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The 1400+ mile trail network in New Hampshire’s White Mountains National Forest is absolutely world-class. But it probably wouldn’t exist if it hadn’t been for the logging companies that stripped much of the 800,000 acre White Mountain region of timber in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The waste wood from those clear-cutting operations caused massive forest fires that burned …

Thirst by Heather “Anish” Anderson is a wonderfully written memoir, rich in autobiographical detail, about her record-setting fastest known thru-hike (FKT) of the Pacific Crest Trail. The audible version (6 hrs) is also very well narrated and a real treat to listen to, even if you’re not a thru-hiker or thru-hiker aspirant. Anish is Heather’s trail name, taken after her …

  The Dry River Valley runs from Mt Washington down to Crawford Notch about 2000 feet below the Crawford Path, the oldest continuously maintained hiking trail in the United States. While it’s within spitting distance of the most popular peaks in the White Mountains, it’s an isolated and seldom-hiked area because the trails are constantly in flux. Trail sections are …

I spent most of this month off-trail down in Boston, helping a family member recuperate from major surgery. It was important that I be there, even though it meant leaving my beloved White Mountains for close to four weeks. I decided to climb up Mt Washington to test how much conditioning I’d lost in my absence. The weather forecast called …