What did you do in 2009?

[Bobby]

2009 is rapidly coming to an end. As I look over TR's and photo links, I see that it has been a great year for hiking. So telll us, where did you go, what did you hike and are there any good stories out there?

Some of my highlights -

I met many new people on the trails, at after hike events, at Beer Nights and at Pat and Audrey's gathering

A few hours at the Fool Scout's Ball in March - that was fun!

Hiked with BobC and a great group on Madison in June of his NH 4K finale

Finished my own NH 4K's on Carrigain in July

Mt Washington with Eric, reaching the summit for the sixth time with him

Participated in Flags on the 48 with NewHampshire, BobC, Pucknuts, Laurie Maynard and her family on North and South Kinsman

A few long day trips - Jefferson to the Highland Center with Rols and Sapblatt, and an OBP to Lincoln Woods traverse in October with a fine crew.

One cold day on Pierce with Mad Townie

I wanted to get out a lot more than I did, but you know how life is. I did get to 18 4K's, which pales in comparison to some on the board, but isn't too bad for me.

 

[Roxi]

2009 is rapidly coming to an end. As I look over TR's and photo links, I see that it has been a great year for hiking. So telll us, where did you go, what did you hike and are there any good stories out there?
<snip>
I wanted to get out a lot more than I did, but you know how life is. I did get to 18 4K's, which pales in comparison to some on the board, but isn't too bad for me.

Congratulations, Bobby! You hiked more often than I did. Normally I'd probably be sad, but this year I am thrilled with what I accomplished. After months of PT for a shoulder injury, I finally made it back to the Whites several times this past summer and hiked the two Hancocks, Flume and Liberty, Little Haystack, Lincoln, and Lafayette, North Twin, South Twin, and Galehead, Hale, and East Osceola. Living in southern NH I also hiked Mount Monadnock and the Pack Monadnocks multiple times. I don't think I've ever felt so happy to be able to be back hiking in the mountains as I was this year. The number of hikes may seem small, but the accomplishment feels huge. My only regret is that I didn't make it out to Isolation, but now I have something to look forward to in the future. Happy trails!

 

[vegematic]

Among other things I finished the Long Trail and hiked the Traveler Loop in BSP, two things that have been on my to-do list for some time. Goals for 2010 are to finish the NE67 4Ks and begin sectioning the AT.
-vegematic

 

[bryan]

i had a really great hiking year. for the most part it was very home state oriented.
started with a single season nh winter 48.
spent much of the spring hiking the belknap/lakes region area and discovering new trails closer to home.
hiked a lot of nh 4k peaks over the summer/fall (the bulk of them 3 times on the year) before getting hurt in november (was pretty close to getting to the 50% point on "the grid" but didn't make it).
hit some long traverses i'd been interested in. a presidential, kilkenny, tripyramid-passaconaway and a pemi loop. really wanted to get in wildcat-moriah, but didn't get to it.
got some satisfying work done on my adopted trail.
put air in my bikes old tires and discovered the joy of the bicycle spot.
met some great people and in particular spent a number of awesome days hiking with big earl and sue.
took two great trips to the high peaks in the adirondacks. highlight was the spectacular haystack, basin, saddleback loop (though i also very much enjoyed herd path routes to high peaks like cliff, redfield, street and nye, etc.). was also happy to discover the keene valley hostel which will be a great base for future trips.
the best thing about this year was that regardless of where i ended up i managed to get a couple days of hiking in every week.
at the moment i have over 3 months before i'll be able to try to start hiking again, but i've already been planning hikes to new places for next summer/fall. could end up being another great year (though with a lot less miles) if my body cooperates.
hope everyone has a nice 2010.

bryan

 

[BobC]

Finished the 48 on Madison, as mentioned above.

Hiked up Washington with Kevin, Judy & Emma for the "Seek the Peak" event to raise money for the MW Observatory. First time hiking from PNVC, and first time I've seen Tuckerman Ravine. Followed up this tiring day with a hike to Isolation the next day with Isabelle ("Do Truancy"). 26 miles in a weekend may not be much for some people, but it was a lot for me!

Flags on the 48 to N. Kinsman, with Bobby & crew as mentioned above. Record number of hikes in one year with Bobby. Is this guy stalking me?

Hike with Amy (Getawaygirl) and Sue (Trail Trotter) to Maine's Mt. Abraham for Amy's finish of the NE 67.

Spent the majority of my vacation days doing mid-week hikes. There's no better way to spend a day off than hiking!

Skunked Jaytrek57 in the Rocksontop cribbage tournament.

