Peak Bragging 2020!

[Tom Rankin]

I'm a little late for this, but once a year, I encourage people to post their accomplishments over the past year. As usual, I'll start!

We did the Catskill 3500' peaks (35 at the time) in all 4 seasons last year. They, (Hikers Anonymous, not the 3500 Club), send you a special plaque for this, we had no idea!

Spring and Summer were actually the hardest. The Spring was cut short by the lockdown, and we had only a few weeks to do all 35. Summer was hot as h@ll!

Overall we did 195 peaks last year. It's great to be retired!

(In other news, we attended the regular and winter finish of a 4 and then 5 year old girl, who met the requirements of the 3500 club at those young ages, the youngest at the time, although recently eclipsed by a pair of twin boys)

Ok, enough of me, brag away!

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

In other news, we attended the regular and winter finish of a 4 and then 5 year old girl, who met the requirements of the 3500 club at those young ages ...

What are the requirements at those ages?

 

[egilbe]

In 2020 hiked my first Winter 4K's, Waumbeck, Tom and Pierce. Winter then ended and Covid hit and I was a good citizen and stayed home and did nothing for several months. Planned for the Summer to continue hiking the AT and finish up the NE67. Spent a week volunteer caretaking of Stratton Brook Hut for MH&T. Did the five 4K's in VT, hiked some of the AT and the LT while in VT then finished the 67 on Mt Abraham in Maine. Worked on the 52 with a view list a bit, but that is a list I'm in no hurry to finish. Those are "fun" hikes where we can hangout on the summit or the viewpoint, just enjoying the scenery.

I've realized in my mind my hiking seasons and the Calendar don't match up. Spring is the beginning of the hiking season and Winter is the end of it. In my mind, its still the 2020 season.

Puma concolor reminded me that I also did the Travelers loop in BSP. It was a very hot day, not near enough water (3 liters). Thankfully we found the Spring on the descent and cameled up again.

 

[Puma concolor]

Nothing spectacular. Finished up my last five Vermont county highpoints and banged out a bunch of new Northeast 2000 foot prominence peaks. Highlights of the year were probably twin trips to Baxter State Park. During the first trip, I repeated my original Abol slide climb of Katahdin from 1996 although the lower part of the route no longer follows the washout. And during my second trip, I completed the Traveler loop, which had been on my back burner bucket list for quite awhile. Took my daughter hiking a couple of times as well even though it’s not her number one favorite thing to do ... Stratton in Vermont and Prospect outside of Lake George.

 

[Tom Rankin]

What are the requirements at those ages?

Same as for anyone.

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

Thanks, I misunderstood your post, interpreted it as "requirements for those ages".

 

[nartreb]

2020 saw a lot of travel, but not a lot of peak bagging. I think my single biggest hike was when I attempted to simply walk into Mordor during the lockdown. I walked all day and didn't even reach treeline, decided to try again after the roads were open.

Lovely area, have to go back and do the traverse as a backpacking trip, but the day hikes were lovely too.

Mt Doom, without Peter Jackson's digital enhancements.

 

[Salty]

I finally climbed Sunapee in April. Despite it's one of the major peaks in the immediate area I was born, raised and lived in for all but a 9 year hiatus in the Phoenix area. And I'm 55 years old. Nope, never climbed it. It was nice.

I got divorced after 2 years of hell. Can I brag about that? It was quite the apex! Actually it relates - I climbed a little 1000 footer that I can see from the house at the behest of my new roommate, an old hiking friend who needed a place to stay for a while. It had a jar on it (the peak, not my friend). Seriously - it's no more than 1020' tall (again, the peak, definitely not the friend!).

Yep, so that's all the hiking I did this year! I bragged about all of it!

Hoping for a week deep in the Pemi this year. Suppose I might want to get in shape...

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I claimed finisher #8 on the Winter Trailwrights 72 list. While unrelated to hiking, I also rode 10 solo centuries on consecutive weekends in spring, and another 10 for 10 in fall. I passed on summer so I didn't have to enter any buildings to refill water or food. I like to have a cycling goal for the year as well as a hiking one.

