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Welcome to Ritzhikes

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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...

The best laid plans

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With the summit of Mt. Moriah in May , I had six peaks left on my NH 48 4000 footers list. I had plans for the final peak (Owlshead), and the remaining five were all in one area east of Pinkham Notch, on two ridges on either side of Carter Notch. As noted in the Moriah trip report, I had thought to get Moriah and these other five peaks on one thru-hike, but couldn't work out the logistics.  So I decided to go after them in three day trips (Moriah, Carters, Wildcats). Then the Appalacian Mountain Club offered a $99 deal for their White Mountain huts. One of those huts was in Carter Notch, between the two ridges, so I booked a bunk for a Tuesday in June. With that as a base camp, I'd have several options for getting the peaks on either side of the Notch. I liked the idea of adding a hut stay to my quest for the NH 48. I've walked past all but two of them, and gone in two of them to check them out & buy snacks, but have never stayed overnight. It seemed like a good experie...

Mt. Moriah

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Where: Mt. Surprise (2159 ft.), Mt. Moriah (4049 ft.) - Gorham NH When: May 13, 2025 With: Solo 40 years ago, on the Pemi Loop hike when I summited my first 4000' NH peaks, I renamed Mt. Lafayette as "Soul Killer", because it kept offering false summits. Today I transferred that name to Mt. Moriah, for much the same reason, along with tough trail conditions. But I'm getting ahead of myself... I've had Moriah as my next NH 4000 footer to tackle for awhile now. At one point I was considering a multi-day traverse from Gorham to Pinkham Notch to claim six peaks (Moriah, the Carters, and the Wildcats), but I couldn't work out the logistics. Then the AMC offered a $99 deal for hut stays in June, so I booked space at the Carter Notch hut, figuring I could knock off the Wildcats and the Carters over the course of two days. If I could get Moriah done before then, I'd wind up with 47 of the 48 peaks climbed, with just Owlshead left. With June fast approaching, I ne...