 

[Bobby]

Record number of hikes in one year with Bobby. Is this guy stalking me?

You forgot....passing on the Lonesome Lake Trail as I was leaving the FSB, and meeting up in the parking lot at Pinkham. Just who is stalking who?

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Highlights for 2009 include -

- Hiked 60 days this year
- Spent a week in B.C. in April – saw a wild wolf
- Spent 6 weeks this summer in the Oregon Cascades, hiked two volcanoes new to me – 3-Fingered Jack, and South Sister
- Hiked Whitney twice, Langeley once
- Made two trips to New England, climbed several peaks in the Whites

 

[Billy V]

Not a lot this year

The of 2009 was not a good year for hiking for me. I run a family business and this year required a lot of work. But I did get the chance to hike over the New Years week in the Adirondacks. . . The Ausable Club trails along Ausabel Lakes was a good and Connery Pond out to Whiteface landing was a good hike... Lots of Coyote tracks. Then in October over Columbus day weekend, because of all the rain , My wife and I did Balm of Gilead, which was interesting because of the garnet mine there, Santonini into the old lodge to see all of the construction going on to save the building. Seems as though the kitchen was in danger of falling off the building... and a simple hike up Poke-O-Moonshine. Even though there was a lot of rain for that whole week it cleared enough to get some spectacular views.
We are looking forward to a better 2010 and we are planning much more for the Adirondacks and the Whites.

Happy New Year Every one
Billy V

 

[Pat T]

Well, it was a good year for us -- but not necessarily a good hiking year. July, my usual hiking month, was way too wet. We had a great camping week on a Lake George island, though, in August when the sun finally came out. But the highlight of the summer, for me, was a hike/canoe trip from Tahawus to Duck Hole via Henderson Lake and the Preston Ponds. We had tried this trip the year before but ran out of time. This year we were determined. What a beautiful piece of wilderness this is, especially the final paddle and carry from Preston to Duck Hole. Luckily our headlamps worked for the final carry from Henderson back to the car. It was absolutely dark, just lots of stars and very very cold. We ended the day with a drink and "sandwich" at Sporty's in Minerva--a must-visit.

Pat T

 

[kaseri]

I was able to enjoy the mountains for what they are without hiking to fulfill a list. After completing my 48 in Oct of 2008 I got my scroll and patch as most people do. Upon getting my scroll and patch I realized I didn't care much about that stuff. What I cared about was the journey and the beautiful places that I experienced. I hope to continue exploring these wonderful mountains in 2010 and expanding my experiences to other places in the US.

 

[BIGEarl]

……
met some great people and in particular spent a number of awesome days hiking with big earl and sue.
…..
bryan

Bryan,

You’re a terrific guy to hike with and I’m really looking forward to seeing you back in the game. Hopefully, we’ll share many more hikes together.


2009 Review:

Last year I missed my goal of 1 hike per week. This year I made up for it and came in a little ahead of my goal for the year. All of the hike days were in the Whites.

The year started on January 1 hiking with Sue to the Kinsmans on a very cold day (8° below zero, 25 mph wind – Sue decided winter hiking could be fun). The year is planned to end on December 31 hiking The Wildcats and Carters with Sue. In between, Sue and I visited a lot of summits together. In the course of the year we completed a number of our favorite big hikes multiple times. We also came up with a few new ones that were very interesting and fun – I’m sure we’ll do them again. Supersize loops occupied some of our days along with multiple hit-and-runs. We managed to complete a couple hikes that were on our to-do list from 2008, but start 2010 with other hikes that remain on the list.

I’ll have a few good hikes to think about through the winter.

I’ll also be thinking about Bryan getting healed up and back on the trail. We’ll be waiting for you.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Laurie finished the 48, 67, and 115.

I finished them for the 2nd time.

We continued to do lots of fire towers, and VNBs.

A lot of good repeat hikes too!

 

[Silverfox]

2009..the year in review

The year started off cold and snowy with a great hike up Pierce where i met Bob and Geri, Mad River, Trish, J and J, and others

After limping up a few more peaks in january the die was cast and I had a Total Knee replacement done Feb 18th with the doctor's goal of getting me back on the trails

April 16th..first post op hike..Rattlesnake in Holderness

May26..first 4k..Hale with several of my "caregivers" in attendance

never looked back..other good things were

ashland Booze and Vittles..spending some time with Clay and Sandra, Tim and Val, Steve, Jeremy, Trish, Amicus, and many others who stopped by along the way

Some great above tree line days with Mary, Karen, and Sabrina

Excellent Eastman to Meader Traverse..what a great hike

Moosilauke for Trish and Alex was a great event

Many good hikes with many good friends..Owls with Jeremy and Sabrina stands out as does a fine day to Adams with Cymbidium and Washington to Eisenhower on first cold snowy day with Sabrina..making some great friends along the trail with jeremy, Tim and Val,the Old man,Tim, Larisa, Karen..and many more.


passed the 100 4ks for the year post op this week..a couple more to go...

a certain highlight of the year was Cannon for winter this year and catching an amazing sunset on the way back out..fantastic

it's all good...happy trails

 

[Taconic]

Not a great outdoor year for me.

