway. It turned out that he did a lot better than me and I was the one that needed to get in shape. He did so well and had such a good time that we continued to go. When I had a day off from work, I normally would have found something else to do but all it would take is one look from Chester and I was getting my stuff together to go hiking. He really became my motivation to go. Since then we have been on trips to Vermont, up on the Presidentials, bushwacks to trailess HH peaks, etc. together.
This weekend we went on our most ambitious hike to do the last 4 NH4K's that Chester needed to finish the list. We made a 2 day loop starting from Lincoln Woods. On the first day we went across the Bonds, over to South Twin, down to Galehead Hut then continued down to the 13 Falls tentsite. This was only the third time backpacking and staying out on the trail. In the past all the peaks I hit were on dayhikes. The total mileage for the day was around 19 miles including some of the side trails we took. I felt pretty strong at the end of the day which surprised me considering the distance, weight of my pack and the heat. Being new to backpacking I was carrying a lot more then I needed. One thing I made sure to do during the day was to keep myself hydrated and I think that helped tremedously.
I'd never been down to 13 falls before. I knew there would be some nice falls there but what amazed me was the great swimming holes there also. Upon reaching the river I found about a 20' cliff to jump off of into a deep pool. All the sites were full by the time we checked out the campsite so we went down the trail and wandered off into the woods for about 20 minutes before finding a suitable spot to camp.
Overnight it rained some and never really cooled off so the humidity was way up there in the morning. All the trees and other vegetation was wet so after a short time on the trail we were completely soaked on our way to Owls Head. We were up and down from the peak rather quickly only stopping for a few pictures and a snack at the top. On the way out we tried to see how fast we could do the last 8 miles or so which we did in a little over 2hrs. I had to stop a couple times quickly to wring out my socks after falling in the river crossings and tromping through the mud puddles.
Overall it was a pretty exhausting trip but worth it. Chester was a pretty good boy throughout the hike although I would be good too if someone else was carrying all my food and a roof. He finished his NH4K's and I finished for the second time.
With Chester around there isn't a chance that I'll stop going again and look forward to going as soon as possible.
I thought I'd share a little about myself if anyone is interested. I finished the NH4K about 10 years ago when I was 20. After that I did a couple of hundred highest but soon lost my drive. I only did a few hikes over about 7-8 years. Then I got Chester, my yellow lab. We started going for walks in the woods and to the beach once in a while. Like most labs he couldn't get enough of running around outside so we started going on some short hikes. When doing these hikes I realized how much I loved and missed hiking and how much Chester loved going also.
Once I thought he was old enough to handle some longer hikes we did a few of the smaller 4K's closer to home like Whiteface and Passaconaway. It turned out that he did a lot better than me and I was the one that needed to get in shape. He did so well and had such a good time that we continued to go. When I had a day off from work, I normally would have found something else to do but all it would take is one look from Chester and I was getting my stuff together to go hiking. He really became my motivation to go. Since then we have been on trips to Vermont, up on the Presidentials, bushwacks to trailess HH peaks, etc. together.
This weekend we went on our most ambitious hike to do the last 4 NH4K's that Chester needed to finish the list. We made a 2 day loop starting from Lincoln Woods. On the first day we went across the Bonds, over to South Twin, down to Galehead Hut then continued down to the 13 Falls tentsite. This was only the third time backpacking and staying out on the trail. In the past all the peaks I hit were on dayhikes. The total mileage for the day was around 19 miles including some of the side trails we took. I felt pretty strong at the end of the day which surprised me considering the distance, weight of my pack and the heat. Being new to backpacking I was carrying a lot more then I needed. One thing I made sure to do during the day was to keep myself hydrated and I think that helped tremedously.
I'd never been down to 13 falls before. I knew there would be some nice falls there but what amazed me was the great swimming holes there also. Upon reaching the river I found about a 20' cliff to jump off of into a deep pool. All the sites were full by the time we checked out the campsite so we went down the trail and wandered off into the woods for about 20 minutes before finding a suitable spot to camp.
Overnight it rained some and never really cooled off so the humidity was way up there in the morning. All the trees and other vegetation was wet so after a short time on the trail we were completely soaked on our way to Owls Head. We were up and down from the peak rather quickly only stopping for a few pictures and a snack at the top. On the way out we tried to see how fast we could do the last 8 miles or so which we did in a little over 2hrs. I had to stop a couple times quickly to wring out my socks after falling in the river crossings and tromping through the mud puddles.
Overall it was a pretty exhausting trip but worth it. Chester was a pretty good boy throughout the hike although I would be good too if someone else was carrying all my food and a roof. He finished his NH4K's and I finished for the second time.
With Chester around there isn't a chance that I'll stop going again and look forward to going as soon as possible.
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