Working on the 770?

[dms]

I have never, ever felt the need to justify to anyone my doing the the New England 3k list. Views, no views, I really don't base my decision on that factor alone, these peaks are, and were, worth the effort to climb. It gives me personal satisfaction that I completed the New England list, I don't need anyone's approval, and I sure don't care about anyone's disapproval, about what interests me in my hiking pursuits. If this type of hiking doesn't interest you then do what you want, and, there's one less name in the register.

 

[michael]

I will blame Sonny Martineau for my budding interest in NE3K.
When he mentioned that he and some others had placed jars with registers on all these obscure summits scattered about NE I was hooked. I think it coincided with my recent divorce and the idea of finding obscure highpoints to 'get away from it all' really appealed to me. It combined some of the other things that I also found interesting - map and compass and in general just the ability to test my directional instincts that won me over. I'm late getting started but it is as others here have mentioned, all about the journey.

Hopefully heading out next weekend....

 

[Peakbagr]

This might help: ADK100Highest.com.

One point for those without a GPS. The ADK100's can certainly be done without one. Folks like John Swanson, Cat Eich, Dennis Crispo, Erik Schlimmer, & Sue Eilers knock my socks off with admiration. Some, and maybe most of these folks did the 770 withOUT a GPS, or at least many of the peaks were done before.
In the Adirondacks, there are mnay peaks with multiple summits. Often, the routes, blowdown fields, or cliffs push you one way or the other. Its tough to hit the summit ridge and find it socked in or completely wooded. Without a GPS, you are 'strolling' the ridgeline to snag all the bumps. In the great majority of the time, this is no small feat in itself.
Good map, compass and bushwhacking skills are a given, but doing the ADK100 without a GPS considerably ups the ante, or means you may not hit the true top with certainty.(Even so, you are sometimes at the mercy of and dependent on the accuracy of the computer maps.
Did I say 'hats off to those who proceeded us'?

 

[mhrsebago]

I didn't quite make the cutoff number for posting on this thread - only 299/770 (no kidding). Like many others, the NE 451 are my first priority. Then I'd like to tackle some less frequently visited peaks like the "Maine 200 Highest" and some challenging logistics like the "Maine 100 Highest in Winter". With the DAKS 6+ hours away and the Catskills even further, a serious attempt to complete the NE 770 will have to wait for retirement.

I do not believe that GPS or no GPS matters an iota in the grand scale of this undertaking... Sure, GPS makes it slightly quicker/easier to "find" the jar; but as Celine (my spouse) has been telling me for years, it's the flora, geology, joy of exertion, fun planning and gestalt of just being out there that makes it all so richly rewarding. (Please don't tell her I think she's right about something)

Whether or not I finish the 770, I certainly appreciate the comments of DMS and others - it's an amazing adventure with great folks and quality time out in the natural world!!

 

[RoySwkr]

Without a GPS, you are 'strolling' the ridgeline to snag all the bumps.

Even with a GPS you are still snagging all the bumps unless you know definitely which is highest, even if somebody gives you the register cordinates the register may be in the wrong place.

Note that the maps that come with the GPS may not be accurate, on Snows Mtn NH the Garmin map showed the high point a quarter mile from the USGS which was correct.

 

[Peakbagr]

Roy,

Its a combination of things. Computer mapping software, eyeballing the USGS topos, picking up some tips from others who've been there, and best of all, good visibility to see which is higher. Unfortunately, the latter is often in poor supply.

 

[RoySwkr]

Its a combination of things. Computer mapping software, eyeballing the USGS topos, picking up some tips from others who've been there, and best of all, good visibility to see which is higher.

Some people bag registers not summits, so a GPS is of particular use for certain peaks in the Catskills where the register is known not to be at the true summit and hence can't be reached by just finding the highest point.

Other people and groups (such as the state highpointers) believe that a peak has only one summit that needs to be visited and choose one, so a GPS can determine if you were at that point rather than somewhere else that your altimeter may say is higher. It is also useful in extremely flat terrain to show
that you were at the tiny higher contour shown on the map.

For most peaks, finding the top is easy as you just walk uphill, and I try to visit all candidate high points as several peaks have had their summits move since I've been hiking and I don't want to go back when I'm 80. However a
GPS can be very useful returning to your car (which is a definite point) if you parked on a road spur into a featureless area, just remember to take the starting coordinate

 

[Tom Rankin]

For most peaks, finding the top is easy as you just walk uphill, and I try to visit all candidate high points as several peaks have had their summits move since I've been hiking and I don't want to go back when I'm 80. However a GPS can be very useful returning to your car (which is a definite point) if you parked on a road spur into a featureless area, just remember to take the starting coordinate

A wise man once said that to find the summit, you just go up, but when you are leaving, there are 359 wrong ways to go down!