Spent Feb - April bushwhacking obscure peaks in the South Taconics for the hell of it (most had no views.)

In June I got the terrible idea of taking my girlfriend along for Cabot (certainly one of the tamest 48 I still had left.) She made it to The Horn before turning back. I'm used to going solo and her pace threw me off about 10 hours in, so I wound up rolling my ankle 3 times on the way down.

In July I spent a few days in NH and VT. Kayaked on Umbagog and climbed Waumbeck and Starr King.

...and then my previously undetected ehrlichiosis infection went into overdrive and literally kept me off my feet until the end of September (I most likely was infected last fall, which might explain why I felt "off" all winter.) I'm still recovering. I tried hitting Bear Mtn here in CT sometime back in October, but had to abort half a mile in.

I'm hoping to be back in the swing of things by the end of next month, but I still feel pretty weak.

This is the first year in a long time where I didn't venture above the treeline once. I managed just 1 4K. It's a rather sad showing.

 

[WinterWarlock]

Like Taconic and Billy V, it wasn't a great hiking year for me either....I started a new job in January and it kept me pretty busy all year with lots of travel. However, there were some highlights along the way...

- Did Street/Nye in the pouring rain with my wife over July Fourth weekend
- Bought two kayaks for my wife and I and got out enough to enjoy them
- Did Basin to join a friend for her 46r finish, then went on to Saddleback because it was such a beautiful day
- My parents are retired and live in Florida - they came to visit and we took them to the ADK's for three days to share my new found 'home' with them...it didn't involve any hiking because of their health, but it was worth a lot to see them see that part of heaven on earth.

EDIT - also did my first Catskill hike, which opened my eyes to a whole new place to play!

Not as much as I would have liked, but the times I did get out were special.

 

[Nessmuk]

Yukon

For me of course, without question the highlight of not just the year, but of a lifetime was the Yukon 1000. I didn't have much time for many other outdoor activities other than to train for the event with my crew virtually every weekend. I previously posted a trip report here in a different thread. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of how I will go back to the Yukon someday... It keeps calling me to return soon.

 

[Guthook]

I'm glad this thread is around, because it's making me think back on what was in some ways a pretty dull year, and now I'm realizing I did quite a bit.

-New Year's Day on Mansfield despite huge winds and cold
-Finally got to explore most of the northern Long Trail.
-My first backpacking trip in the ADK's, despite intense rain and calling off the trip early.
-Grafton Loop Trail... also with heavy rain.
-First time over the Bonds and Owl's Head (probably the only hike I did this summer in good weather).
-New England Trail... mostly in wet, wet, wet weather.

I got really comfortable hiking in the rain this summer, which is great. I think I lost that comfort in the Fall on the NET, like I overdosed or something. We'll see when next summer starts.

I also added way too many trails to my to-do list. Oh no!

 

[adktyler]

I enjoyed an excellent year of making new trail friends, hiking a whole lot, and simply enjoying the great outdoors! Dang, nature is awesome!!

 

[bikehikeskifish]

The first highlight of 2009 for me was the Presidential Traverse, which was my "definition" of "healed" from patellar-femoral syndrome.

The second highlight of 2009 was doing Moosilauke with my wife & kids for Trish & Alex's 48th. We also did Tecumseh as a family, bringing the kids to 3 out of 48.

Otherwise I worked far too much and played far too little this summer .

I did not make a significant dent in my casual goal of the NE67/NEHH this year, mainly because of work.

Tim

 

[WhiteMTHike]

I am not fortunate enough to live close to the WMNF to go hiking up there as often as I'd like. Mostly my hiking in 2009 was restricted to trails here in RI.

However, I did get to hike Mt. Willard with my young son. The family and I hiked Mt. Magalloway in Pittsburg for the second time. This time we got to enjoy the beautiful summit; in 2008 we got chased off by a bad (and very sudden) lightning storm,. It was great to do that hike again since it has one of the best summit's in NH.

All in all, 2009 was a pretty good year for hiking.