This is me making breakfast in the morning.
Backpacking Day 3
The final day of our fast 3-day backpacking trip in the Pemigewasset Wilderness area of White Mountain National Forest. We got hit by a massive rain storm in the middle of the hike on the way back to my car.
A cool rock cairn.
Chris atop Mt. Liberty at 4,459 feet.
Us enjoying the view atop Mt. Liberty at 4,459 feet.
Me walking the cool ridgeline to get to Mt. Flume at 4,328 feet.
The morning shit show at our campsite.
Backpacking Day 2
Chris and woke early to get a head start on the trail. We had more miles to cover this day. In the afternoon we had a rainstorm roll in, forcing me to pack away my camera. So no rain photos.
Chris taking a little rest nearing the top of Mt. Lafayette (5,260 feet) in White Mountain National Forest.
Headed for Mt. Lincoln at 5,089 feet.
My vacation this year . . . to the northeast for backpacking, hiking, Canada and random places for adventure!
Backpacking Day 1
Us in the White Mountain National Forest’s 45,000-acre Pemigewasset Wilderness area. We didn’t know, nor was it advertised on information boards at the parking area, that we needed to pay cash to stay at the established campgrounds in the wilderness. WTF?!?! Luckily, Chris forgot to empty his pockets after paying for breakfast in the morning. So we had enough money for two nights on the trail, instead of our planned three. So we had to cram in 35 miles in three days, instead of a leisurely pace during four days.
Unfortunately, we did not stop much as we had limited time to reach a camping area before nightfall. So I don’t have many photos from the first day.
The sun warms up the Valley at dawn. Folks brought rope (and we took our vertical gear) to rig the spot where we would have rappelled. But I couldn’t bring myself to go down to the Diving Board to see the view that could have been. It would have broken my heart.
So instead we decided to leave Yosemite. But first thing first, get off the huge rock called El Cap.
Since we travel all the way to Yosemite with our backpacking gear, we decided to do a trip to the top of El Capitan.
Here is Robin Mitchell blazing the way along Yosemite Creek during our 12-mile hike to reach the summit of El Cap, where we planned on spending the night.
Chris hikes towards the summit of El Cap. You can see the opposite wall of the Valley in the background.
So Chris and I did a 15-mile backpacking trip on the Wild Oak trail in the George Washington National Forest. It was past of training for our upcoming El Capitan Expedition in Yosemite. But after we got to our camping spot with 4 hours of light left, we had a serious calling for pizza and beer.
Backpacking in Cranberry Wilderness
Day 3: A quick portrait of Chris and I before out 9-mile hike out.
Me pushing through a thicket of bee balm.
A USGS geological marker . . . you never know when you’ll find one of these suckers!
Backpacking in Cranberry Wilderness
Day 2: Chris atop a waterfall during a short day hike from camp.
Backpacking in Cranberry Wilderness
Day 1: Me during the cool 6.5-mile hike along the Big Beechy Trail to our camping spot.
Mushroom!
Chris starts a fire at our camping spot for the trip.
A backpacking weekend in Dolly Sods. Chris leads the way along the Red River.
He sits in the tent at our campsite. And below is an awesome swim we took in the Red River itself.
