Recent content by StaceyM

Sunday, 9/2/2012 Trail Conditions: We stayed on the trails the whole way. Water crossings were low enough to rock hop. Trails were dry except for the mile or so from the base of the slide, which had some good boot-sucking mud. Slide was mostly dry except for the upper section in the trees...

Date of Hike: 5/27/2012 Trail Conditions: Mostly dry. Some minor mud in a few places. Still a bit of snow and ice in the Subway, but didn't pose any issues. Surprisingly few black flies. No major blowdowns. Airline and Shortline are in great shape. Valley Way was more eroded, but I guess that's...

Very cool! I've heard it's possible to see Boston from the top, but it has never been clear enough for me. :)

The light bulb just went off that I read your grid/redline post a few months ago. I wish I had made the connection (and feel a little silly about asking if you were working on the 4K list - haha). Anyway, a belated congrats!

10/29/2011 Conditions are probably pointless now, but things were just starting to freeze up on Saturday. 1-2 inches of snow near the top with some ice. Water crossings were easy. We used our microspikes for the upper half of the trail. Full report and photos here.

In addition to being a solvent and vehicle for drug testing as mentioned before, the lab I work in uses DMSO as a cryoprotectant for freezing cell lines. I don't know what it does to organisms, but on a cellular level it kills at high concentrations, so I personally wouldn't want to take it.

Looks like a great hike! Caps Ridge is one of my favorites. I don't blame you for playing it safe - maybe I'm a wuss but I don't like messing around with lighting above treeline. :o

Wes and I spent the weekend in Wolfeboro with Wes’ parents. The Kancamagus Hwy is pretty close by so we opted for North and Middle Tripyramids following the Sabbaday Brook Trail up to the col between the peaks, where we hiked up to each on the Mt. Tripyramid Trail. Sabbaday Brook Trail is very...

Reason #1 why I hate the AMC Catskills guide/map. The parking areas are not accurate and there is very little in the guidebook about them. Also it's written in kind of a negative tone - lots of complaining about trail conditions and features which is odd for a book on hiking. Anyway, in...

Sorry to hear about your fall and glad you are okay! I bought poles a few years ago after renting them for a winter hike. I'm with nartreb - they are nice for an extra boost, especially in the snow. Uphill I find my calves burn less, downhill my knees hurt less, and I'm overall not as tired...

Sometimes it's good to look back. Thanking people for teaching us something can sometimes be as rewarding as the initial lesson :)

That's awesome. My grandparents taught me cribbage too - it's my favorite card game :) I'm really enjoying reading everyone's responses!

Thanks for the greenie!

I think most people share similar reasons for why they continue to hike, but I was curious if people had a specific person or event that kick-started their hiking habit. Maybe some were discouraged by a first hike, but came back anyway or maybe it's a family tradition. Anyway, I thought it might...

Wonderful photos - that trail is so much fun! :)