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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...
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The NH 48

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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 . For me, it was just an interesting-looking loop to spend a few days walking. Sometime on the first day, I summited one of  New Hampshire's 48 4K peaks , Bondcliff, 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 hike brought my peak total to 20. I'd recently retired and I got inspired.  My first priority was three "orphan" peaks, usually climbed in pairs with a second nearby peak, b...
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Owlshead

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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 ...
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Regrets...

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It's three days after the Wildcat Ridge hike , and I'm still grumbling about it. I'm disappointed in both the hike and in myself. Perhaps getting this down in writing will help. Before I continue, I need to say that this was not a bad hike. The walk up the ski slopes was relatively easy, the weather was great, the views (the Presidentials, Carter Notch) were spectacular, the Wildcat Ridge trail was challenging at times but a nice path, and I added two more 4K peaks to my list. I even met some interesting people. But it could have been so much better, and I've been focused on that rather than the good parts. Up until 3AM the day of the hike, my plan had been to leave a bike at Wildcat, then drive to  the Great Glen Outdoor Center and hike back from there, using the 19 Mile Brook Trail, Wildcat Ridge trail, and Wildcat ski trails to get back to the bike. There was another route,  a purportedly quick & dirty way to get the two Wildcat 4K peaks - an out & back hike ...
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Wildcat Ridge

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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...
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Carter Range

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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 hoped to get the Wildcats in July, but it didn't work out, 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 was the route I'd planned to take if I was doing it as a solo hike, and it cut a couple of miles off the Imp Trail. Steve picked me up at 5AM...
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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 Appalachian Mountain Club offered a $99 deal for their White Mountain huts. One of those huts was in Carter Notch, between the two ridges, and 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 exper...
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