And... We begin again. 1-4 of round 3 of the NH48

Why not jump right back into it??

Eric, Ellie and I spent a fabulous weekend in Lincoln, NH for my early birthday. My only requests were a nice airbnb (check) lots of hiking (check) and a trip to White Mountain Wanderer to buy a couple books (check!)

We also ate some really adequate tacos (I think the place was called Nachos and it had pretty terrible yelp reviews, but we took a chance and it was absolutely fine. NOT special but it was 65 degrees out, we sat outdoors, and enjoyed our overpriced Mexican, hahah.)

We also ate some EXCELLENT coffee and bagels from White Mountain Bagel. Now that was some good stuff. 

Ellie approved of the airbnb was was very sus of the moose decoration on a mantle. Not into it. But she was very into the comfy couch. 

On Friday November 4th we restarted the 48 with a trip up Cannon in summer weather. Blue skies, 60 degrees, and only a handful of other hikers on the trail. (including the most grumpy hiker we have ever met. So grumpy!!)

It was really a glorious hike, and even Eric (who hates Cannon) had to admit that it was a very amazing day. (and it should be noted that we crushed our previous PR by a good amount!) Standard route up and down KRT, which was in the best shape one could ask for. 

The next day it started off "cool" (48) but eventually made it all the way to 66 amazing November degrees. 

It was supposed to be a very windy day up high, so we decided on the Osceolas, since they are pretty well protected and below treeline. Also, once Tripoli Road closes, they are a very long drive from where we live (and only about 20 minutes away from our AirBnb!!)

Loads of people on trail, it was a real summer day according to the crowd levels. 

We expected the crowds to lessen between peaks but it never really happened. This is what you get for picking a very popular route on such a temperate day! 

We finished in a good time, with an automatic PR since we have only done this from Greely Pond, or with the lengthy winter road walk. 

After enjoying the weirdly hot day, and the mostly very cheerful other hikers, we took off back to our temporary home to allow Ellie to spend some time with her arch nemesis, the Moose. Pure Evil.

Day 3 dawned warm. 65 actual degrees when I headed out on a coffee run at 6:30AM. Absolutely unbelievable conditions for November, and we WERE NOT SAD. (and, the clocks changed!)

And where did we go??

Owl's Head. 

Weren't we JUST THERE? 

Yes. 

But, we did not want to be the fools who left it for second to last again. Also, it was a nice fall day and really quite perfect for 16 miles. 

Despite the perfect weather it was definitely a more Fall like hike than last time. No leaves on the trees, everything a bit stark looking overall. 

Not too many others out on this trail, but we saw a handful of people tagging this silly remote peak. We had none of the struggles of traffic on the slide, but were not fast at ALL in this section due to the previous two days. Slow pokes for sure. And unlike last time, it was pretty warm at the summit so we did not have to panic and immediately put on all of our winter kit. Or any of it. 

It was a good hike, the bushwhacks were in fine shape (Brutus was a little weird- lots of blowdowns in the past couple weeks made for some funky re-routes but it all worked out.) We enjoyed the hike and did not PR at all (but we were only like, 7 minutes slower than last time which all in all is acceptable.)

We rolled back along the trail to one more Fall view before winter shows up (it's inevitable)

So Stats for the Weekend:

Peaks: 4

Miles: A little over 28

Elevation: 8466

Fun: TEN A TEN!!! SO FUN!! 

And that's a wrap- #46-48 of round 2 of the NH48, West Bond, Bond and Bondcliffe

Well, we did it! 

October 29th was the day and the Bonds were the place to wrap up round 2 of the 48 4000 footers.

It was a fabulous day for so many reasons.

-PERFECT weather (yes, it was 27 at the start but it was well into the 60's for the majority of the hike, bluebird skies, and NOT a puff of wind!)

-Evan joined in

-We got to catch a ride with Marlene, who is a fucking legend

-We saw people dressed as those blue dudes from Avatar, and (upon seeing their costumes) we could not remember what a "loin cloth" was called, and the phrase "DICK SKIRT" was coined. We fell down laughing. Multiple times. 

-Eric did not poke his eye out with a stick, but if he had, we questioned if he would be able to see, but with a different perspective. Kind of like a go pro, or selfie stick, but direct to your own brain. Since we are rational, this led to a fairly disgusting discussion of trailside first aid (Evan is an EMT)

-We had a Very Serious Competition with a couple of men in the last 5 miles of the hike. They thought they were going to beat us to the finish, and we could not allow that. So, this hike really was sponsored by Unnecessary Competitiveness: winning. at all costs.

So on to the nitty gritty. 

We started from the Zealand trailhead around 7:20AM in brisk conditions. We had packed for cool weather because it was late October. While we did need our coats for the first few miles, they were then packed up, never to be seen or heard from again. But really, it was frosty for a hot minute. Basically until the Zealand hut. 

We passed over Zealand just to say hello- since we started with Zealand back on September 11 of 2021 we did not technically need to summit, but we did anyway to check it off for October and for Fall season. 

Once we reached Guyot we realized that it was going to be a summer day. Literally perfection. The trail was quiet, you could not have asked for a bluer sky, and the wind was ZERO. Incredible and amazing. 

You just don't get perfect days like this too often. It was an amazing hike in every way from start to finish (although something in the leaves gave Ellie a terrible scare at one point- don't know what got her but she was pretty sad for a hot second.) 

Other than that. Just a stunning and memorable time. 

West Bond was gorgeous 

Bond was pretty decent too.....

And then, just like that, we finished up on Bondcliffe. Really, one of the prettiest places out there. 

Then, the long walk down. 

1476598678 miles on Lincoln Woods trail is always a great way to finish!

Things got weird

BUT, eventually we finished and ate a whole bag of chips and a bunch of guacamole to recover. And we waited and watched our arch nemesis/people we HAD to beat, come in to the finish. Maybe someday we will just hike casually. Today was NOT THAT DAYYYYYY..

So we concluded Round 2 of the 48 much faster than round one. Just over a year, and we are pretty impressed with that considering that Ellie and I both had surgery within the last year. This hike obviously brought us to 48, and checked off all 4 peaks for October, and for Fall. It was an super time, possibly the best from this round. 

Stats:

Miles: 19.25

Elevation: 4250

Fun: TEN, A SOLID TEN!!!!