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Climbers Lost

Today, Google is honoring the anniversary of the Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summiting Everest. Cute graphic.

My thoughts have turned towards Denali because of Team Dom and I came across this... Search for overdue hikers on Denali

This morning in Keene, NH a gallon of regular is going for $3.92 (I always add that extra 1/10th of a cent) and $4.12 for the highest octane. I'll be hiking close to home this weekend (Monadnock) but I would have anyways. Is anyone changing their plans because of prices? If not, is there any...

The closed areas are: Nichols Ledge in Woodbury Fairlee Palisades in Fairlee Deer Leap in Bristol Bolton Notch in Bolton Rattlesnake Point in Salisbury Mt. Horrid in Goshen/Rochester Snake Mountain in Addison Smuggler’s Notch in Cambridge Marshfield Mountain in Marshfield Details...

Okay, this is how bored I am: I just spent an hour looking through the membership at people's avatars. It was actually a lot of fun. You all are a very creative, funny, and photogenic group. So I decided to create the: First Annual VFTT Avatar Award Nominations Here are my categories and...

Missing Kayaker

It's sale time at REI and I'm thinking of buying this: REI Nooksack UL +35 Sleeping Bag Has anyone used this bag? Thumbs up or down?

Life is never dull in Keene, NH. On April 6th an experienced kayaker, Mark Boucher, was pulled beneath the waterfall on the Ashuelot River in Keene. (this is a stock photo of the falls in question) According to the news story: Kayak Accident Described Mr. Boucher was an experienced...

I went to a lecture called "Peak Everything" by Richard Heinberg at Keense State College last night. I saw MonadnockVol there (shout out! :D ) Heinberg was not only talking about peak oil production but the depletion of all renewable energy resources. I'm not trying to ignite a debate over...

It's 29 degrees at my house in Keene right now (5:45 AM) and there is frost on my car windshield. The Mt. Washington Observatory web site says it's 9 degrees there. I wonder if this enough to put a damper on the spirits of the blackflies that are out in force now across southern NH.

The Green Mountain Club discourages spring hiking because of trail erosion that results from hiking on soft muddy ground. This year they published a list of alternative hikes in Vermont: http://www.greenmountainclub.org/page.php?id=60

This is from Goose Pond: Do beavers actually think about the best way to fell a tree? Do they understand what they are doing or do they just feel the urge to gnaw? I'm asking because I wonder why the beaver would almost finish felling the tree and then start a second cut just above it...

I've been reading about the hemlock woolly adelgid. This species of insect was introduced from Asia in the 1920's in Virginia and is now found as far north as SE Maine. It has wiped out all the eastern hemlocks in Shenandoah National Park and there is a real battle going on to save the...

Saw my first water strider on yesterday's hike. If you're not sure what a water strider is, here's a picture (not mine). P.S. This one's female.

Still some snow and ice on the trails around the pond where people compacted it all winter. The beaver is out and active.

sausage fingers: noun. the swelling that occurs in fingers when backpacking. Sample sentence: She tried to tie her hiking boots but couldn't because of her sausage fingers. calfenate: verb. to hit the calf of the opposite leg with your hiking boot, leaving a dirty mark. Sample sentence...

I'm interested in hearing about the experiences of my fellow (hmm "fellow" seems like a strange word to use here :p ) women hikers. All kinds of experiences, but in part what makes the female experience different from the male experience. So I'll start us off. I guess one of the things that...

Has anyone been on the trail to Alander recently? I promised a friend I'd drive down from NH and help her take her kids on a hike but she wants it to be free of snow and ice. Thanks for any info you have.

Trail: Metacomet-Monadnock to summit (from South) The parking lot is starting to melt but you should have 4-wheel drive. The trail was packed snow and ice and perfect for my stabilizers.