 

[Puma concolor]

I find the evolution of this list to be quite interesting. I remember when the blurb appeared in Outside Magazine about 10 years ago with the original two completers. At the time, I was just finishing up the 111ers but never for one second thought about trying to do the 770 myself. I remembering thinking it was a cool, unique undertaking primarily because it was original and difficult - a one-time stunt that would most certainly never be repeated. Years later, I still have basically the same feelings on this list. I would rather have my teeth pulled out one by one with no Novocain than work on it (I mean that in the nicest way possible ). Yet, this list is at least on the fringes of becoming a mainstream pursuit. As this thread shows, there are not only a few other completers but many folks who are in various stages of working on 770. God bless ya.

 

[jmegillon149]

i think the jump from NE115 to NE770 is so huge that NE3500 is interesting. no, i don't mean the 3500 highest peaks in the northeast, so maybe the name needs changin'... but maybe not!

QUOTE]

its funny you say that, I once mentined trying to finish my 4000's to someone, and they thought it was the number of peaks, not the feet, they gave me an odd look, then I clarified it, explained the 48 and 67, then they didn't think I was obsessive.

 

[RoySwkr]

What I find most interesting is that 3k lists by state are rarely hiked any more. Back in the '70s, it wasn't even known if the New England 3k (then 455) would ever be completed, so people often took it one state at a time and a lot of people dropped out after the NH 3k (2 of the 3 first finishers, for example). This mirrors the 4k where only a tiny fraction of the NH 4k finishers complete the 67 much less the 115. However now it seems that it's all of New England at a minimum, nobody brags about a state even though that's over 100 peaks each in ME NH VT.

 

[Neil]

Put me in the "wish I could" category. The 770 list would be all I need to remain happy and fulfilled for the rest of my existence but I doubt it'll ever happen for me. Sans gps is IMO the only way to do this insane list and who cares if you miss the highest bump by 10 vertical feet? Can you really trust a gps that precisely anyway?

After scrabbling around a few ADK 3000'ers I consider anyone to have done hundreds of these peaks a true oddball whose hand it would be an honor to take a beer from.

 

[Pig Pen]

What I find most interesting is that 3k lists by state are rarely hiked any more .... However now it seems that it's all of New England at a minimum, nobody brags about a state even though that's over 100 peaks each in ME NH VT.

I have 5 left to finish Vermont. I was looking forward to bragging about it as a method of picking up chicks in bars. Are you saying that my luck isn't going to get any better?

 

[dms]

Sans gps is IMO the only way to do this insane list and who cares if you miss the highest bump by 10 vertical feet? Can you really trust a gps that precisely anyway?

I couldn't agree more Neil. I also reluctantly agree about the oddball comment too!

 

[Neil]

dms, do you mean you would only reluctantly relinquish a beer from thine hand to mine?

 

[dms]

dms, do you mean you would only reluctantly relinquish a beer from thine hand to mine?

Neil I would happily relinguish a beer to you, who knows maybe I could convince to you to join us 3k oddballs!

 

[mhrsebago]

Avec GPS, sans GPS.... de rien!! It's all about just getting out there!!!

If one wants to be a purist and avoid technology, I would suggest hiking these peaks without map and compass, or even clothes from synthetic fibers... hey, there's an idea I could support - the 451 au naturel!

 

[onestep]

I have 5 left to finish Vermont. I was looking forward to bragging about it as a method of picking up chicks in bars. Are you saying that my luck isn't going to get any better?

the Barnjum chicks will love ya!

Onestep

 

[dr_wu002]

Uno Mas

When I was driving to work today on Rt 90 East, in Western Mass, between exits 5 and 6, I saw a guy driving a pickup that had license plates bearing the number "770" on it. So obviously there's at least one more person, and a masshole at that, working on the NE770. My license plate has the number "8407" on it, so I think I have a bigger fish to fry.

-Dr. Wu

 

[dms]

Avec GPS, sans GPS.... de rien!!

For 25 years of my chasing the list, this form of technology was basically unknown, so perhaps I don't have a balanced view of it. Old school, that's all, map and compass guy.