Posts

Welcome to Ritzhikes

Image
Welcome! I spent a lot of time outdoors when I was young. It was a time when moms would kick the kids out the door in the morning and expect them home when the light faded at the end of the day. I joined the Boy Scouts, explored the woods with my brothers, and generally got comfortable out there. I got out less for a time, then after college I began hiking again. Usually with one or more of my friends, sometimes on my own. At some point I decided to start writing accounts of my journeys. The original intent was to help me remember waterfalls, scenic views, hidden campsites, etc.. They began as simple, sparse documents, but they evolved. They grew longer, and began including feelings, backstories, and more.  The first generation were text documents, then I pulled them all together in a webpage, and now they're in a blog.  Being me, I've tallied my hikes and created stats (see charts below). A slow start, then 20ish years of lots of hikes, then a gap. To use a cliche, life happ...
Read more

Crow Hill

Image
Where: Crow Hill, Leominster State Forest MA When: December 24, 2025 With: Solo Crow Hill, just east of Mt. Wachusett, has been on my radar for some time. It has cliffs used by rock climbers and military groups for training, and I've looked at the trails nearby for mountain biking. A recent post by an AMC group of their hike there brought it to mind again, so when I felt the need for some trail time, I had my destination set. There was some familiarity as I approached and pulled into the Rocky Pond parking lot. I'd been here before, snowshoeing with a neighbor many years ago. There was only 2-3" of snow on the ground today, so snowshoes weren't needed this time, but I pulled on microspikes before setting off. My plan was for a loop route suggested online, climbing up and over the Crow Hill ledges before returning on forest trails back to the parking lot. I was the first traveler on the Sawyer Run Trail, putting fresh footprints in the snow. I could've bare-booted i...
Read more

Mt. Wachusett loop

Image
Where: Mt. Wachusett When: December 4, 2025 With: Solo I was in need of some trail time, but a long ride/full day trip to the White Mountains wasn't in the cards. A quick run over to Mt. Wachusett was in order. A storm earlier in the week had dropped about a half a foot of snow, and I wasn't quite sure what to bring for traction so I brought both spikes and snowshoes. There were about half a dozen cars at the Echo Lake Trail trail head when I arrived, mostly parked along the road. I checked out the snow depth and figured I'd be okay with microspikes, but carried the snowshoes anyway, just in case. After a quick chat with other hikers who'd just arrived, I set out for the short (half mile) walk down the road to the Harrington Trail. The trail showed signs of travel, but only boots...no snowshoes. I slipped the spikes on and began the hike. The snow wasn't especially packed down - it seemed like only a few folks had walked the trail since the storm - but the snow was ...
Read more

The NH 48

Image
In the summer of 1985, at the end of my first week-long vacation from Meditech,  I hiked what's known as The Pemi Loop . I wasn't aware that the route had any special significance...it just looked like an interesting loop to spend a few days walking. Sometime on the first day, I summited Bondcliff, one of  New Hampshire's 48 4K peaks , and I went on to top seven more 4Ks on that hike. Like the Loop itself, I wasn't aware at the time that those peaks were regarded as anything special.  In the years that followed, I climbed more of the 4K mountains, but not as part of any effort to get all 48. I found a mention in these reports from 1991 of specifically "bagging" a 4K peak (West Bond) and another in 1999 (Galehead), but it wasn't until 2018 that I really began focusing on the list, following  a group hike up Mt. Eisenhower  that brought my peak total to 20. I'd recently retired and I got inspired.  My first priority was three "orphan" peaks, us...
Read more

Owlshead

Image
Where: Owlshead (4025 ft.), Pemigewassett Wildness, Lincoln NH When: August 26, 2025 With: Solo After a 40 year journey climbing the 48 NH 4000 Footers, finally there was just one left - Owlshead.  Originally planned as a multi-day hike, for a number of reasons I decided to claim it with a day trip. I was out the door at 5AM and at the Lincoln Woods parking area on the Kancamagus Highway by 7:30. It had been the starting point for many of my adventures in the past, but I haven't been back there since 2003. I was on my way within minutes of arriving, crossing a suspension bridge over the Pemigewassett River to get to the Lincoln Woods trail, which runs along a former lumber railroad bed.  When I'd first walked it 40 years ago, it was named the Wilderness Trail. It followed the river upstream 5 miles to the Bondcliff Trail, then crossed the river on a second suspension bridge and continued another 4 miles upstream to  Stillwater Junction Things have changed since then. The ...
Read more

Wildcat Ridge

Image
Where: Wildcat Ridge When: August 12, 2025 With: Solo I might have climbed these peaks in March 1998, when Brian, Brad & I set out to do a winter Carter-Wildcats traverse . I was recovering from strep though and bailed out after the first day/night. If I'd been actively working on the NH 4K list back then, I might have been inclined to push on, but it was just a hike with friends then. Fast forward to recent times and the 48 NH 4000 footers list . The peaks in the area east of Mt. Washington had become the final entries on my list (except Owlshead, which I was saving for last). Gradually, they were picked off until I had just the Wildcats left to climb. After considering several approaches to get them, I settled on  an out & back hike from the Wildcat Ski Area, using the ski trails to get to the Wildcat Ridge Trail. I 'd planned on a 5AM departure from home, but I was awake early, out the door by 4:15, and at the Wildcat Ski Area at 7:30. The day was forecast to be warm...
Read more

Carter Range

Image
Where: Carter Range (Middle Carter, South Carter, Mt. Hight, Carter Dome), NH When: August 4, 2025 With: Steve In my quest to climb the 48 NH 4000' peaks, I needed the two Wildcats and the three Carters (I'm saving Owlshead for last). My neighbor, Steve, has been working on The Grid (each of the 48 peaks in every month), and he needed the Carters in August. I'd planned to get the Carters & the Wildcats in June, staying at the Carter Notch hut, but had to cancel when I caught a bad cold. Then I hoped to get the Wildcats in July, but it didn't work out either, so the Carters moved to the front of the line and  I asked if he wanted company for the hike. Our original plan was to go in two cars, leaving one at the 19 Mile Brook trailhead and driving the other to the Imp Trail. The day before the hike, Steve suggested taking just one car. We'd park at 19 Mile Brook, walk a short distance north on the highway, then cut through the Joe Dodge camp to the Imp Trail. That...
Read more