Tim

 

[Snowflea]

I haven't checked in here for... forever, but my weird accomplishment of 2020 was staying mostly local (NEK Vermont) and cycling, running, or walking every dirt/gravel mile of road in my county (Caledonia). With out-and-backs, it was over 1000 miles.

Also was able to knock off a one-day Mahoosuc Traverse, Grafton Loop, Kilkenny Traverse, and Willoughby circumnavigation.

Biggest thrill was accompanying my husband Chris (Fancypants) when he finally completed both his White Mtn. Grid and his over-65 Grid on Jefferson and Washington in early November.

Sue

 

[Hachi]

Well after patiently waiting for the green light from the AMC that we could hike and it would count, my friend and I managed to finish that last 4 hikes of our NH4K. We were on Jefferson for the big finish, on the Sept 11 hike, and it was very nice to be able to linger at the peak and not be frozen! Not bad for a couple of little old ladies who started very late on this list. I am most happy that we never hurt ourselves! (Well, didn't break anything, anyway) There were definitely some scrapes and bruises along the way.

 

[Cumulus]

I'm trying to reclimb the NE111 in my 60's, having done them in my 50's, which means I have to average 11.5 per year. Because of the pandemic, however, I only bagged four new ones in 2020. Luckily I had been a little ahead of schedule, so now I'm not too far behind schedule.

--

Cumulus

NE111 in my 50s: 115/115 (67/67, 46/46, 2/2)
NE111 in my 60s: 76/115 (53/67, 21/46, 2/2)
NEFF: 50/50; Cat35: 39/39; WNH4K: 41/48; NEHH 89/100
LT NB 2009; CT NB 2017

"I don't much care where [I get to] --" said Alice, "-- so long as I get somewhere," ...
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
- Lewis Carroll

 

[TEO]

All of your accomplishments are impressive and inspiring.

I had a modest year, but added 20 new 2,900'+ peaks to finish up all those in New Hampshire North of 302 and South of 26, plus several outside that area, including the infamous Wolf Cub in mid-November. Along the way I added a couple NH300 peaks. My six-year-old and I hiked Cardigan, my first time up the West side and his first time up the mountain, and visited the Grotto Cave. In non-hiking-but-still-the-outdoors, my brother and I paddled the St. Croix from Vanceboro to Kellyland, and I, unintentionally, drained my wife's oil pan near the end of Sable Mountain Road in Averill, Vt. It was a good thing that my son likes to hike. (If you ever need car work done in the NEK, Dan's Auto in Derby maybe one of the finest mechanics in the country.)

 

[VinnieG]

I finished my winter 48 on an out and back. Finished on west bond, hit - hale, Zealand and bond on the hike too. Nice long hike. Got my wife up to Baxter for a backpack to russel pond. Made my first trip to the adk and hiked Marcy, Phelps, and table top. Pretty inspiring view from up there and can’t wait to get back!

 

[DayTrip]

Like many I had a strange year with big ups and big downs. After a lackluster Winter hiking season that ended with my second Winter summit of Washington in early March the bottom fell out of my life personally and professionally when the pandemic ramped up. Was out of work for March and April and ballooned to a near record weight for me of 241 lbs.

Then I started walking. Hit my local trails for 2-5 miles every morning to start building an aerobic base and get the needle pointing in the right direction again. Added a lot of local "blue" trails in my area and before I knew it I had gone 49 straight days hiking at least 2 miles. As I dropped weight, my fears about COVID quieted down and my fitness improved I exploded. I hit NH every weekend from mid-June to mid-November, climbed Mt Washington 9 times from pretty much every direction and every weather condition (including once in the dark for a sunrise). Every week I did harder and harder hikes and eventually did my first 1-day Pemi Loop (as a day trip from CT - 24 hour day with the driving) and first 1-day Presidential traverse (and stayed at a hotel at the end instead of driving home - something I haven't done, well, almost ever). Found myself tipping the scales at 208 lbs in mid September when we went to Baxter and I did the Travelers Loop for the second time.

Bottom kind of fell out going into year end but it was a fantastic Summer on the trails after the sluggish start. I think I hiked 26 straight weekends if I remember right and the weather was amazing all year. Regret not doing any overnights but the year just kind of fell that way. 2021 will be very overnight focused.