Ritzhikes

Where: Desolation via Nancy Pond When: October, 1988 With: Chip Yet another route into Desolation, though not in the snow this time. An autumn hike instead. The weather was cool and drizzly, so we didn't expect much company. We drove in Wendy's old car, a blue Toyota, going up route 95 and the Spaulding Turnpike into Conway. We stopped there for food and then went on to the Nancy Pond trailhead. The trail was pretty easy and in a short time we were at Nancy Falls, where we stopped to admire the scene. The Falls were more of a cascade than anything, ending in a pool. The water was quite high and the falls were full. After the falls, the trail headed up the side of the hill on switchbacks, coming back to the cascade at a couple of points before going off into the woods. We saw patches of snow on the trail as we gained altitude and the drizzle got a bit heavier. We passed through some marshy areas before reaching the top, where the trail leveled off and passed along the shor...

Where: Three Ponds When: Summer, 1988 With: Stupid Society Continuing our exploration of the southern White Mountains, we went west from 93 toward Rumney, past the Famous Polar Caves, on to Ellsworth road, and on to the Three Ponds trail. We packed the Stupid Suits, which came in handy in the parking lot. We discovered that if you just put on the arms and left the legs trailing, someone could grab the legs and spin you around! We got properly dizzy and hit the trail. The hike was easy, pretty, and pleasant. We stopped on a bridge early on for a group photo, one of my favorites. In very short time (it was only 2 miles in) we were at the ponds. We passed the shelter and continued on to the end of the Middle Pond. After passing the Donkey Hill cutoff and crossing a beaver dam, we arrived at a pretty campsite overlooking the pond. We were tempted to stay, but continued on to see if there was anything better on ahead. We went a ways, found a stream, but no better campsite, so we ret...

Where: Sandwich/Black Mountains When: Summer, 1988 With: Solo I thought I'd explore a new section of this area and maybe look for my lost pipe. I went in on the Sandwich Mountain trail, off route 49. The hike was relatively easy at first, but started to ascend pretty steeply as it climbed to the ridge. I tried to keep up a good pace and soon crested the ridge. The hike up there was much easier and the views grand, with overlooks in all directions at various points. Finally I reached the junction with the Algonquin trail, which I planned to follow down. I debated going up to the summit, but I was pretty beat and didn't know how far the summit was so I just headed down. Soon after the junction, I met up with a group of hikers coming up with light daypacks. We greeted each other and I realized they were Soviets. They said they were camping down below and I was the first person they'd seen in days. We parted and I continued on to the Black Mountain trail. I followed this ...

Where: Mt. Tom, MA When: 1988? With: Solo I'd seen Mt. Tom from the Turnpike as I drove to/from Delmar and had been drawn to the idea of climbing it. It's a striking isolated peak with a view of the Connecticut River and seemed like an interesting destination. So when the opportunity presented itself I went. The AMC Massachusetts trail guide offered some advice for routes and I wound up following a path along a power line. I don't recall much else of the hike other than some fleeting memories of standing on a high rocky cliff and exploring near some old summit structure.

Where: Black Mountain When: May, 1988 With: Stupid Society A Stupid hike! We wanted to go somewhere a bit closer than the Kancamaugus, so we went up 93, took the Waterville Valley exit, and then turned onto Sandwich Notch road. I'd asked a fellow hiker at work about the road and he assured me it was passable. The road was a somewhat narrow bumpy dirt road, with plenty of dips and hills, but for the most part wasn't too bad. My little Honda Civic sedan did just fine. The weather was good and soon the rest of the crew was up and sitting in the windows. Someone even got up on the roof! I scrapped bottom a couple of times and forced everyone to get off to lighten the load a bit, but we made it to the Guinea Pond trail without any major incidents. As we set up to go, Seth asked if we were wearing shorts or long pants. The vote was mostly longs, but I opted for shorts. Soon two others followed suit and Seth was left the sole long pants hiker. A good move, it turned out. There...

Where: Desolation via Carrigain Notch When: Winter, 1987/88 With: Chip We'd come in from the West , we'd come in from the North , so it was time to try a new approach to Desolation shelter. The first time we'd gone in, we shared the shelter with a group of college kids from Dartmouth who skied in through Carrigain Notch. If they could do it, so could we. The plan was to drive up north, go over the Kancamagus highway, cross over to route 302 on Bear Notch road, and then drive up Sawyer River road to the trail. Well, when we pulled on to Bear Notch road, we were met with a gate and a sign saying it was unmaintained in the winter. In other words, unplowed and impassable. We continued down the Kanc to pick up route 16, which would take us through Conway and onto 302. Here we hit our second problem. North Conway, heart of ski country, was one long traffic jam that Saturday. We crawled through town, swearing all the way. Finally we hit open road and made some good time do...