Ritzhikes

Where: Mt. Isolation, NH When: 18 November, 2021 With: Steve & Sam Here's how it started: While I continue to work on summiting the 48 NH 4000' peaks, Steve is working on The Grid , and in a post about another hike he'd done for his November summits, he mentioned Mt. Isolation. It's true to its name. Remote and genuinely isolated, it requires a long, tough hike to get to it. It's just barely over 4000 feet (4004'), and despite spectacular views from the top, it probably wouldn't get much traffic if not for the 4K list. I figured I'd get it eventually, but there were plenty of other peaks to get to first. Still, here was an opportunity to check it off. Though I had a few chances to back out (or not agree to go in the first place), I kept saying I was still in for the hike. The final call from Steve came the day before the hike. Showers were predicted all day, and I hadn't been sleeping well the past few days, and there was that twinge in my back, ...

Where: Mt. Tecumseh, Waterville Valley, NH When: November 2, 2021 With: Solo There are a number of reasons why this hike happened. It came up in conversation during Halloween with a neighbor who hikes, it's slightly closer than other peaks in NH, I'm in something of a lull of activities as the high school sports I cover for HCAM have moved into their post-seasons so my schedule was open, the weather looked good, peak foliage (and the crowds) had passed...  But the clincher was that when the updated elevations of the NH peaks are made official next year, Mt. Tecumseh's height will be less than 4000 feet. As of today however, it is still on the official list of 48 NH 4000 foot peaks, so I decided to claim it for my #25. I'd set the alarm for 6AM, but had a restless night. When I got up to use the bathroom and saw it was 5:47, I decided to call it a night. I dressed, put together a lunch, grabbed my gear and was out the door at 6:06. An accident on 495 led to an interestin...