Linda and her partner, Rick and I got together for a trip to East Pond. This hike traveled along an old railroad path, so it intrigued us. By the time we traveled the 19 miles across the Kancamagus Highway from ‘touristy’ Lincoln, NH, we were ready for some solitude.

The temperature was 9 degrees, wind speed 30 mph and wind chill 12 below zero. I thought of the movie that opened this weekend, Eight below Zero, about huskies surviving for their lives in these temperatures. At least they had thick fur to keep them warm.

Probably the most under-thanked people in outdoor recreation are the trip leaders. Without them, no trips would be run, no outdoor groups would exist. California's Great Outdoors Group has existed way before GayOutdoors was born. Few gay outing groups can claim such incredible success.   

Saturday morning found the skies to be clear, the sun shining and temperatures around 30. A large group met us at the trailhead for the 10AM start and included Rick, Markus, Stephane, Christel, Mike C., Charley, Ed, Carlos, Andrew, Colin, Jon and myself.

This was advertised as a beginner snowshoeing workshop, but some ice walking was thrown in due to recent weather. Due to the lack of snow around the Waterville Valley area we traveled an hour north to Crawford Notch, NH. Besides the instructors, Jon N. and myself, we had the following intrepid snowshoers: Richard C., Steve B., and Dave M.

The gales of January blew early and often but failed to dismay 13 Adventuring Club members from Washington on what has become our traditional Martin Luther King Weekend pilgrimage to Gettysburg.

(12/15/05) Three of us took spills at different points on this mountain hike and I almost broke my back while trying to sit in the driver's seat of a broken down old truck for the cover picture.

(1/1/06) Two dozen members of Washington's Adventuring Group, a pretty typical turnout for their New Years Day outings, showed up at noon at Great Falls Tavern on the Maryland side of the Potomac 14 miles above Georgetown.

(1/1/06) Tom, Mark, Rick, John H., Dave, John J., Charley, Jim M., Gino and myself joined Jon Normand to hike his last 4,000 footer in New Hampshire on New Year’s Day 2006. New Hampshire has a list of 48 peaks over 4,000 feet and the Appalachian Mountain Club recognizes those who finish. Mt. Cabot is the northernmost 4,000-footer. This peak was also my last 4,000-footer so it must have been ordained by the mountain gods that Jon and I be together. We arrived at the Mt. Cabot trailhead around 9:15.

(12/31/05) A bit crisp in the morning, then the day warmed up nicely. The first mile or so of this trail is a nice flat walk through hemlocks and beech.

(12/18/05) Nobody else showed up for this trip and I was the first one in the parking lot. There was 8" of fresh powder down low and increasing to 12-14+ inches up high (with knee deep drifts). You are not going to believe this but I broke the trail all the way from the parking lot to the top of Mt. Lafayette!   

(11/30/05) Bruce and I were stunned on our Rabbit Peak scout trip. All the trip reports and pictures I've come across so far on this hike have been lack-luster at best. We scouted the hike up to Villager Peak last Sunday and I've got to say, this hike is an unsung beauty.

Ten bundled-up folks from Washington's Adventuring Club, including a handsome newcomer from across the pond, braved the brisk weather for several leaf-free views of gay Paris (VA). The wild animals kept themselves warm and out of sight, though abundant winter food in the form of many kinds of berries was visible throughout the hike.

I had time to check out the weather before heading to the Willey Station trailhead to meet up with everyone.We made pretty good time up to the trailhead where we met Matt spinning his tires as his car was trying to climb up the steep road. He backed down to the main road and we gave him a lift up the road. On this trip we had Markus Donavan, Jim Manhart, Jon Normand, Matt Tantema, Jerry and myself at Crawford Notch in New Hampshire.

October 22, 4:00 am, fifteen brave people started up the Skyline trail for the Cactus to Clouds event. It was a diverse group of people, but with a common purpose -- to complete the most difficult hike in Southern California and the fifth most difficult hike in the United States.